Sounds Air
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| Founded | 1986 | ||||||
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| Hubs | Wellington International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 8 | ||||||
| Destinations | 8 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Picton, New Zealand | ||||||
| Key people | Cliff Marchant (Director/Owner), Andrew Crawford (Managing Director/Owner), Steve Handyside (Director/Owner) | ||||||
| Website | Sounds Air | ||||||
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Sounds Air is a New Zealand airline based at Picton.[2] The airline was founded in 1986 by Cliff and Diane Marchant with a vision to provide low cost flights to the Marlborough Sounds.[3] The airline has its maintenance facility at the Omaka Airfield, Blenheim with its Sounds Aero Maintenance division based there.[4]
Services
Sounds Air operates eight aircraft on scheduled flights between Wellington to Picton, Nelson, Blenheim, Taupo and Westport. Scheduled flights are also available between Blenheim, Napier, and Blenheim, Paraparaumu.[5] Sounds Air formerly served Kaikoura from Wellington and Kapiti Coast from Picton, both these scheduled flights stopped in 2009.[6] A service to Masterton was being considered from Wellington, however no such service eventuated.[7] In addition to scheduled flights Sounds Air offer scenic flights over the Marlborough Sounds and Abel Tasman National Park.[8] The airline operates 19 flights per day from Wellington with 3 to Westport, 3 to Nelson, 3 to Taupo and 5 each to Picton and Blenheim. While Blenheim has 3 daily flights to Kapiti Coast.[9]
In October 2014 Air New Zealand announced they were retiring their B1900 aircraft and phasing out several domestic routes commencing April 2015 leaving some regions without an air service. On 30 January 2015, Sounds Air commenced services to Kapiti Coast Airport from Blenheim. On 28 April 2015 Air New Zealand axed its services to Westport and Taupo. Flights from Wellington to Westport began on 28 April 2015.[10] Sounds Air commenced their services on 28 April 2015 and 2 June 2015 respectively with the Pilatus PC12.[11] Sounds Air continues to look at other potential routes e.g. Nelson to Palmerston North and Blenheim to Napier among others.[12]
Early May 2015, Sounds Air announced that would cease services between Wellington and Wanganui due to poor loadings. The last flight was on 15 May 2015.[13] Mid May 2015, Sounds Air announced two new routes they will be operating. Firstly the Kapiti Coast to Nelson route to begin 15 June 2015. Secondly the Blenheim to Napier route which commenced 3 November 2015.
Routes
These are the airline's current routes:[14]
Blenheim (Woodbourne Airport) to:
- Napier[15]
- Paraparaumu
- Wellington
Paraparaumu (Kapiti Coast Airport) to:
- Blenheim
- Nelson
Wellington (Wellington International Airport) to:
- Blenheim
- Nelson
- Picton
- Taupo
- Westport
Fleet
Sounds Air operate the following aircraft:[16]
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers (Economy) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cessna 208 B Grand Caravan | 3 | 13 | |
| Cessna C208 Caravan | 2 | 13 | |
| Pilatus PC-12 | 3 | 9 | |
| TOTAL | 8 | - |
Accidents and incidents
- On 19 March 1989 Britten Norman BN2A Islander, ZK-SFE, while attempting to land at Tiraora Lodge struck a telephone wire and descended into the sea. The pilot and five passengers were rescued but suffered varying degrees of injury.[17]
- On 29 January 1996 Cessna 208 Caravan, ZK-SFA, crashed into the eastern slopes of Mount Robertson on approach to Picton Aerodrome at Koromiko after a flight from Wellington. All five passengers were killed, but the pilot survived.[18]
References
- 1 2 Not an ICAO allocation - issued for domestic use by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand
- ↑ "Airline schedules more Nelson flights". The Nelson Mail. 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
- ↑ http://www.soundsair.com/about
- ↑ http://www.soundsaero.co.nz/
- ↑ "Timetables". Sounds Air. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
- ↑ http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.co.nz/2013/12/a-lovely-day-in-kaikoura.html
- ↑ http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wairarapa/9159638/Sounds-Air-looks-at-landing-Wairarapa-deal
- ↑ http://www.soundsair.com/scenic
- ↑ "Sounds Air Timetable" (PDF). Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ↑ http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.co.nz/2015/01/exciting-news-for-sounds-air-and.html
- ↑ http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/67337794/regional-routes-rise-again
- ↑ http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/63151579/Sounds-Air-set-to-help-plug-gaps
- ↑ "Airline cans Wellington service". Wanganui Chronicle. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ↑ http://www.soundsair.com/routes
- ↑ http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/better-business/72470643/wine-flights-on-track-for-november
- ↑ http://www.soundsair.com/fleet
- ↑ "Aviation Reports". TAIC. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ↑ "Aviation Reports". Aviation Reports. TAIC. Retrieved 26 Feb 2013.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sounds Air. |
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