Air New Zealand Link

Air New Zealand Link
Air NZ Link ATR 72-600 taking off from Toulouse–Blagnac Airport, France on a delivery flight.
IATA ICAO Call sign
  • NZ
  • NZ
  • NM
  • EAG
  • RLK
  • NZM
  • EAGLE
  • LINK
  • MOUNTCOOK
Founded1991 (1991)[1]
Ceased operations9 December 2019 (2019-12-09)
Hubs
Frequent-flyer programAirpoints
AllianceStar Alliance (affiliate; 1999–2019)
Fleet size52
Destinations20
Parent companyAir New Zealand
Headquarters"The Hub"
Wynyard Quarter, Auckland
Key people
  • Jeff McDowall
  • Carrie Hurihanganui
  • John Hambleton [2]
Websitewww.airnewzealand.co.nz

Air New Zealand Link was a brand name under which Air New Zealand's subsidiary regional airlines operated flights. They primarily connected regional centres with New Zealand's three main international airports, Auckland Airport, Wellington International Airport, and Christchurch International Airport. The regional airlines have since been combined with their parent Air New Zealand. They were Mount Cook Airline, Air Nelson and Eagle Airways.

History

Air New Zealand Link was formed as the brand name for regional services in 1991, covering the three airlines Air New Zealand had purchased interests in: Eagle Airways, Mount Cook Airline and Air Nelson.[1] The three airlines were purchased as Air New Zealand found it not viable to operate its own regional services due to the introduction of new competition, Ansett New Zealand.[3]

The airlines were purchased as below:

  • Mount Cook Airline: Initial stake purchased by NAC in 1973, increased to 30% on 5 December 1983, 77% in October 1985, and 100% on 18 April 1991. Its operations ended in 2019.
  • Air Nelson: 50% stake purchased by Air New Zealand in October 1988, increased to 100% in 1995. Its operations ended in 2019.[4]
  • Eagle Airways: 50% stake purchased by Air New Zealand in October 1988, which increased to 100% in 1995. Its operations ended in 2016.[3]

Fleet

As of 30 April 2019 the Air New Zealand Link carriers operated the following aircraft.

Airline Aircraft Number in service Orders Passenger seats Notes
Air Nelson De Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 23 - 50 [5]
Mount Cook Airline ATR 72-500 7 - 68 [6][7]
ATR 72-600 22 7 68
Total 52 7

Destinations

As of June 2019 Air New Zealand Link flies to the following destinations.

City IATA ICAO Airport Mt Cook Nelson
Auckland AKL NZAA Auckland Airport Yes Yes
Blenheim BHE NZWB Woodbourne Airport Yes
Christchurch CHC NZCH Christchurch Airport Yes Yes
Dunedin DUD NZDN Dunedin Airport Yes Yes
Gisborne GIS NZGS Gisborne Airport Yes
Hamilton HLZ NZHN Hamilton Airport Yes Yes
Hokitika HKK NZHK Hokitika Airport Yes
Invercargill IVC NZNV Invercargill Airport Yes Yes
Kerikeri KKE NZKK Kerikeri Airport Yes
Napier NPE NZNR Hawke's Bay Airport Yes Yes
Nelson NSN NZNS Nelson Airport Yes Yes
New Plymouth NPL NZNP New Plymouth Airport Yes Yes
Palmerston North PMR NZPM Palmerston North Airport Yes Yes
Queenstown ZQN NZQN Queenstown Airport Yes
Rotorua ROT NZRO Rotorua Regional Airport Yes Yes
Taupō TUO NZAP Taupo Airport Yes
Tauranga TRG NZTG Tauranga Airport Yes Yes
Timaru TIU NZTU Richard Pearse Airport Yes
Wellington WLG NZWN Wellington Airport Yes Yes
Whangārei WRE NZWR Whangarei Airport Yes

References

  1. ^ a b "Air Nelson Company Facts". Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  2. ^ "Air Nelson Company Structure" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Eagle Airways History". Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  4. ^ "Company Facts". Air Nelson. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Air Nelson Fleet". Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  6. ^ "Air New Zealand Fleet".
  7. ^ "Air New Zealand buys 15 new planes for regional routes". Stuff.co.nz. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.