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| Founded | 30 June 1979 (1979-06-30) | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 19 November 2019 (2019-11-19) | ||||||
| Hubs | |||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Airpoints | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance (affiliate) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 23 | ||||||
| Destinations | 19 | ||||||
| Parent company | Air New Zealand | ||||||
| Headquarters | Nelson,New Zealand | ||||||
| Key people | Kelvin Duff (GM Regional Airlines) | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Air Nelson was aregional airline based inNelson,New Zealand. It was founded as an independent airline in 1979.Air New Zealand took a 50% shareholding in 1988 and 100% ownership in 1995. Air Nelson operated services on provincial routes under theAir New Zealand Link brand.
The airline operated one type of aircraft, the 50-seatBombardier Q300, which provided an intensive regional air service that cannot be sustained with regional jet types of this size. Until 2008, it operated the 33-seatSaab 340, which took over provincialFokker F27 services by Air New Zealand in 1990.
Air Nelson Q300s wore the Air New Zealand livery and operated from Kerikeri in the far north of the North Island to Invercargill in the far south of the South Island.[1] The airline had 517 employees (at March 2015).[1]
On 31 March 2019, it was announced thatAir New Zealand was considering merging both Air Nelson and fellow Link subsidiaryMount Cook Airline into the mainline fleet.[2]
Air Nelson Ltd continues to employ more than 100 Flight Attendants, who operate the Dash 8 Q300 on behalf of parent company Air New Zealand.
It was founded on 30 June 1979 by Robert Inglis and Nicki Smith as a flying school and charter services with the name ofMotueka Air. In 1988 was renamed to Air Nelson and acquired byAir New Zealand operating underAir New Zealand Link name.[3]
It initially operated as a small commuter airline in the top half of the South Island, linking Nelson and Wellington with up to half-hourly services. It also provided isolated towns such asTakaka andMotueka with a convenient safe service to the outside world. At this time aircraft includedPiper PA-31 Navajo,Fairchild Metro, andEmbraer EMB 110 Bandeirante.
In 1986, Air New Zealand announced it would start to scale back itsFokker F27 Friendship operations and smaller regional centres were the first affected. Air Nelson services immediately replaced the F27 on those routes. Air Nelson grew their network at the same time and started operating non-stop service toAuckland, complementing F27 services.
Air New Zealand purchased a 50% stake in Air Nelson (and a 50% stake inEagle Airways) in 1988 to secure the airline's support when deregulation saw the arrival ofAnsett New Zealand.
Air New Zealand suspended all F27 services in August 1990 and Air Nelson responded by introducing theSaab 340. Initially the Saab 340 wore Air Nelson colours, before all Air Nelson's fleet were repainted in Air New Zealand's 'Link' livery. The Saab fleet soon grew to one of the largest in the world at that time and Air Nelson divested itself of its smaller aircraft, operating only the Saab. This was in line with Air New Zealand's policy of rationalising the overall cost of fleet maintenance. Eagle Airways soon operated a fleet ofBeechcraft 1900Ds, whileMount Cook Airlines operated theATR 72-500.
Air New Zealand took 100% ownership of Air Nelson in 1995.[4]
The last Saab 340A aircraft had been withdrawn from service by the end of 2007. The company had 23 Dash 8 Q300 aircraft. Air Nelson was the largest singular operator of the Q300 outside Canada. Although Air Nelson looked towardsATR for the smallerATR 42, Bombardier offered a better discount for a bulk purchase.[5]
The increase in fleet size allowed Air New Zealand to start pioneering longer provincial routes that were considered sustainable with 50-seat aircraft, such as Wellington to Invercargill, New Plymouth and Tauranga toChristchurch. Air New Zealand has also used the Q300 to ramp up a more intensive high-frequency regional service allowing more departure choices. A newParaparaumu to Auckland route was started in 2011. A second route from the Kāpiti Coast was opened in 2013, Paraparaumu to Christchurch, but it could not be sustained and the short-lived service ceased in 2015.
TheHokitika–Christchurch route joined the Air Nelson network as a result of the Pike River coal mine disaster in November 2010 when Air New Zealand added capacity to the Westland town. This became permanent in February 2011 when subsidiary operatorAir National was grounded by the NZCAA due to irregularities with operating practises. The larger aircraft proved popular on peak services to the West Coast airport, which also serves the town of Greymouth.
In November 2014, Air Nelson started to take over services from fellow subsidiary Eagle Airways after parent company Air New Zealand had announced the close-down of the airline by August 2016. Routes including Auckland–Taupō, Auckland–Whanganui, Hamilton – Palmerston North, Wellington–Gisborne, Wellington–Timaru, Wellington – Palmerston North and Christchurch–Blenheim joined the Air Nelson network as a result of Eagle Airways' closure.Air New Zealand immediately reviewed and closed down the Auckland–Hamilton, Auckland–Whanganui and Christchurch–Blenheim routes. Some routes were picked up by second-tier operators.
In 2018 Air New Zealand announced that the Auckland–Paraparaumu route was to close due to aircraft scheduling issues. After intense lobbying by local authorities,Air Chathams took over the route with a Saab 340 airliner in September 2018, with Air New Zealand leaving behind ground servicing equipment for the airline to use.
On 19 November 2019, the merger of Air Nelson took place, with their pilots and fleet moving to theAir New Zealand air operators certificate and the airline ceasing to operate,[6] these aircraft are now also operating under theAir New Zealand callsigns (NZxxxx), furthermore removing the old RLK ICAO code.
Despite the company no longer operating its own aircraft, Air Nelson Ltd continues to employ over 100 Flight Attendants, who operate the Dash 8 Q300 on behalf of parent company Air New Zealand.
On 19 May 2025, Air Nelson’s remaining staff, the Dash 8 Q300 Flight Attendants, will transfer to Air New Zealand. Bringing the story of Air Nelson to a close.
Air Nelson served the following routes at its closure:
Air Nelson used to serve the towns of[8]Kāpiti Coast,Motueka,Oamaru,Takaka,Westport andWhanganui.
The Air Nelson fleet consisted of the following aircraft (as of August 2019):[9]
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers (Economy) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bombardier DHC-8-Q300 | 23 | 0 | 50 |
| Aircraft | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cessna 152 | 1986 | 1997 | One aircraft |
| Cessna 650 Citation III | 1995 | 1998 | One aircraft |
| Fairchild Swearingen SA.227 Metro | 1987 | 2002 | 12 aircraft |
| Piper PA-23-250E Aztec | 1984 | 1992 | Three aircraft |
| Piper PA-31-310 Navajo | 1986 | 1997 | Two aircraft |
| Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain | 1986 | 1995 | Five aircraft |
| Saab 340A | 1990 | 2008 | Seventeen aircraft |
