This is Part 3 of the Great Barrier Airlines' profile. Part 1 can be found here:
http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/barrier-connection-great-barrier.html
2000 and Beyond - Great Barrier Airlines of Today
From 1998 Great Barrier Airlines' fleet was rebranded with the aircraft being painted white with "Great Barrier" in large blue writing on each side of the fuselage and a native bird painted on the tail. This stunning colour scheme was a feature of the fleet for the next ten years. Sadly the cost of applying it has meant a move to a more simple colour scheme with the current logo being on a white tail.
 |
| Piper Cherokee Six ZK-CNS, Stitchbird, at North Shore on 26 January 2009. Photo : S Lowe |
 |
| Britten Norman Islander ZK-CRA, Kaka, at Auckland on 8 October 1998. Photo : S Lowe |
 |
| Piper Cherokee Six ZK-ENZ, Tomtit, at Whitianga on 10 February 2001. Photo : S Lowe |
 |
| DHC Twin Otter ZK-FQK, Kingfisher, at Auckland on 18 January 1998. Photo : S Lowe |
 |
| Britten Norman Islander, ZK-FVD, NZ Pigeon, at Kaitaia on 24 July 2008. Photo : S Lowe |
 |
| GAF N24 Nomad, ZK-NAD, Kaka, taken at Ardmore on 22 December 2001. Photo : M Condon |
 |
| Piper Navajo ZK-NSN, Bellbird, at Wanaka on 22 April 2000. Photo : I Coates |
 |
| Partenavia ZK-PLA, Tui, at Auckland on 9 October 1999. Photo : S Lowe |
 |
| Britten Norman Islander ZK-REA, Kotare, taken at Auckland on 25 October 2010. Photo : S Lowe |
 |
| Britten Norman Islander ZK-WNZ, Kingfisher, taken at Auckland on 6 October 1998. Photo : S Lowe |
A major hiccup in the Great Barrier Airlines story occurred on the 14th of June 1998 when the Civil Aviation Authority grounded Great Barrier Airlines after a week-long investigation after an audit of the airline the previous year. In its initial press release CAA director Kevin Ward said: "[The November] audit highlighted 15 non-compliances with aviation rules. The airline reported actions to correct these had been put in place. However, the investigation shows this not to have been the case." Mr Ward said the grounding meant the suspension of GBA's operational, maintenance, training and airworthiness certificates, the suspension of the company's chief engineer's licence and conditions placed on the eight pilots' licences. He also said the investigation showed unreported or misreported accidents, critical deficiencies in maintenance and pilot training, aircraft being flown with known defects and suspected falsification of records. On the 26th of June 26 the suspension was extended for a further two weeks while investigations continued.
To keep the service flying Great Barrier Airlines contracted their competitor on the Barrier run, Northern Air and Taumarunui-based Mountain Air to continue the Auckland-Barrier scheduled service while Tauranga, Coromandel and Waiheke flights were suspended. The grounding did not come without a cost, setting the airline back an estimated $10,000 for every week the suspension continued.
Reflecting on the grounding GBA’s general manager, Mark Roberts, told the Barrier Bulletin that the Civil Aviation Authority “is in the midst of changing its rules and regulations, and all airlines have to apply for re-certification under the new codes. GBA were well ahead in its process, but its diligence may have been its downfall. By drawing itself to the attention of CAA, under investigation itself by the Ministry of Transport over a fatal light plane crash last year (the crash of a United Aviation Beech Baron), Mark Roberts says the grounding of GBA could have been political. "I think there is definitely a connection. We'd just been through part of the re-certification process and were ahead of any other operator in the country in that we had prepared our Part 135 manual, had already submitted it to Wellington, had it approved and we were expecting our certificate in the mail. Instead we got a team of auditors. They moved the goalposts and then decided to get in there boots and all.”
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the grounding, and despite the cost of the grounding amounting to some $120,000, Great Barrier Airlines came out of it a stronger airline. Mark Roberts told the Barrier Bulletin that the company “passed its Part 135 licence, a new CAA regulatory requirement which all operators have to comply with before the end of next year. GBA had already prepared its new manual, well ahead of any other airline and submitted it to Wellington when the Authority decided to investigate its operation. Part 135 is quite an achievement. It's a higher certification which we were going for anyway, so to actually come out of this process with that is good. It means we've actually achieved something. I think we are going to be a better organisation for this.”
