Connecting Communities the heart of Air Chathams

Air Chathams was started by Craig Emeny in 1984. Craig moved to the remote islands, over 800kms from mainland New Zealand, when he was offered a job as a pilot, operating services between Chatham and Pitt Island. Launching the new airline provided a way to regularly connect the Chathams to the mainland, with initial flights transporting live crayfish to Gisborne and Hastings in a Cessna Skymaster. Fast forward 40 years and son Duane is taking the controls, with 9 aircraft in the fleet, including two 68-seater ATR 72 aircraft.

A pilot himself, Duane was born the same year as the business and lived on the Island until he was twelve, leaving to be a boarder at Christs College in Canterbury and then studying aviation at Massey University in Palmerston North. Duane is passionate about the business which prides itself on being an airline for the community, not only transporting passengers and freight to and from the Chathams but also connecting Auckland passengers to regions no longer serviced by Air New Zealand, including Whanganui, Whakatane and the Kapiti Coast. Charter flights are a key part of the business too, taking corporate groups and tours around the country. Duane recently completed the Owner Manager Programme no 67.

Kate de Lautour talked to Duane and started by asking him how the summer season is tracking...

The last few years have been a bit of a challenge for the team. A combination of reduced government and business travel together with higher direct operating costs have impacted the bottom line. However, we’ve seen a lift in November and December and January is looking good. We are communicating our new lower fare strategy through our database and coupled with a lot of larger events in Auckland, we’re seeing stronger passenger numbers. Our charter services are busy – we’re flying sports teams and corporate groups around the country, right through to providing the artists’ transport for big events like Rhythm and Vines in Gisborne.

We have a charter contract with an in-bound tour company TAUCK – those visitors generally get a bus straight to the plane so it’s a pretty cool experience for them.

You have 170 or so staff, where are they based?

The Chathams makes up a third of our business revenue, but we only have 10 ground staff based on the Island. The remainder are based predominately in Auckland, servicing the aircraft and managing the mainland services. The freight part of the business is significant for the team, particularly supporting the export of high-value Chatham Islands’ seafood; live crayfish, blue cod, kina and paua. We have a regular service taking supplies into the Islands, medicines, mail and essential supplies. The passenger flights run four to five times per week, connecting the Chathams Islands to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

When’s the best time to visit?

Generally, our tour groups come through January to March. Chatham Island Day at the end of March is a special time to visit and we’re seeing growing demand from New Zealanders to experience the Islands. The Concert in the Garden in January, with Tiki Taane, Hello Sailor and homegrown talent Black Robin was so cool for the community and hats off to tour operator Lesley Whyte for having the courage to make it happen.

You are being welcomed by communities on the mainland; Whanganui, Whakatāne and Kapiti Coast. How is that part of the business progressing?

The Whanganui- Auckland service is our strongest route of the three current locations and there is opportunity to increase the regional destinations. Masterton would be an ideal fit for us. The Wairarapa community have a long drive to reach airline connections, plus the wine and rural industry provides solid demand. But the whole picture needs to stack up cost-wise. We have had to make some tough commercial decisions this year including the move to stop the Norfolk Island route. The taxes were in excess of $87.50 AUD per passenger which was preventing us from being competitive. It was our only scheduled international service so it was sad to pull the route, but it’s taught us to stick to our knitting and sharpen our focus on being an excellent regional airline for New Zealand.

Sustainability is a key focus for you – how does this directly affect the communities you are supporting?

We do what we can but given our industry it is a challenge. So other than trying to keep pace with more modern engine powerplants that burn less fuel, we focus on community initiatives such as sponsoring and funding local land restoration and pest reduction initiatives. And are excited to work on a new project in 2025 to facilitate greater uptake and installation of residential solar systems on the Chatham Islands to help reduce the dependence on diesel generation.

You’ve been on a journey with a group of successful NZ business owners on the Icehouse Owner Manager Programme – what have been the key advantages for you?

The power of the people and the connections in that group have been important for me. My role in the business is evolving and I needed to identify where my focus should be and where I can continually develop and improve. Bouncing ideas off each other and building on those new ideas will have lasting positive impacts on our family business. The strength of the facilitators across all the blocks, but particularly finance and marketing, has allowed me to implement the learning back into the business. We have a small marketing team, so I’ve been able to get back into our office with fresh insights and ideas.