Air Auckland facts for kids
| Founded | 17 March 2008 |
|---|---|
| Hubs | Ardmore Airport, Ardmore, New Zealand |
| Headquarters | Ardmore, New Zealand |
Air Auckland (formerly Flight Hauraki) is a small regional and charter airline based in Ardmore, in New Zealand. The airline, now rebranded as Air Auckland under new ownership, offers scenic flight tours around Central Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf islands Rangitoto and Motutapu, alongside charters (and previously also scheduled services) to airfields on Waiheke and Great Barrier islands.
History
Flight Hauraki Limited was founded on 17 March 2008 as an associate company of MDR Aviation Ltd, a company specialising in aircraft leases and imports.
In 2010 Flight Hauraki began operations with a charter and sightseeing service based out of the Salt Air terminal at North Shore Aerodrome. These services were operated by a fleet two Cessna 172s and Cessna 207, owned by MDR Aviation Ltd.
The airline took over management of Air Discovery's Waiheke Island based services to Auckland Airport in March 2012, as well as their sightseeing operation and flights from Great Barrier Island to Auckland.
Later in 2012, Flight Hauraki took over Salt Air's Kerikeri and Whangarei to North Shore 'Xpress' service, unique in its usage of the Northern Busway to transport passengers to the Auckland city centre relatively traffic free. However, this service failed to gain much popularity, so it was cut in February 2013, after less than three months of operation.
In 2014 the airline moved its main base to Waiheke Island and moved its satellite base to Ardmore. From Ardmore the airline began an "Island Hopper" service offering two return daily flights from Ardmore to Waiheke Island and on to Great Barrier Island. Flight Hauraki also began many daily unscheduled services to Waiheke Island on demand, aircraft based at each location.
Founder Paul McSherry sold the company to the New Zealand Aviation Group Limited in 2015, which set a greater focus on tourist operations.
The airline was renamed in 2018 to Air Auckland.
Fleet
The following aircraft were operated by the airline:
- 1 Cessna 172
- 1 Piper Navajo
Destinations
Previous destinations of Flight Hauraki included:
