FFECTIVE lobbying by current and previous Wanganui District Councils has linked the River City to the South Island. On November 24 regional airline Origin Pacific will commence daily services from Wanganui to Nelson with connections to Christchurch. "The airline had been lobbied by current and previous Wanganui Councils to provide such aservice as Wanganui has had no air service links to the South Island," Origin's founder and Executive Chairman, Robert Inglis said. "The airline was very appreciative of the support received from Council during the time spent researching the demand and requirements," he said. The flight will originate from Christchurch on weekdays at 8.20am with a brief stopover in Nelson before continuing to Wanganui at 9.20am, arriving at 10am. The initial service will leave Wanganui each weekday at 10.20am and arrive in Nelson at 11.05am before continuing on to Christchurch arriving at noon. A service will also operate on Sunday afternoons. Mr Inglis said the new service would initially be flown on the Wanganui/Nelson sector by the airline's 19-seat Jetstream 32 aircraft with the Nelson/Christchurch sector utilising the company's larger 29-seat Jetstream 41. The 29-seat aircraft is operated with a flight attendant and this aircraft type can also fly the Wanganui/Nelson route if extra demand from group travel or peak holiday periods requires the extra capacity. Air Wanganui has been contracted to carry out the customer service and aircraft loading functions and Origin will be installing it's reservations and departure control systems at Wanganui Airport. "We have had a good relationship with Air Wanganui for many years and we are pleased to be working together on this initiative," Mr Inglis said. Origin Pacific was established in 1997 and operates a fleet of eleven British Aerospace Jetstream aircraft on passenger services and two further aircraft for airfreight contracts. The airline employs 250 staff and contractors and flies up to 100 services a day on it's ten city network. "Similar services to the planned Wanganui service, from central North Island cities, Palmerston North, New Plymouth and Hamilton to Nelson and Christchurch were well-supported and with the growth Wanganui is enjoying this new service will assist both business and leisure visitors to access Wanganui," Mr Inglis said.
