Mount Cook Airline

Mount Cook Airlines

IATA ICAO Callsign NM NZM MOUNTCOOK
Founded	1920
Ceased operations	9 December 2019
Hubs	Auckland Christchurch Wellington
Frequent-flyer program	Airpoints
Alliance	Star Alliance(affiliate)
Fleet size	30
Destinations	15
Parent company	Air New Zealand
Headquarters	Christchurch,New Zealand
Key people	Kelvin Duff (GM of Regional Airlines)
Website	www.airnz.co.nz

Mount Cook Airlinewas aregional airlinebased inChristchurch,New Zealand.Formerly part of theMount Cook Groupand latterly a subsidiary ofAir New Zealand,it operated scheduled services throughout the country under theAir New Zealand Linkbrand. In December 2019, the brand name was retired with all services operated under the Air New Zealand banner.

Early history

NZ Aero Transport

NZ Aero TransportCo. was established in 1920 atTimarubyRodolph Wigley,who in 1906 had driven the first motor car toThe Hermitage.Wigley leased five surplusRoyal Air Forceaircraft from the NZ Government for sightseeing. It was the first company of its kind in the country. The first aeroplane to land inFairliewas war surplusAvro 504K biplaneE4242in May 1920, still carryingRAF roundels.Passenger and freight routes served areas betweenWellingtonandInvercargill.In October 1920 with Captain JC Mercer, Wigley flew on the first one-day flight from Invercargill toAuckland.After a series of mishaps, such as damage during forced landings in paddocks, the company went into liquidation in 1923.

NZ Aero Transport Co fleet

Aircraft	Introduced	Retired	Notes
Avro 504K	1920	1923	Five aircraft
Airco DH.9	1920	1923	Three aircraft

Queenstown – Mount Cook Airways

In 1935, Wigley formedQueenstown - Mount Cook Airwayin conjunction with his sonHenry,who remained themanaging directorof the airline until 1979 andchairmanuntil his death in 1980. The company operated charter flights around the Otago Lakes,Milford Soundand Mount Cook regions, until it was suspended byWorld War II.

Queenstown - Mount Cook Airways fleet

Aircraft	Introduced	Retired	Notes
British Aircraft Swallow II	1936	1939	Two aircraft. One aircraft was impressed into military service with theRNZAFin 1939.
Waco QDC Biplane	1937	1940	One aircraft. The Waco QDC was impressed into military service with the RNZAF in 1940.

Postwar history

Flying resumed in 1952 using anAuster J1-A Autocrat,registration ZK-BDX (since preserved, formerly inside the terminal ofQueenstown Airportnow at the Mount Cook Hermitage Hotel Edmund Hillary Centre).

In 1954, NZ Aero Transport Company was reformed asMount Cook Air Services Ltd,specialising in scenic flights, agricultural work and rescue missions. Henry Wigley solved the problem of landing in the Tasman, Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers by attaching retractable skis (designed and made in the company's vehicle workshop) to the Auster, and landed on the snow ofTasman Glacier.This is how the Ski Plane operation started, aimed at taking tourists to skifields and glaciers in ski-equipped light aircraft.

Douglas DC-3atChristchurch Airportin 1971

Hawker Siddeley HS 748atPalmerston North Airportin 1974

TheMount Cook Groupoperatedbusservices,trucking,skifieldsand built an airfield at Mount Cook to bring in the growing number of visitors to theSouthern Alps.Scheduled services forMount Cook Airlinebegan on 6 November 1961 between Christchurch, Mount Cook, Cromwell andTe Anauwith a 26-seaterDouglas DC-3.At this stage Queenstown was not certified for DC-3 operations and passengers were bussed from Cromwell to Queenstown. On 1 November 1963 the service to Cromwell was extended to Dunedin on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and from 3 November 1963 to Invercargill three days a week. The first scheduled flight into Queenstown was operated by DC-3 ZK-BKD on 4 February 1964.

The airline opened negotiations withNZ Tourist Air Travel,which operated air charter and air taxi services using amphibious aircraft, about the possibility of a merger. A bid was made and finally accepted on 31 December 1967 with the company becoming part of Mount Cook Airlines on 1 January 1968.

Cessna 185ski-plane atMount Cook Aerodromein January 1977

Fokker F27 FriendshipatRotorua Airportin 1992

A Mount Cook ATR 72–200 in the oldAir New Zealand Linklivery atHamilton Airportin 1997

A BAe 146-300 as operated briefly by Mount Cook Airline atAuckland Airportin 2001

Mount Cook ATRs atChristchurch Airportin Air New Zealand Pacific Wave livery

Mount Cook Airline was one of New Zealand's tourism pioneers opening up the tourist trail ofRotoruathrough to Christchurch, Mount Cook and Queenstown. For almost 30 years, it operated a fleet ofHawker Siddeley HS 748sacross regional tourist routes in New Zealand. The first HS748 to arrive in NZ was ZK-CWJ. Its first flight was from Christchurch to Timaru and onto Oamaru on 25 October 1968.After a long evaluation study, the first of the newATR 72-200sarrived in October 1995 as the chosen replacement of the HS 748s. They in turn were updated to theATR 72-500type in 2000

In June 2001, Air New Zealand Group added extra capacity on domestic routes by introducing fourBAe 146sto supplement the ATRs. These aircraft were taken from the failedQantas New Zealandfranchise. A temporary measure, they retired the following year after six extraBoeing 737-300swere added to the mainline fleet.

