Sunair is an airline based 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 count ...

. It operates scheduled services in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. Headquartered in

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

, the airline flies to

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Ardmore, Whangarei,

Whitianga Whitianga is a town on the Coromandel Peninsula, in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is located on Mercury Bay, on the northeastern coast of the peninsula. The town has a permanent population of as of making it the ...

, Motiti Island and

Great Barrier Island Great Barrier Island ( mi, Aotea) lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, north-east of central Auckland. With an area of it is the sixth-largest island of New Zealand and fourth-largest in the main chain. Its highest point, Mount Hobson ...

.
(PDF) It also has charter and pilot training operations. Sunair has fifteen aircraft.

History

Sunair initially started as a commuter operator to Motiti Island in the Bay of Plenty with one aircraft. The airline has flown for over 30 years and has a safe accident free record. It operates approximately 4000 flights per year with a staff of 28. The

Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA; Māori: ''Te Mana Rererangi Tūmatanui o Aotearoa'') is the government agency tasked with establishing civil aviation safety and security standards in New Zealand. The CAA also monitors adherence ...

withdrew Sunair's Air Operator Certificate, along with the Certificate of Airworthiness for the Sunair fleet, on September 8, 2017. No reason for the certificate withdrawal has been made public by the Authority. The airline remained inoperative while the matter was pursued by the authority. Sunair remained grounded for 203 days and was finally granted permission to fly again in April 2018, by NZ CAA. The first service resumed in its own right was the doctor service between Whangarei and Kaitaia, which Sunair had been able to continue to operate using leased aircraft. Scheduled services were offered again from 28 May 2018 with flights being offered from Hamilton or Tauranga to Great Barrier Island or Whangarei, and from Great Barrier Island to Whitianga or Whangarei. The East Coast service has not been recommenced at this stage.

Destinations

As of August 2021, Sunair currently operates services from the following destinations:

Terminated Destinations

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 ...

Auckland Airport Auckland Airport is the largest and busiest airport in New Zealand, with over 21 million passengers in the year ended March 2019. The airport is located near Māngere, a residential suburb, and Airport Oaks, a service hub suburb south of the ...

* Gisborne -

Gisborne Airport Gisborne Airport is a regional airport located in the suburb of Elgin 4.2 km from the city centre of Gisborne on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Gisborne Airport is one of the few airports in the world that has a rail ...

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

New Plymouth Airport New Plymouth Airport serves the city of New Plymouth, and the surrounding region of Taranaki. It is located on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island and is 11 km from the city centre, on State Highway 3 north to Auckland, and 4&nb ...

* Napier -

Hawke's Bay Airport Hawke's Bay Airport , commonly referred to as Napier Airport, is Hawke's Bay's main commercial airport, serving domestic flights to the main centres of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch as well as smaller centres such as Gisborne, Wairoa ...

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

Palmerston North Airport Palmerston North Airport , originally called Milson Aerodrome, is an airport in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand, serving Palmerston North City and the Central North Island regions. It is located in the suburb of Milson, on ...

Wairoa Wairoa is a town and territorial authority district in New Zealand's North Island. The town is the northernmost in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of ...

- Wairoa Aerodrome *

Paraparaumu Paraparaumu () is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Kapiti Coast, north of the nation's capital city, Wellington. Like other towns in the area, it has a partner settlement at the coast called Paraparaumu Bea ...

Kapiti Coast Airport Kapiti Coast Airport (IATA: PPQ, ICAO: NZPP), earlier called Paraparaumu Airport, is on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island, between the Wellington dormitory suburbs of Paraparaumu Beach (to the west and north), Paraparaumu to the eas ...

Kerikeri Kerikeri () is the largest town in Northland, New Zealand. It is a tourist destination north of Auckland and north of the northern region's largest city, Whangarei. It is sometimes called the Cradle of the Nation, as it was the site of th ...

- Kerikeri Airport *

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

Wellington Airport Wellington International Airport (formerly known as Rongotai Airport) is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington. It lies 3 NM or 5.5 km south-east from the city centre. It is a hub for Air New Zealand an ...

* Whakatane - Whakatane Airport *

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

Rotorua Airport Rotorua Airport is an airport in Rotorua, New Zealand. It is located on Te Ngae Road ( SH30) in the suburb of Rotokawa, approximately 6 km north east of Rotorua CBD. The terminal consists of a two-storey building with six tarmac gates a ...

* North Shore -

North Shore Aerodrome North Shore Aerodrome , also called North Shore Airport and Dairy Flat Airfield, is a small, uncontrolled aerodrome located south southwest of Silverdale, near Auckland in New Zealand's North Island. Operational information *Lighting (pilo ...

Fleet

As of December 2020, the Sunair fleet consists of the following

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft c ...

:Sunair Aviation
pilotcareercentre.com, accessdate 21 September 2020 * 2

Cessna 172 The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company.

* 9

Piper PA-23 Aztec The Piper PA-23, named Apache and later Aztec, is an American four- to six-seat twin-engined light aircraft aimed at the General aviation, general-aviation market. The United States Navy and military forces in other countries also used it in smal ...

Former fleet

Over the years Sunair has flown many kinds of airplanes. *

Cessna 402 The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplane ...

Cessna 206 The Cessna 205, 206, and 207, known primarily as the Stationair (and marketed variously as the Super Skywagon, Skywagon and Super Skylane) are a family of single-engined, general aviation aircraft with fixed landing gear, used in commercial air ...

Piper PA-28 Cherokee The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of two-seat or four-seat light aircraft built by Piper Aircraft and designed for flight training, air taxi and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 62–64. Werner & Werner Corp, ...

Piper PA-31 Navajo The Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class, twin-engined aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market, most using Lycoming engines. It was also license-built in a number of Latin American countries. Tar ...

Partenavia P.68 The Partenavia P.68, now Vulcanair P68, is a light aircraft designed by Luigi Pascale and initially built by Italian Partenavia. It made its first flight on 25 May 1970, its type certification was granted on 17 November 1971 and was transferred ...

Cessna 421 The Cessna 421 Golden Eagle is an American six or seven seat twin-engined light transport aircraft, developed in the 1960s by Cessna as a pressurized version of the earlier Cessna 411. Development The Cessna 421 was first produced in May 196 ...

References

External links

Sunair website
Airlines of New Zealand Airlines established in 1985 New Zealand companies established in 1985 {{Oceania-airline-stub