New airline enters local air space

North Shore Air's Peter Newman says its new service will help commuters beat Auckland's traffic. Photo / Supplied

A new airline has launched in the Bay of Plenty offering scheduled and charter flights between Tauranga and Auckland's North Shore.

North Shore Air has secured an exclusive licence from The North Shore Aero Club, which owns the Dairy Flats airfield, to run flights to Tauranga and also to Kerikeri, said the airline's chief executive Peter Newman.

"The potential is huge.

"We know it may take six months or even longer to build up. But we're in it for the long-term."

Priority One chief executive Andrew Coker said the economic development agency was working with a North Shore manufacturer, which was about to relocate to Tauranga and was considering using the new airline for staff visiting to check out the city.

"As their operations manager put it to me, 'the time it takes to get from the North Shore to Auckland airport, you'd be most of the way to Tauranga by car'," Mr Coker said.

A key element of the airline's offering is a corporate shuttle for passengers into Auckland's CBD using designated bus lanes.

North Shore Air says that means Tauranga locals can touch down on the North Shore and reach the central city in just 25 minutes, instead of facing lengthy traffic delays from Auckland Airport in Mangere.

Mr Newman said flying directly into the North Shore gave people another option.

"It's often closer to where they need to be, and they won't have to fight through traffic to reach the CBD."

The airline is offering flights to and from Tauranga every Monday, Thursday and Friday using their eight-seater Piper Navajo, and also offers charter flights to other airports around New Zealand.

Mr Newman has worked as a flight instructor in the Bay of Islands and in aviation maintenance at Ardmore Airport. The airline has taken 18 months to comply as required with stringent Civil Aviation Authority Part 135 rules. The airline has two pilots, and Mr Newman is currently driving the corporate shuttle so he can get to know clients' needs better.

"People say smaller airlines don't last long, but the difference with this one is our location on the North Shore. We're not in direct competition with anyone, we have exclusive use of the airfield on these routes, and it's far more convenient not having to battle through Auckland's traffic."

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stan Gregec said the airline would provide an option for people who didn't want to cope with the Auckland motorway.

"I think it's great to have more choice and as a chamber we've always been pro choice."