Kerikeri air link takes off

A new airline, North Shore Air, is expected to start flying between the Bay of Islands and Auckland's North Shore from today.

A new airline will link Kerikeri with North Shore Airport and a shuttle to Auckland's CBD, bypassing the traffic-clogged route from Auckland's main airport into the city.

North Shore Air started flying between Tauranga and North Shore Airport at Dairy Flat on September 28. Kerikeri flights were expected to start today.

Company owner Peter Newman, a former Kerikeri resident and Bay of Islands Aeroclub instructor in the 1980s, said the flights were aimed primarily at business travellers, especially those living on the North Shore.

The new service would spare them the 40km trip across Auckland to reach the airport at Mangere. For those travelling to Auckland the plane would be met by a shuttle stopping at Albany, Northcote and the CBD, avoiding traffic by using the Northern Busway.

Mr Newman said he intended to compete on convenience rather than price.

Flights in the seven-seater Piper Navajo would priced at $195 each way with a introductory rate of $149 until October 20.

By contrast, Air New Zealand's complex fares vary from $80 to $300 for the Auckland-Kerikeri route.

Paihia company Salt Air operated a similar Kerikeri-North Shore service from 2008-12, when it was sold to Flight Hauraki.

The route closed down a few months later with new owner Paul McSherry saying he "took an absolute bath on it".

Mr Newman said the previous service operated under visual flight rules which meant it could operate only in clear weather.

North Shore Air was certified to fly under instrument flight rules so could operate in most weather conditions, making it more reliable.

Flights will leave North Shore at 9.50am and arrive in Kerikeri at 10.35am. Outbound flights will leave Kerikeri at 11am. The airline will also fly between Kerikeri and Tauranga with a stop at North Shore.

In April this year another small airline, Barrier Air, started scheduled flights to and from Northland, replacing Air New Zealand when the national carrier pulled out of Kaitaia.

It has since dropped its thrice daily flights down to two a day.