![Air Chathams ATR72-500 ZK-MCO](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Air_Chathams_ATR72-500_ZK-MCO.jpg)
Air Chathams Limited is an
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
based in the
Chatham Islands
The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. It was established in 1984 and operates scheduled passenger services between the Chatham Islands and mainland New Zealand along with routes between
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
and
Whakatāne
Whakatāne ( , ) is the seat of the Bay of Plenty region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and north-east of Rotorua, at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. Whakatāne District is the encompassing territorial authority, whi ...
, and Auckland and
Whanganui
Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...
. Its main base is
Chatham Islands / Tuuta Airport
Chatham Islands / Tuuta Airport is an airport northeast of Waitangi Township on the Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
The airport, in part named in honour of the Chatham islander, Inia William Tuuta, who gifted the land for the airport, was co ...
.
History
The airline was set up by Craig and Marion Emeny in 1984, and facilitates the transportation of both freight and people to and from mainland New Zealand.
Craig Emeny first moved to the Chatham Islands as a pilot to operate services primarily between
Chatham
Chatham may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Canada
* Chatham Islands (British Columbia)
* Chatham Sound, British Columbia
* Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi
* Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
and
Pitt Islands. At that time the lack of regularity in flights to mainland New Zealand saw him start his own airline and begin operations to mainland airports. Air Chathams had the advantage of being based on the Chatham Islands and were able to avoid many of the weather related issues that other airlines had operating to the Chathams. As the freight and passenger market developed Air Chathams grew from operating small piston engine aircraft to large 50 seat two engine turbo-prop aircraft.
In 2014 Air Chathams established a flight operations and maintenance base at Auckland International Airport. From this base the company provides maintenance services both internally and to third party airlines under contract. A fully owned subsidiary (Chathams Pacific) operated scheduled flights in
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
until March 2013. The introduction of Chinese (PRC) aid financed aircraft and training facilities at the request of the Tongan government introduced competition to Chathams Pacific's routes. Air Chathams' management decided not to compete with the new airline,
Real Tonga
Real Tonga, stylised as "REALtonga", was an airline that operated domestic flights within Tonga. It commenced operations in March 2013, becoming the twelfth airline to operate domestic flights in Tonga since air services began. In 2020 the airlin ...
, and ceased all Tongan operations. With the
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacific ...
regional route cut backs, Air Chathams began serving the Auckland to
Whakatāne
Whakatāne ( , ) is the seat of the Bay of Plenty region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and north-east of Rotorua, at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. Whakatāne District is the encompassing territorial authority, whi ...
route on 29 April 2015, Auckland to
Whanganui
Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...
on 31 July 2016 and Auckland to
Kapiti Coast
The Kapiti Coast District is a local government district of the Wellington Region in the lower North Island of New Zealand, 50 km north of Wellington City. The district is named after Kapiti Island, a prominent island offshore.
The pop ...
from 20 August 2018.
In mid 2018, the airline announced that it was looking to re-establish flights between Auckland and
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...
. Air Chathams in April 2019 announced they will be taking over a fourth Air NZ route by starting a weekly service from Auckland to Norfolk Island on 6 September 2019.
Destinations
Air Chathams destinations
This is a list of destinations served by Air Chathams, excluding subsidiaries.
Chathams Pacific destinations
This is a list of destinations formerly served by
Chathams Pacific
Air Chathams Limited is an airline based in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. It was established in 1984 and operates scheduled passenger services between the Chatham Islands and mainland New Zealand along with routes between Auckland a ...
, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Chathams that operated between 2007 and 2013.
![ZK-CIZ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/ZK-CIZ.jpg)
Fleet
As of January 2019, the Air Chathams fleet includes the following aircraft:
![Air Chathams Convair 580F](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Air_Chathams_Convair_580F.jpg)
The ATR, Saabs and Metroliners are used across the company's operations as well as contract freight services and charter work. The Cessna 206 provides a non-regular service between Chatham Island and Pitt Island and is on standby for search and rescue or local flights around the Chatham Islands. The airline's Aero Commander 690 has been wet-leased out for aerial mapping and survey duties, while the DC-3 is often chartered out for scenic flights and tours in a retro
NAC livery.
In 2018 Air Chathams acquired an
ATR 72-500
The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...
from
Mount Cook Airline
Mount Cook Airline was a regional airline based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Formerly part of the Mount Cook Group and latterly a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, it operated scheduled services throughout the country under the Air New Zealand ...
. The ATR 72-500 runs flights for Tauck Tours in summer seasons, while assisting with peak traffic to Whanganui in the winter.
References
External links
Air Chathams
{{Airlines of New Zealand
Airlines of New Zealand
Airlines established in 1984
Chatham Islands
New Zealand companies established in 1984
2013 disestablishments in Tonga