Perhaps a greater impact for Great Barrier Airlines was Mountain Air, who had been contracted to help fill the gap during the grounding stayed as a competitor on the Barrier service beginning its own service under the Great Barrier Xpress banner on the 1st of September 1998. Mountain Air, or Fly My Sky as it is known today, has been GBA’s only serious competition on the Barrier service ever since.
Part of the fallout from the grounding was the selling of the DHC Twin Otter ZK-FQK. Because of the very large costs incurred through the grounding the company decided the Twin Otter had to go and it subsequently sold in the United States. A new maintenance facility was established at North Shore airport and the company went through the CAA process of gaining certification to become a Part 125 operator, allowing for the operation of aircraft up to a maximum of 30 passenger seats.
Later that year, with the collapse of Northern Air in November 1998 the company took over some of their aircraft and the courier runs to and from Auckland and Whangarei and Taupo. The latter flight flew southbound to Taupo via Tauranga and Rotorua and returned to Auckland via Rotorua and Hamilton to Auckland. These flights set out from Auckland in the early morning and returned in the late afternoon/evening.
 |
| Partenavia ZK-DMA was one of the aircraft taken over from Northern Air in addition to Piper Navajo, ZK-VNA, and Partenavias ZK-ERA (which returned to Great Barrier Airlines) and ZK-LAL. Still carrying its Northern Air logo while registered to Great Barrier Airlines ZK-DMA arrives at Mount Cook on 5 April 1999. Photo : S Lowe |
In mid-2000 the company moved back into turbo prop operations with the acquisition of GAF N24 Nomad ZK-NAD. The aircraft didn’t prove to be successful in the long-term for the Barrier service but in 2003 it spent the March, April and May of that year on charter in the Marshall Islands and July that year flying in Tonga for Royal Tongan Airlines. It also was chartered to Air Fiji before it too was sold.
 |
| GAF N24 Nomad ZK-NAD at Ardmore shortly after arriving from Air Tours Kaikoura. The latter compnay's titles were soon removed. Photo taken on 10 May 2000 by M Condon |
Another new type entered service the following year, with a Britten Norman Trislander ZK-LGR starting services on the 24th of December 2002. Since then three other Trislanders have served in the fleet.
 |
| Above, the short-nosed Mark III-1 variant Britten-Norman Trislander ZK-LOU at Auckland on 14 November 2008, while below is the long-nosed Mark III-2 variant ZK-LGF at Claris on 5 September 2005. Photos : S Lowe |
In the years since then Great Barrier has consolidated its business around the core Auckland-Great Barrier Island service and charter work. A regular charter is operated between Whangarei and Kaitaia for the Northland District Health Board using the Embraer 820 or Piper Navajo. The courier flights disappeared in the late 1990s as well as the air service between Auckland and Whitianga. The flights to and from Whangarei, Tauranga and Coromandel are now less a feature of the timetable and usually require a minimum load before they operate.
 |
| Piper Navajo ZK-NSN at Kaitaia whilst on a Northland District Health Board charter on 1 December 2010. Photo : S Lowe |
If Great Barrier Island was an independent country Great Barrier Airlines would be described as the national carrier. The company set out to give the Barrier a new, business-like airline that fitted the island temperament, but kept mainland time. This was true in 1983 and it is true today, some 28 years later.
The fleet has included (current fleet in bold)
 |
| The first ZK-REA - Beech 76 Duchess taken at North Shore on 10 October 1999 by S Lowe |
Beech 76 Duchess:
REA
Britten Norman Islanders:
Britten Norman Trislanders:
LGC, LGF, LGR, LOU
Cessna 172s:
DFI, DKH, DOL, EJU
Cessna 206:
DOV
Cessna 402:
EHS
Cessna 421 Golden Eagle:
ZAQ
De Havilland Australia Drover:
DDD
De Havilland Canada Twin Otter:
DQ-FDK, FQK
Embraer 820:
RDT
GAF N24 Nomad:
NAD
Partenavia:
DMA, ERA, LAL, PLA
Piper Pa23 Aztec:
CEU, CUS, DJG, FMU
Piper Pa28 Archer:
FNA
Piper Pa31 Navajo:
NSN, VNA
Piper Pa32 Cherokee 6:
CNS, CUV, DDF, DSQ, ELK, ENZ, WGO
0 comments:
Post a Comment