New plane for Wellington route
14 September 2015
A new Sounds Air plane began servicing the Taupo-Wellington route this morning, brandishing the Great Lake Taupo logo to advertise its home.
The plane flew into Taupo on the 7.50am flight from Wellington today for the first time, before collecting passengers for the return journey at 9.20am.
Sounds Air managing director Andrew Crawford sourced the plane from Australia and recently visited the headquarters of its manufacturers, Pilatus, in Switzerland. Mr Crawford was aboard the plane's maiden flight from Wellington to Taupo with the managing director of Pilatus Australia, Sebastian Lip, and Pilatus pilot training captain Gary Williams.
Mr Crawford said the plane would be used regularly on the Taupo to Wellington route. This plane is the perfect commuter aircraft for this route, with great speed and passenger comfort, he said. It's set up differently to the plane we have been using since June, which means there is space for more seats and more passengers. We hope the Taupo community enjoys travelling in this plane as much as we enjoy flying it.
Sounds Air has been operating on the Taupo to Wellington route since June this year. The council entered into a six-year agreement with the Marlborough-based air operator provide at least three return flights on each week day and two return flights on Saturdays and Sundays earlier this year. This was in response to an announcement by Air New Zealand in November last year that it would stop offering the service from the end of April.
Flights to Wellington on the Sounds Air service take about 50 minutes and are on a nine-seater Pilatus PC12 - a single-engine, turboprop plane widely used in Australia and the United States and manufactured in Switzerland.
Seats are offered at a fixed price of $219 per flight regardless of when booked. Concessions for 10 flights at $209 per seat are also available.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lisa Nairne Communications Manager 07 376 0762 027 839 8410
Vicki Waterhouse Communications Advisor 07 376 0718 027 484 2549
Taupo District Council
www.taupo.govt.nz