Mainland Air is a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

, flight training and

air charter Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

company operating out of

Dunedin International Airport Dunedin Airport , officially Dunedin International Airport, also known as Momona Airport, is an international airport in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand, serving Dunedin city and the Otago and Southland regions. Dunedin Ai ...

in New Zealand.

History

Mainland Air was established in 1991 by Queenstown businessman Christopher Kelliher. From 1995 to 2006 the airline operated courier flights for

New Zealand Post NZ Post ( mi, Tukurau Aotearoa), shortened from New Zealand Post, is a state-owned enterprise responsible for providing postal service in New Zealand. The New Zealand Post Office, a government agency, provided postal, banking, and telecommuni ...

between Dunedin and Christchurch. Later in 2007 the airline started a thrice weekly Dunedin to Alexandra and Queenstown service using a ten-seater Piper Chieftain. In March 2008 Mainland started a thrice weekly Dunedin to Invercargill service also using its Piper Chieftain aircraft. At that time Mainland were also considering services to Wanaka and

Te Anau Te Anau is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. In Maori, Te-Anau means the Place of the Swirling Waters. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Te Anau in Fiordland. Te Anau is 155 kilometres north of Invercargill ...

. Later all these scheduled services were dropped due to lack of demand. Late 2009 Chris Kelliher sold the company to the Paterson family who owned Mainland's major maintenance provider, Southair Ltd In 2013 Mainland Air was sold to Phil and Shirley Kean, respectively the long time Chief Pilot and General Manager. Mainland operates two Piper Chieftain twin engine aircraft for charter and air ambulance duties, a fleet of Cessna 152 aircraft for pilot training, two Piper Seneca twin engine aircraft for charter and multi-engine instrument training and a twin engine Tecnam aircraft for pilot training.

Services

Mainland Air hangar Dunedin International Airport

Mainland Air Services provides charter flights throughout New Zealand. Its scenic flights visit popular destinations such as

Milford Sound Milford Sound / Piopiotahi is a fiord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top t ...

, Mount Aspiring/Tititea,

Aoraki/Mount Cook Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, as of 2014, is listed as . It sits in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourit ...

Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lake ...

Omarama Omarama is a small town (population 291 at 2018 census) at the junction of State Highways 8 and 83, near the southern end of the Mackenzie Basin, in the South Island of New Zealand. Omarama is in the Waitaki District, in the southern Canterb ...

Stewart Island/Rakiura Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...

, Taiaroa Heads and the Queenstown area. As well as operating air ambulance transfer flights, Mainland Air provides charter flights for medical specialists from

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

and Alexandra several times per week on behalf of the Southern District Health Board. Mainland Air also operates a flying training school, called Mainland Aviation College. A scheduled service began on 4 June 2014 linking

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the rai ...

and

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

using Piper Chieftain aircraft. This service ended due to lack of patronage three months later. Flights linking

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

and Wanaka to Christchurch, and Oamaru to Wellington have also been discussed.

Fleet

Mainland Air operates the following aircraft:

References

External links

Mainland Air
(official website) Airlines of New Zealand {{Oceania-airline-stub

History

Services

Fleet

See also

References

External links