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Murray Wilson / Stuff
Originair is increasing its flights between Nelson and Hamilton and Palmerston North.
Nelson-based airline Originair is pushing options for flights in and out of Palmerston North.
It is adding service between Palmerston North and Hamilton, and additional flights on the Palmerston North-to-Nelson route.
Originair CEO Robert Inglis said that after services between Palmerston North and Hamilton ceased earlier this year, the company was asked to consider intervening.
Initially it would offer one flight each way from Monday to Friday starting October 19.
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“We are well aware that many business travelers would like daily double peak service and we intend to increase our hours in early 2021 to meet that demand.”
The Nelson service would be increased from eight to 14 weekly flights, with daily flights from Monday to Thursday and Sunday, and two return services on Friday.
“The demand for our services on the Nelson-Palmerston North route has grown and we hope that this extra scheduled frequency will be useful for travelers accessing the center of the North Island and for travelers from the North Island visiting the upper part of the South. Inglis said.
Supplied
Originair boss Robert Inglis has announced more flights to Palmerston North
Palmerston North Airport CEO David Lanham said the company welcomed Originair’s investment “at a difficult time for the aviation industry.”
“We have been working with Robert Inglis and the team at Originair and Waikato Regional Airport for some time on plans for the route, so it is a pleasure to see it finally happen.”
Palmerston North Airport saw a stronger-than-expected increase in passenger numbers when the country first emerged from the lockdown, but the resurgence of restrictions in Auckland delayed recovery.
“It has been a volatile start to the financial year in terms of passenger volume given the changes in alert levels and the introduction of onboard social distancing requirements.”
At this time, Palmerston North Airport has an average of six daily departures to Auckland and three to Christchurch, as well as Originair’s current four weekly return services to Nelson.
In September, the airport was expecting about a third of last year’s passenger volume for the same month, when Jetstar was still operating in Palmerston North.
Inglis described the extension of services as “a cautious start” in difficult times.
The Hamilton route would initially be served by a British Aerospace 19-seat Jetstream aircraft, but a larger aircraft could be brought in depending on demand.
Originair had imported another Jetstream 32EP from Iceland to add to its fleet.
He was preparing for an inspection by the Civil Aviation Authority.
“This was the last J32 series serial number to be built and I think it’s a very good example of the 19-seat type,” Inglis said.
“We hope to see him land at airports soon in the Originair livery.”
