Air Nelson first timetable

Air Nelson's first timetable December 1985

Air Nelson's first timetable December 1985

In 1985, a hitherto largely unknown airline emerged, Air Nelson Ltd, a subsidiary of Motueka Air.  This is its first timetable effective 16 December 1985, introducing new competition on the Wellington-Nelson route, notably with Air New Zealand. Note a 15 minute checkin time, with two return services each weekday and one each on Saturday and Sunday.  Air Nelson also notes it offers fares connecting to nine other airports in the North Island via other third level airline, Eagle Air.   It was operating a Piper PA-31 Navajo with 6 seats for passengers.

I'm not going to repeat the excellent history of Air Nelson published here. It notes that Air Nelson opened only days before Air Albatross ceased operations, on the same route, so it gained passengers well above expectations. Of course the growth of Air Nelson was a great success story,  Within three years Air New Zealand, having decided to phase out the Fokker Friendship on regional routes, would buy 50% of Air Nelson, in order to use Air Nelson as a feeder to its major routes.  By 1990 Air Nelson would be operating Saab SF-340, Fairchild Metroliners and have a network extending to Christchurch, Timaru and Palmerston North.   In 1995 Air New Zealand bought the remaining 50% of the airline, as it became one of the subsidiaries operating part of the airline's regional network (but Nelson still as its headquarters). 

The SF340 would the mainstay of the airline until 2007 when the last was phased out in favour of the Bombardier (now De Havilland once more) Q-300/Dash 8.  In 2014 Air New Zealand announced its other subsidiary, Eagle Airways, would be closed, so Air Nelson would take over additional services, which was completed by 2016.  In 2019 Air New Zealand finally merged Air Nelson completely into its business, ceasing its separate existence.