 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | 30 June 1979 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 19 November 2019 | ||||||
| Hubs | |||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Airpoints | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance (affiliate) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 23 | ||||||
| Destinations | 19 | ||||||
| Parent company | Air New Zealand | ||||||
| Headquarters | Nelson, New Zealand | ||||||
| Key people | Kelvin Duff (GM Regional Airlines) | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Air Nelson was a regional airline based in Nelson, New Zealand. It was founded as an independent airline in 1979. Air New Zealand took a 50% shareholding in 1988 and 100% ownership in 1995. Air Nelson operated services on provincial routes under the Air New Zealand Link brand.
The airline operated one type of aircraft, the 50-seat Bombardier Q300, which provided an intensive regional air service that cannot be sustained with regional jet types of this size. Until 2008, it operated the 33-seat Saab 340, which took over provincial Fokker F27 services by Air New Zealand in 1990.
Air Nelson Q300s wore the Air New Zealand livery and operated from Kerikeri in the far north of the North Island to Invercargill in the far south of the South Island.[1] The airline had 517 employees (at March 2015).[1]
On 31 March 2019, it was announced that Air New Zealand was considering merging both Air Nelson and fellow Link subsidiary Mount Cook Airline into the mainline fleet.[2]
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 27 March 2007. pp. 63–64.
- ^ Anthony, John (31 March 2019). "Air New Zealand considering merging Air Nelson and Mount Cook with jet business". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 21 November 2019.