Small business
Flying into the luxury tourism market
Briefly describe the business
We offer charter helicopter flights all over New Zealand covering both local flights to Waiheke, and also longer itineraries that could be 10 days over the whole of New Zealand. It’s quite a diverse business starting from $199 gift vouchers to itineraries more like $200,000. In the winter Heletranz could have one flight per day and in summer up to 20, so the number of daily flights we have is seasonal.
Why did you buy Heletranz in 2012?
My husband John and I lived in Hong Kong for 12 years and Sweden for three, and while we were living in Stockholm this opportunity came up and we decided to combine John’s love for flying and my love for client service. I’ve always been very keen on planning the ultimate holiday and that all came together with Heletranz — tailoring the best experience, which is not really hard having New Zealand as your playground. We combine the best of worldclass wine, food, nature and scenery. What attracts many people from overseas is that New Zealand is perceived to be a safe and clean country, where you can get out into nature without it being overcrowded.
Tell me a bit about yours and John’s background?
John is a Kiwi and I’m Swedish.
I moved here in 2013 and I’d never lived in New Zealand and I’ve definitely never worked in aviation so it was all very new. John was a captain on a 747 jumbo jet for Cathay Pacific, and on his holidays to New Zealand during his 20 years of doing the job, he learnt to fly helicopters. He now flies helicopters and private jets. We have three daughters. I have a background in stock broking and private banking. I didn’t really think I would be this involved in the business, but as it turned out, when we brought Heletranz we needed to put quite a lot more money into it than what we originally thought so John had to stay in Hong Kong and keep working for Cathay while I ran Heletranz. We bought the business while living in Sweden, and moved to Auckland three weeks later.
How big is your team and where are you based?
We have 12 regular staff members, including eight pilots, but this fluctuates slightly with the seasons. Our heli-port and office is based in Albany, North Shore. We try to run the business as a small family so everyone feels part of the success.
How is Heletranz different now to what it was before?
The business has been going for 28 years, but we’ve transformed it. We’ve gone from having just two helicopters to a fleet of seven in four years. We have focused on the twin engine helicopter market and instrument flight rules (IFR) and are now the only operator flying IFR commercially in New Zealand. This has been crucial to secure and be able to look after the high-end tourism market.
What experiences do you offer and which ones are most popular?
We offer extraordinary experiences all over New Zealand for individuals as well as companies. Heli-dining at a Waiheke Vineyard and heli-fishing at Great Barrier Island are really popular, these are often taken up by companies to offer as corporate incentives, client entertainment or end of the year rewards. For the highend international tourism market, luxury lodges like Kauri Cliffs, Helena Bay, Cape Kidnappers, Huka Lodge and Wharekauhau are key for our business.
What are the long-term plans for Heletranz?
To grow the really high-end tourism market with a focus on multi-day charter throughout New Zealand. In the domestic market, we are concentrating on our loyal frequent flyers and to further enhance the service provided as well as expanding our tailored corporate event business.
What’s it like operating a business within the luxury tourism market?
Luxury tourism is a huge growing market in New Zealand. It’s definitely competitive but I think our advantage is that we, as owners, are very involved in the business. We have the phone every night so we look after clients who may want to book something at nine at night, and I think that’s quite rare.
What advice do you give those thinking of starting a business?
If you’re extremely passionate you will work so hard, but it won’t feel like work. I work way harder now than I ever have as an employee. Get a proper structure in place, as soon as possible, with processes and clearly assign roles which will make the workload easier to delegate.