Two New Zealand winemakers have decided to launch their own virtual airline dubbed Invivo Air (Auckland International) after the same-named Auckland based winery.
A maiden flight has been punted for early 2022 from Auckland International on North Island to Queenstown International on South Island in a chartered 34-seater Saab (Sweden) aircraft - presumably a S340A or S340B - but to date, details of the service remain scant.
New Zealand residents above 18 years of age keen to travel on the first flight were asked to register their details on the company website by March 31, 2022, but no further details have been released. The company was not immediately available for comment.
According to a statement late last year, the aim of what is being punted as the world’s first ”winery airline” is to promote domestic tourism following the re-opening in December 2021 of Auckland’s borders after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Half of the seats on the maiden flight would be complimentary with priority given to Auckland hospitality and tourism staff who were affected by the lockdown and Aucklanders who hadn’t seen their South Island family or friends in 2021 due to the borders closures.
“We are not ruling out further flight to other New Zealand destinations as well,” Invivo co-founders Tim Lightbourne and Robin Cameron said in a statement.
