Barrier Air is a

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 ...

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 ...

that was established in 1983 by Jim Bergman as Great Barrier Airlines. The head office is located at the Domestic Terminal at

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 ...

in Mangere, with additional offices in the terminal buildings at Great Barrier Aerodrome,

Kaitaia Airport Kaitaia Airport is an airport located in Kaitaia, in the Northland Region of New Zealand. It is 320 km from Auckland. Barrier Air operates daily flights to and from Auckland Airport. History On 13 June 2005, Kaitaia Airport received an ...

and

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 ...

History

The airline's initial fleet was one Cessna 172, one Cessna 206 and one vintage three-engine

de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover The de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover is a small transport aircraft that was built by de Havilland Australia (DHA) in the 1940s and 1950s. The aircraft had some similarities with the two-engine British-built de Havilland Dove but used a t ...

. Bergman flew the first scheduled service to

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 ...

on 2 December 1983, departing from Ardmore Airport, three nautical miles southeast of

Manurewa Manurewa is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand. It was part of Manukau City before the creation of the Auckland super city in 2010. It is located south of the Manukau, Manukau City Centre, and southeast of Auckland CBD. The subur ...

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 ...

. The company initially operated three flights a day from Ardmore to Auckland International and on to Great Barrier Aerodrome at Claris. In July 1984 the airline started flights to

Okiwi Airfield Okiwi Airfield , also called Okiwi Station Airfield, is a small airfield located near the village of Okiwi on Great Barrier Island, New Zealand. It has a single bitumen runway, and a small terminal in the form of a wooden hut. The airfield is o ...

on Great Barrier Island as well. The first Britten Norman Islander was introduced in December 1984. The first flights to Whangarei from its Auckland base began in August 1987. The airline briefly served Waiheke island, from August 1994 to April 1995. They also purchased a subsidiary company, Air Coromandel, in 1995, which had sole commercial rights to

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 ...

. In November 1996 Rotorua (served via Tauranga) and

Paihia Paihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is 60 kilometres north of Whangārei, located close to the historic towns of Russell and Kerikeri. Missionary Henry William ...

were added to the network. The Rotorua flight was extended to Taupo in November 1998. A new aircraft type was added, the Britten Norman Trislander starting services on 24 December 2002. Since then three other Trislanders have served in the fleet. In early 2015, coinciding with a change in management, and the purchase of an ex-

Bering Air Bering Air is an American airline headquartered in Nome, Alaska, United States. It operates domestic scheduled passenger and charter airline services, as well as air ambulance and helicopter services. Its main base is Nome Airport, with hubs a ...

Cessna Grand Caravan The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the FAA in October 1984 and its Cargoma ...

, the name of the airline was changed from Great Barrier Airlines to Barrier Air. The airline now operates a fleet of Grand Caravans – other aircraft models have been retired. For more than two decades, it was in a long-running commercial battle with its main local competitor

Fly My Sky Fly My Sky was a small airline based in Auckland, New Zealand. It operated between Auckland, Matamata and Great Barrier Island. The airline went into liquidation at the end of June 2021. The airline evolved out of the now also defunct Mountain ...

, until the latter went into liquidation in 2021. Fly My Sky descended from the Great Barrier division of Mountain Air, and operated at various times under the names ''Great Barrier Xpress'' and ''Great Barrier Air'', the latter name being subsequently forbidden by a legal injunction as it was too similar to Great Barrier Airlines, the name of which is now Barrier Air. The competition between the two airlines is considered one of the main reasons for the relatively low flight prices, which as of January 2008 remained almost exactly at 1998 prices, despite a trebling of aviation fuel prices in the nine years of competition between the two airlines. Barrier Air returned to Whitianga on 15 December 2021 using Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft. On 22 December Barrier Air announced plans to purchase a fifth Cessna Grand Caravan and look at launching new routes such as Auckland to Tauranga, following the success of the new Whitianga to Auckland route.

Current destinations

As of December 2022, Barrier Air operate the following routes: From

Claris Claris International Inc., formerly FileMaker Inc., is a computer software development company formed as a subsidiary company of Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) in 1987. It was given the source code and copyrights to several programs that were ...

- Great Barrier Aerodrome *

Kaitaia Kaitaia ( mi, Kaitāia) is a town in the Far North District of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula, about 160 km northwest of Whangārei. It is the last major settlement on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1. Ahipara ...

- Whitianga Aerodrome From

( Great Barrier Aerodrome) *

* North Shore -

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 ...

Tauranga Airport Tauranga Airport is an airport serving the city of Tauranga, New Zealand. It is located adjacent to Tauranga Harbour in the suburb of Mount Maunganui, approximately 3 km northeast of Tauranga CBD. The terminal is located to the north o ...

From

- Great Barrier Aerodrome

Former destinations

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 ...

- Hamilton Airport *

Waiheke Island Waiheke Island (; Māori: ) is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland. It is the most pop ...

Waiheke Island Aerodrome Waiheke Island Aerodrome is a private airport on Waiheke Island, 17 nautical miles northeast of Auckland, New Zealand. General Waiheke Island Aerodrome is situated on the top of a ridge line south of Onetangi Bay and is the only airport on W ...

* Taupo - Taupo 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 ...

* Whangarei -

Whangarei Airport Whangārei Airport is an airport to the south east of Whangārei city, in the suburb of Onerahi, on the east coast of Northland in the North Island of New Zealand. The airport has a single terminal with two gates. History The first aerodro ...

Fleet

, Barrier Air's fleet consists of the following aircraft: Barrier Air (and its predecessor Great Barrier Airlines) formerly operated the following aircraft:

References

External links

Official website

{{Airlines of New Zealand Airlines of New Zealand Airlines established in 1983 Transport in Auckland Companies based in Auckland New Zealand companies established in 1983