Air Chathams (3C, Chatham Island) has announced it will launch a new service out of Paraparaumu (Kapiti Coast) to Auckland International on August 20, taking over the route vacated by Air New Zealand in early April 2018.
The route will be operated 18x weekly with Saab 340B equipment. The weekday morning departures have been scheduled at 0650L (1850Z) in response to an earlier poll among the business travellers conducted by the Kāpiti Coast District Council. The regional authorities hope that due to this the passengers will choose to fly from the local airport rather than from nearby Palmerston North or Wellington.
According to the ch-aviation capacity module, Kapiti, an airport in the southern part of New Zealand's North Island, currently sees limited regional traffic with Sounds Air operating cross-Cook Strait flights to each of Blenheim and Nelson, NZ.
Air Chathams already connects Auckland to two other regional airports on the North Island, namely Whanganui and Whakatane, as well to as to its home market, the Chatham Islands.
