Welcoming the super rich to Hawke's Bay

Overseas travellers can now jet in directly to Hawke's Bay and tee off at Cape Kidnappers within the hour, thanks to the recent approval of Skyline Aviation as a Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries facility for international arrivals and departures.
Skyline Aviation charter director Annabel Toogood said that, together with the company's approval as a Fixed Base Operator (FBO) readying international jets for onward flights, the approval was of great benefit to Hawke's Bay's international profile.
"To be able to welcome our growing international guests who come in by private jet to a world-class facility like this is a great boost for the region," she said.
Skyline's approval meant visitors could bypass Auckland or Wellington and choose to use Skyline Aviation to fly directly into Hawke's Bay from international destinations and depart again directly overseas from Hawke's Bay Airport.
"The extension of the runway will allow popular private jets, such as the Gulfstream G550, to depart direct from Napier to Los Angeles with a full load of fuel. This will create significant new opportunities for local businesses" Miss Toogood said.
"It certainly helps put Hawke's Bay on the international map as a boutique destination offering world-class services for the private jet market.
"That side of the business is really growing and we have had some great comments about the services we have provided.
"One thing that's really popular is that we can chopper the guests directly to where they want to go, like Cape Kidnappers or heli-fishing, and the pilots can stay here and prepare in our operations room."
The new facility at Hawke's Bay Airport had biosecurity and passenger clearance areas, indoor boarding and guest lounge and an operations room, providing pilots' weather, assistance with flight planning, refuelling and catering.
Skyline Aviation was established by Ms Toogood's father Mike in 1988 and the major part of the business was the air ambulance service.
"In 1992 he was approached to provide a dedicated helicopter rescue service for the Hawke's Bay region and was the voluntary CEO for the helicopter rescue trust for 15 years," Miss Toogood said.
"We moved from Bridge Pa to our purpose-built facility in 2009 and now we have a fleet of three fixed-wing aircraft and we operate four helicopters.
"We move approximately 2000 patients a year - on a busy day we can move up to 10 people."
The air ambulance service ranged as far as the Chatham Islands.
Managing director Mr Toogood was presented with the highest Civil Aviation Award for Safety by the Director of Civil Aviation earlier this year.
Miss Toogood said flying was entrenched in her family.
"I've always been involved in aviation, with Dad starting the company when I was small.
"My grandmother was a pilot and my fiancee is a helicopter pilot, so it wasn't a whole new industry, but it is certainly an enjoyable one."
She said word of mouth in the industry was a major marketing tool.
"We work with other FBOs around the country and create a network of like-minded facilities that can keep a level of standards, which makes a huge difference - not only for the guests but for the pilots who are flying in to a foreign country - it gives them confidence because of the consistency of service."
There was now a tourist route of three luxury lodges in Kerikeri, Hawke's Bay and Queenstown.
"Napier is never going to be an 'Auckland', it's never going to have huge capacity where you require X-ray machines," Miss Toogood said.
"It's important for us to provide a world-class service so they want to come.
"We just try to make it as easy as possible because a lot of them don't have a lot of time and there is an expectation of service.
"They will come back to the region if they have good experiences."