Flights to Kerikeri set to be more competitive as Barrier Air spreads its wings

Bay of Islands locals are cheering more competition in the skies, with Barrier Air set to take on Air New Zealand.

The Barrier Air flights will start from August 4, with 22 trips planned each week between Kerikeri and Auckland.

The airline is best known in Northland for flying between Kaitāia and Auckland, after Air NZ stopped its northernmost service in 2015.

Chief executive Grant Bacon said the Kaitāia service is strengthening, including recent success with extra flights on Friday and Sunday nights, to allow a weekend getaway.

“We have a great result with Kaitāia. We figure that with our reputation in the Far North, Kerikeri is the next step.”

The move comes just after Air NZ increased the prices of its domestic routes and domestic airfares were ranked New Zealand’s least competitive market.

Prices for Barrier Air’s flights will be announced shortly, and Bacon said there will be price certainty and flexibility without penalty.

The small airline cancelled just four Kaitāia flights last year, about 0.3 per cent, all due to weather. It has bought a new, $5 million 14-seat Cessna Grand Caravan EX for the Bay of Islands journeys, Bacon said.

The expansion to Kerikeri will not reduce the number of Kaitāia flights run by Barrier Air and Whangārei could be next on the agenda if it goes well, he said.

Air NZ regional affairs manager Jason Dawson said the national carrier welcomes competition and already competes daily on a number of domestic routes.

Last month, Air NZ started flying a different plane into Bay of Islands Airport to help with reliability.

The 68-seat ATR will now be flown between Kerikeri and Auckland once a week, while the remaining flights will continue to be flown in the 50-seat Q300 aircraft.

Air New Zealand will fly the 68-seat ART in and out of Kerikeri on a regular basis, providing an alternative if there are any problems with its regularly used Q300.

Dawson said having crew trained to operate the ATR in and out of Kerikeri means there is an alternative available if there are any issues with the Q300, as well as the option of a larger plane if any services have to be cancelled.

In the last 12 months, Air NZ cancelled 4.8 per cent of its flights in and out of Kerikeri - the majority due to weather - while a further 15 per cent of flights were delayed by more than 15 minutes.

An average of 6.5 per cent of Northland flights, including in and out of Whangārei, are cancelled by Air NZ.

More competition to the Bay of Islands is welcomed, especially with Air NZ raising its domestic fares, said Vision Kerikeri acting chairman Rolf Mueller-Glodde.

However, as Mueller-Glodde is also deputy chair of Carbon Neutral NZ Trust, he encouraged people to fly less and to take the bus for a less carbon-intensive trip.

More competition for bus services would also be good, along with the extension of rail and safe cycling paths, he said.

Cancelled Kerikeri flight a nightmare

Barrier Air will offer 22 flights a week between Bay of Islands Airport in Kerikeri and Auckland.

One customer who knows the impact of flight cancellations is Mandy Turner, who was booked to fly Air NZ from Kerikeri to Auckland and onto an international flight to Dubai for a work conference in August.

On the morning of her flight, an earlier flight out of Kerikeri was delayed, so she and her partner arrived at the airport in plenty of time for the 10.30am take-off.

However, they were advised their flight was cancelled due to weather and, while they were offered a later flight, it would not have got them to the connecting flight in time, Turner said.

“We were heading away for five weeks so driving our own vehicle down was not an option, the only option left to us was to rent a car - which does not come cheaply for a one-way rental, that is for sure.”

The pair made it to Auckland in time to catch their international flight. They claimed the rental car expense from travel insurance but were left out-of-pocket for the excess.

But, Turner said, the worst part of the experience is that at 10.30am the weather was fine, and the previously delayed earlier Air NZ flight was able to fly from Kerikeri to Auckland.

“Why they had not cancelled the first flight of the day is beyond me. We had intentionally not booked the earlier flight as it is quite renowned for not flying out as scheduled.”

She welcomes the competition - both for price and reliability - and said she will look at Barrier Air for future trips to Auckland.

Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.