Air Nelson in 1993: Small airline makes smart moves

 

Dominion 14 April 1993

This article from the Dominion in 1993 by Martyn Gosling charts the success of Air Nelson to that date, noting it had just ordered four Saab SF340 aircraft and was leasing another two. The airline at the time was 50% owned by Air New Zealand.  By June 1993 it was expected the airline would have eight Saabs and nine Fairchild Metroliners and was described as one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. Noting it had only a handful of aircraft five years earlier.

After Air NZ took a 50% shareholding it more than doubled its staff to 70 and opened its own maintenance base.  By 1990 it had expanded to 300 staff after Air NZ gave up flying Fokker Friendships in favour of leaving most regional routes to Air Nelson, Eagle Airways and Mount Cook Airline. 

The article noted the NZ market had shrunk by about 20% since 1991, surviving only due to cost reductions and Air NZ withdrawing Boeing 737s from some regional routes.  CEO Robert Inglis noted the main rival was not other airlines but people choosing to drive instead.

It noted that whilst Ansett New Zealand lost $30m in the previous year, Air Nelson broke even and was expecting a profit in the 1993/1994 year.  It was then considering ordering the BAe Jetstream 41, the Embraer Brasilia 120 and more of the Saab SF340B. It choose the Sabbs because of performance , internal space and commonality with existing fleet. It noted that a worldwide downturn in the airline industry was positive for airlines ordering new aircraft due to many cancellations.  

The article noted strong growth in New Plymouth as it considered replacing Metroliners with Saabs, and also that Air Nelson was taking over what were then Boeing 737 services to Napier, due to heavy maintenance for Air NZ's 737 (200s) and a "strong feeling it won't be giving back" those services.  That is exactly what happened. Napier Airport had Boeing 737 services for just over three years with Air NZ, but has not seen regular jet airliner services since.

In 1995 Air New Zealand bought the remaining 50% of Air Nelson, and wound up the airline incorporating its fleet and staff fully into the airline in 2019.