Air National
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| Founded | 1989 | ||||||
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| Operating bases | Auckland International Airport and Wellington International Airport | ||||||
| Hubs | Christchurch International Airport | ||||||
| Destinations | Christchurch - Hokitika, Christchurch - Blenheim, Blenheim -Wellington | ||||||
| Website | www.airnational.co.nz | ||||||
Air National is an airline based in Auckland, New Zealand. It operates domestic and international charter services and scheduled passenger services for Air New Zealand Link. Its main bases are Auckland International Airport, Wellington International Airport, with a hub at Christchurch International Airport.[2]
History
The airline was established in 1989 and started operations in 1990. Its 'shooting stars' logo was the original 1990 Commonwealth Games logo, held in Auckland that year. It was originally known as Menzies Aviation and re-branded as Air National Corporate in 1992. In 1996 the company won a New Zealand airways calibration contract for all local and South Pacific operations. Scheduled operations for Ansett New Zealand and operations as an international jet charter broker were launched in 1997. The airline is owned by Ian Gray and Jason Gray and has 50 employees.[2]
Air National has re-branded some of its corporate jet services under the brand of JetPlus.
Air National has also branded it's FBO operations under the brand of SkyCare
In January 2011, Air National's operator's certificate was suspended by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) over alleged training records irregularities . Air National appealed the decision in the High Court and the suspension was quashed pending a full investigation. The CAA appealed the high Court decision to the Court of Appeal and the lower court ruling was quashed in turn.[3]
As of Jan 2012, Air National no longer operates. All aircraft are now operated by other operators and the company no longer holds a Air Operator's Certificate
Destinations
Air National operates scheduled services for Air New Zealand Link to the following destinations (at March 2007)[2] :
Air National also provides ad-hoc airline support for Eagle Air and Air Nelson throughout their respective networks.
Fleet
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The Air National fleet consists of the following aircraft (at November 2010)[2] :
- 4 BAe Jetstream 32EP
- 1 IAI Westwind II
- 1 Gulfstream G200
- 1 Gulfstream G-IV SP
- 1 Cessna Citation I
- 1 BAe 146-200 [4]
Previously operated
The airline also operated: [citation needed]
- 1 Bombardier Dash 8 Q200January 2006
- 1 BAe Jetstream 32EP [5]
Incidents
- On 8 February 2008, the pilots of Eagle Airways Flight 2279 from Blenheim to Christchurch were attacked and stabbed by a female passenger who claimed to have two bombs on board. The woman was subdued and the aircraft made a safe landing.[6][7]
References
- ^ a b Not an ICAO allocation - issued for domestic use by the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand
- ^ a b c d "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. p. 63.
- ^ "Air National remains grounded". Stuff.co.nz. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ http://www.caa.govt.nz/Script/AirReg3.asp?Mark=eco&Query3=Get+Reg+Mark
- ^ http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2010/10/air-national-farewells-j32-zk-ecn.html
- ^ "Mid-air bomb threat, stabbing drama". Stuff.co.nz. 8 February 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20080208-0
External links
- Official website Transclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{lang-en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead.