Skybus was an attempt to create a privately owned commercial airline in
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 coun ...
during the 1970s, a time of
state-owned
State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...
public transport. It was a brainchild of the
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
Matt Thomson. Matt Thompson was a businessman who had founded the successful Car Haulaways Transport Group. Frustrated by problems with the
Cook Strait
Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A H, ...
ferries, he then proceeded to set up Nationwide Air which utilised two
ATL.98 Carvairs on freight work from the late 1970s.
Planned operations
He also envisaged engaging in passenger transport, but at that time all New Zealand aerial transport was governed by the Air Services Licensing Authority. To gain a license to operate from the Authority you had to prove unmet demand, and any application for such a license would obviously be strenuously opposed by state-owned
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 ...
.
As with all such restrictions, there were loopholes. One such loophole was that members of a club or association could band together and charter an aircraft from an organisation that already held a charter license. Therefore Matt Thompson formed the Aqua Avia Society in 1980 and proceeded to arrange for the charter of a suitable aircraft and eventually chartered two
Vickers Viscount
The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner.
The Visc ...
aircraft for their airline, which was given the name Skybus.
By using the legal loophole, Aqua Avia created their business plan of forming a club with annual membership rather than charging passengers fares per flight, thus avoiding the charge that they would be in direct competition with the State-owned airlines (and thus not needing to apply for licenses for their air routes)
As Aero Clubs were exempt from the licensing act due to the charter license loophole, they could operate as many charter flights as they liked. The Aqua Avia Society linked with the Piako Aero Club of
Matamata
Matamata () is a town in Waikato, New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which takes ...
, who had the Viscounts registered in their ownership.
Demise
The New Zealand government, however, intervened and created enough obstacles and delays to push Aqua Avia into
insolvency
In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...
. This was done by
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 ...
filing a formal objection which was upheld by the New Zealand Airworthiness Authorities. The delays caused by this objection derailed Skybus as it was about to commence its commercial service, having taken delivery of the two Viscount aircraft in their new livery.
A credit card size plastic i/d card was issued to members and was valid for life. On the rear of card was a discount offer from
Budget Car Rental.
Fleet
See also
*
List of defunct airlines of New Zealand
This is a list of defunct airlines of New Zealand.
See also
* List of airlines of New Zealand
* List of airports in New Zealand
References
{{List of defunct airlines
*
New Zealand
Airlines
An airline is a company that provid ...
*
History of aviation in New Zealand
The history of aviation in New Zealand began in the late 19th century when balloon flights began. In the first decade of the 20th century, several New Zealanders began developing heavier-than-air craft with the first confirmed powered flight in N ...
References
External links
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{{Airlines of New Zealand
Defunct airlines of New Zealand