From Monday, October 19, Originair will offer direct weekday services between Palmerston North and Hamilton.
The new Palmerston North-Hamilton services will depart Palmerston North for Hamilton at 10:50am and depart Hamilton for Palmerston North at 1pm, Monday to Friday.
This is an extension of the service Originair has operated from Nelson-Palmerston North since 2014.
Simultaneously, Originair is increasing its Nelson-Palmerston North services from eight to fourteen flights per week. This increases its schedule to daily return services Monday to Thursday, and on Sunday. There will be two return services on Friday.
"Demand for our services on the Nelson-Palmerston North route has grown and we hope that this extra scheduled frequency will be helpful for travellers accessing the central North Island and for North Island travellers visiting the Top of the South," says Originair CEO Robert Inglis.
"After services between Hamilton and Palmerston North ceased earlier in the year, we were asked to consider extending our services to introduce direct weekday flights on this route. We are very aware that many business travellers would like a double daily peak-time service and our intention is to increase our schedule in early 2021 to accommodate that demand.
"This represents a cautious start on the Hamilton-Palmerston North route in line with the challenging times. Initially, we will service this schedule with a British Aerospace 19-seat Jetstream aircraft but we may increase the aircraft gauge to accommodate demand."
In order to ensure Originair’s capacity to operate the additional flights the company has imported a further British Aerospace Jetstream 32EP from Iceland to add to its fleet.
"This aircraft is currently being prepared for CAA inspection and entry to service on the New Zealand register," says Robert.
"This was the last serial number of the J32 series to be built and I believe it is a very good example of the 19-seat type. We look forward to seeing it landing at airports in the Originair livery soon."
The announcement has been welcomed by Palmerston North Airport and Hamilton Airport.
"Both the Hamilton and Palmerston North airport companies are committed to supporting business and regional recovery, and the re-establishment of the Hamilton-Palmerston North service will help facilitate that," says Hamilton Airport CEO Mark Morgan.
"We welcome Originair’s investment in additional services between Palmerston North and Nelson and the new Hamilton-Palmerston North connection at what is a difficult time for the aviation industry," says Palmerston North Airport CEO David Lanham.
Robert says that he hopes the new services will be supported by business and leisure travellers.
"We are also considering direct Nelson-Hamilton services," he says.
