Editorial: Whanganui celebrates a year of flying TimTams

Mark Dawson, editor, Wanganui Chronicle

It is one of life's pleasures to be able to give your bosses a telling off.

I was able to indulge myself recently when head honchos came down from NZME's office in Auckland to check out the buzz in Whanganui.

The executives had blundered by flying from Auckland to Palmerston North before making their way to the River City.

I gently scolded them, and told them to fly direct to Whanganui with our premier airline, Air Chathams.

I told them about the huge value of having an airline flying out of Whanganui airport; of how Chathams had embraced and supported the local community; of the excellent customer service; of how we had been badly let down by another airline even though it had been funded by our taxpayer dollars. And I told them about the TimTams.

I am pleased to report my message hit home. On their latest visits, the upper echelons have eschewed the alternative airline and joined the Chathams family.

So on Tuesday, Augustv 1, we mark 1840-plus flights, carrying around 41,000 passengers - and an awful lot of TimTams - as Air Chathams celebrates its first birthday in Whanganui.

Congratulations - and thanks - to the airline and the Emeny family who operate it.

When Whanganui was unceremoniously dumped by an alternative airline, Air Chathams proved a lifesaver and, whether travelling for business or pleasure, we have benefited greatly from this friendly service.

We have, of course, also benefited from cheaper air fares than we were paying when we were held to ransom by the monopoly of an alternative airline.

Air Chathams kicked off here on August 1, 2016, and the message is the same now as it was then - "use it or lose it". So travelling customers need to support the airline as it has supported us.

And, finally, so much business these days is about branding and I wonder if now is the time to be thinking about a new logo for Air Chathams ...

Forget the koru ... a TimTam would be perfect.