Air New Zealand may have a competitor for Hawke's Bay flights to Auckland, with the possible resumption of flights to the Chatham Islands.
Chatham Islanders are referred to Hawke's Bay for specialist medical care and have their airfares, via Wellington, paid for by the health board. The weekly service ran from 2007 to 2012 before it was cancelled.
In talks with the Hawke's Bay District Health Board, Air Chathams owner Craig Emeny said the Chatham Islands-Auckland service flew over Napier and once stopped there in the hope of picking up additional freight or passengers.
"It didn't work - we didn't increase our revenue, we just increased our operational costs," he said. "Because of the recession everything dried up at that time."
At yesterday's monthly board meeting chairman Kevin Atkinson said the health board was in talks with Mr Emeny about resuming the service.