New Zealand is known by many as the most beautiful country in the world. Mountains in Switzerland, a beach like California or Croatia, and a subtropical forest one would expect in Southeast Asia. The terrains are unprecedentedly diverse, but difficult to navigate. Some highways in the country are only two lanes with mostly hairpin curves. It takes several hours to travel between cities like Queenstown and Wanaka, let alone cross country. Fortunately, New Zealanders have found a solution to this problem: building airports…lots of airports.
While every French village has a bakery, the same applies to New Zealand villages and airports. ‘If people live there, you can land there’ seems to be the mantra of (small) aviation in the country. Small villages and tourist attractions are therefore easily accessible by chartered aircraft, for example Cessnas or Pilatus aircraft.
These routes allow people to travel between villages and major airports in a short period of time. Parachute jump from many of these fields or a SightseeingPeacefully enjoy the vast opportunities the country offers to airplane, or glider pilots. In addition to convenience and fun, the large number of landing areas provides the opportunity to quickly transport people to the hospital if necessary.
When a village becomes a small town, New Zealand already has a few thousand people, with scheduled flights from Air New Zealand. The national carrier has an impressive number of Dash 8s and ATRs in its fleet, connecting almost every city with Auckland, Christchurch or Wellington.
Often only a few Air New Zealand flights are commercial flights that visit these small airports. Small local airlines compete with Pilatus PC-12s on some of the smaller routes, providing a beautiful and varied view from the terminal.
It is very convenient for anyone who wants to move between big cities. Air New Zealand and Jetstar, among others, offer domestic flights with Airbus A320 aircraft. These aircraft are classified as ‘A320 domestic’ as they do not have ETOPS approval and are therefore not permitted to fly outside of New Zealand. Other Airbus A320 aircraft have such approval for flights to Australia.
Public transport in New Zealand is entirely in the hands of the airlines. There are no stations, the journey takes longer and you have to take a four-hour ferry between the North and South islands, which is often more expensive than flying. So it’s no surprise that New Zealanders are passionate about air travel, and that’s not going to change any time soon.
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