Salt Air

Salt Air is a New Zealand charter airline based in Paihia in the Bay of Islands, in the Northland Region of the North Island.

Salt Air
Founded1992
Fleet size5
HeadquartersPaihia waterfront, Bay of Islands, New Zealand
Key peopleGrant Harnish (CEO /Owner)
Websitehttp://www.saltair.co.nz

Until November 2012 Salt Air flew scheduled air services between North Shore Aerodrome in Auckland, Whangarei and the Bay of Islands, with a base at Kerikeri Airport. This 'Xpress Service' was sold to Flight Hauraki [1]

History

Salt Air is a family business and was established by Grant Harnish in December 1992, initially operating a Grumman Widgeon seaplane from the Paihia waterfront offering scenic flights around the beautiful Bay of Islands. The business grew steadily in the first season and it was decided to make the Bay of Islands a more permanent base. An office was built in central Paihia at the seaplane ramp and Salt Air established their head office on the Paihia waterfront.

As an extension to the seaplane operation, Salt Air began operating land-based aircraft from the airports at Haruru Falls and Kerikeri. These aircraft were in turn used to develop their tourism business. From 2001 onward helicopters were also introduced to the operation. As well as offering scenic flights over the Bay of Islands from the Paihia waterfront.

In 2007, Salt Air purchased a Cessna Caravan to be utilised on the 'Salt Air Xpress' service from Whangarei to North Shore Aerodrome in Auckland. The bus service connected with Salt Air operated vans which took advantage of the Northern Busway to transport passengers directly to the city centre free of traffic. The service later expanded to Kerikeri in mid-2008.[2]

Salt Air Gippsland GA-8 ZK-MAB at Kerikeri Airport in 2020.

Also in 2008, the airline purchased a Gippsland GA-8 Airvan to operate Cape Reinga tour packages into a private airstrip 20km from the Cape. The package includes a van tour of Cape Reinga and the Te Paki Sand Dunes, operating twice daily in summer and daily in winter.[3]

Despite reported successes, the 'Salt Air Xpress' service was sold to Flight Hauraki in 2012 as an effort to streamline operations, the last service operating on the 31st of October of that year. The Cessna Caravan was removed from the fleet as a result.[2]

In addition to the scenic flights, a large amount of charter work to various airports in the North Island has increased Salt Air’s profile in the tourism and charter aviation scene within New Zealand.

Fleet

Salt Air Fleet [4]

Aircraft Total in Fleet Passengers Notes
GippsAero GA8 Airvan 1 6 or 7 Used for scheduled Cape Reinga tours.
Robinson R44 Raven II 1 3
Bell B206L-3 Longranger 2 5 or 6

Destinations

See also

References
  1. "Operator sells to spread wings". The Northern Advocate. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  2. L, Steve (8 April 2010). "3rd Level New Zealand: Salt Air - The Xpress service to Northland". 3rd Level New Zealand. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  3. "Cape Reinga Fly Drive Tour". Salt Air. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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