Airline adds extra capacity on GB flights

Golden Bay Air has added a nine-seat Britten Norman Islander plane to its fleet, increasing the availability of seats for customers.

The aircraft is now operating on the company’s Ta¯kaka-Wellington scheduled service.

It will also be used on routes between Takaka, Karamea and Nelson serving the Heaphy Track and Abel Tasman National Park, and will also be available for freight and charter work.

‘‘This is a good time to expand, with Covid mostly behind us and travellers returning,’’ Golden Bay Air chief executive Richard Molloy said.

‘‘We had been on the lookout for an aircraft that will allow us to add more seats to our services but that also has the versatility we need for all the different types of flying that we do.

‘‘The Islander can handle both short, unsealed airstrips and flights into international airports. It also allows a combination of passengers and freight to be loaded – for example, mountainbikers and their bikes for the Heaphy Track. Every seat has a large window to view the spectacular scenery we fly over on all our routes.’’

The Islander has undergone an extensive refurbishment, with an updated interior and full ‘‘glass panel’’ instrumentation, including weather radar and a twoway passenger intercom, and has been repainted in the company livery,

Based in Ta¯kaka, Golden Bay Air has provided air transport services for the area since 2006.