Editorial: Knights in shining airplanes

On Friday we reported on how Air Chathams became a knight in shining armour to a Whanganui traveller.

Richard McCosh found himself stranded at Auckland International Airport with an expired passport.

His SOS rang out and Air Chathams responded spendidly, rushing the passport to Auckland with a level of customer service seldom seen these days.

We have since learned this was not the first time the small airline has gone above and beyond.

Details emerged later in the day of another traveller who also found himself in Auckland with an outdated passport and who Air Chathams and its team of can-do warriors came to the rescue of.

Incredibly, on this occassion, the stranded traveller had flown on another airline, and was not an Air Chathams customer.

That mattered little to the company which is rapidly building a reputation as not only a top provincial airline, but also as a role model of how business ought to be done.

A little more than 12 months' ago Air Chathams was again a knight in shining armour but this time to an entire city.

The withdrawal from Whanganui of Air New Zealand was gutting.

It went beyond meaning travellers would need to drive 50 minutes to another airport for air travel. A city with no air service would surely struggle to appeal to new enterprise or inspire confidence.

Air Chathams saved the community that humiliation.

It has proven that some provincial routes, while marginal for other airlines, can be and indeed are viable.

It has also proven that sometimes it is the small things that count.

Service that goes above and beyond it still possible. It is simply a matter of can-do attitude.

Nicely done Air Chathams.

Meantime bin your expired passports.