Teenager’s transtasman mission: 13-year-old boy wants flights between Dunedin and Australia reinstated

Dunedin teenager Benjamin Paterson is passionate about plates. Photo / Facebook (published with permission)

Dunedin teenager Benjamin Paterson is enthused by air travel and wants to see international flights come back to his hometown.

Specifically, he’s calling for the return of direct flights between Dunedin and Australia — before 2020, Virgin Australia operated direct flights between Dunedin and Brisbane — and has created a community campaign to get supporters behind his mission.

Frustrated that the closest international airport was in Queenstown — a 3.5 hour trip — he decided to take action after a “painful drive” in the backseat, as his parents went to the airport for a transtasman flight to Coolangatta.

The resourceful teen has harnessed the community-driven nature of social media, setting up the Facebook group ‘Reinstate Dunedin International Flights’.

Commenters describe transtasman flights as “desperately needed” and the page has racked up 1.4k followers since its first post on October 17.

Core to the campaign is proving the validity of his vision, and a two-question survey is being used to capture data. It asks respondents whether they had flown to Australia when Dunedin Airport was international, and whether they would use the service if it was reinstated, offering scaled options of interest.

And there’s interest indeed it seems. Paterson’s goal is 20,000, and as of Friday, November 17, the count was at 17,500.

An advert in the Otago Daily Times was paid for by an anonymous supporter. Photo / Facebook

Beyond its Facebook followers, his campaign has earned considerable attention already, with the teenager appearing on TV1 Breakfast, Breeze Dunedin and Otago Daily Times. Media across the Ditch have picked up the story too, including radio station 4BC, suggesting the interest goes both ways.

Paterson has also met with figures in the airline industry, including Bonza Airlines founder and CEO Tim Jordan.

He says he’s always been interested in all sorts of travel, and a year and a half ago he “really got into it”.

He likes planes: “I love the feeling of being in the air”.

But the high-flying teen’s passion for aviation doesn’t stop at booking flights with commercial carriers.

He’s also currently training for his pilot’s licence and was preparing for his second flying lesson when he spoke to NZ Herald. “The feeling of flying is the best part,” he says. “And knowing that you’re one step closer to being a pilot.”

His passion is set to reach new heights if he gets his licence.

Where would he fly if he could go anywhere tomorrow? “There’s lots of places,” he says to this tough question. “Singapore, that seems like a cool place.”

But for now, the Dunedin campaign is the focus, and it will run as long as possible. “I don’t know when we’ll be wrapping it up at this point,” he says, and they want to see how much runway the initiative has.