Air New Zealand purchased part of the Mount Cook Group in the 1980s after Henry Wigley's death,increased to 30% on 5 December 1983, then another 47% in October 1985 after gaining approval on 18 July that year; and the remainder on 18 April 1991.On 9 December 2019, the airline was merged into the mainline Air New Zealand fleet and ceased to exist.

Mount Cook Airline had 378 employees (as at March 2007).

Destinations

Mount Cook Airline served the following routes in New Zealand at its closure:

Aucklandto:	Napier,Nelson,New Plymouth,Palmerston North,Tauranga
Christchurchto:	Dunedin,Hamilton,Invercargill,Napier,Nelson,Palmerston North,Queenstown,Rotorua,Tauranga,Wellington
Wellingtonto:	Christchurch,Dunedin,Hamilton,Invercargill,Napier,New Plymouth,Queenstown,Tauranga

Former destinations

Over the years Mount Cook Airline served many destinations throughout New Zealand, including:

Alexandra,Blenheim,Chatham Islands,Cromwell,Great Barrier Island,Greymouth,Hokitika,Kerikeri,Kaikohe,Kawau Island,Milford Sound,Mount Cook Village,Oamaru,Paihia,Stewart Island / Rakiura,Taupō,Te Anau,Timaru,Twizel,Waiheke Island,WānakaandWestport.

Fleet

Mount Cook Airline currently operated ATR 72-500 and ATR 72-600 aircraft from main cities to larger provincial towns and also on some main trunk routes, complementing fellow subsidiaryAir Nelson's smaller capacity Q-300 airliners.

The original ATR 72-200 fleet was swapped for the updatedATR 72-500during 2001–2002. Extra aircraft were also added allowing Air New Zealand to retire the last of itsBoeing 737-200s.In October 2011, Air New Zealand announced an increase of the ATR fleet by purchasing seven newATR 72-600models with five on option. Air New Zealand received the first of these 68-seat aircraft in October 2012, the rest following gradually through to 2016. Four purchase options were taken up in November 2014 when Air New Zealand announced the shutting down of Eagle Airways' flight operations and giving overroute capacityto Mount Cook and Air NelsonThe ATR-600s were delayed for four years due to the economic conditions of the time. The -600 model is a further development of the type including a revised cabin layout andRNPnavigation to allow flights into New Zealand's more marginal weather dependant airports such as Wellington, Queenstown, Rotorua and Hamilton.

Air New Zealand announced on 5 November 2015 that an order for an additional 15 ATR 72-600 aircraft, worth NZ$568 million, had been placed making Mount Cook Airlines the third-largest ATR fleet operator in the world with 29 ATR72-600 aircraft. Deliveries of the additional 15 -600 aircraft, started in late 2016 with the last aircraft delivered to Mount Cook Airline in 2019. Subsequent aircraft will now be delivered to parent companyAir New Zealand.The new aircraft replaced the existing 11 ATR 72-500 aircraft. The additional ATR 72-600, are used on domestic regional services, supplementing existing ATR 72-500, -600 and Q300 aircraft.

The Mount Cook Airline fleet consisted of the following aircraft (as of August 2019):

Mount Cook Airline

Aircraft	Total	Orders	Passengers (Economy)	Notes
ATR 72-500	7	0	68	Being replaced by ATR 72-600s
ATR 72-600	23	6	68	Replacing ATR 72-500.
Total	30	6

Former fleet

From 6 November 1961, Mount Cook Airline operated threeDouglas DC-3aircraft operating until their final withdrawal on 16 May 1978.These aircraft were used to open up routes between Christchurch and Mount Cook, Cromwell and Te Anau/Manapouri. Passengers bound for Queenstown were initially bussed from Cromwell until DC-3 certification was obtained for Queenstown airport (although Cromwell was still used on demand, and as backup when Queenstown airport was unavailable due to weather). DC-3 aircraft were also used at various dates for services from Christchurch to Timaru and Oamaru, Queenstown to Alexandra and Dunedin and an extension from Te Anau to Invercargill.

A fleet of Hawker Siddeley HS-748s was operated from 1968 to 1996 operating into Mount Cook Airline's many tourist airports. The type operated scheduled services to the Chatham Islands from 1990 to 1992 after Safe Air withdrew flying operations. From 1992 to 1994, Air New Zealand chartered a 748 to operate the late evening off peak Invercargill - Christchurch route. The last commercial flight was on 9 February 1996, from Wellington to Christchurch. The HS 748 fleet was replaced by 7 ATR 72-200s from 1995 after an evaluation process that included theFokker F50,BAE ATP,andSaab 2000.

On 2 December 1969, Mount Cook Airline introduced ade Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter(ZK-CJZ), intended for scenic flights from Queenstown to Milford Sound and scheduled flights from Queenstown to Te Anau/Manapouri and Queenstown to Alexandra and Dunedin.The Twin Otter wasn't an economic success and was cancelled from 24 September 1973.A second Twin Otter (ZK-MCO) was purchased in November 1983 for services between Auckland,Kerikeriand Rotorua as the HS 748 was too big for the loads on offer, but Mount Cook'sIslanderaircraft was too small.In 1988 this was transferred to Queenstown, to operate scenic flights from Queenstown to Milford Sound and scheduled flights from Queenstown to Te Anau/Manapouri. A third was purchased in 1995 but both were disposed of in 1998 when Mount Cook Airlines light aircraft business was sold.

Eight ex-Qantas New ZealandBritish Aerospace 146-300swere temporarily operated byAir New Zealandafter Qantas New Zealand's collapse. They were used to boost extra capacity to domestic service from June 2001 to 2002. The BAe 146s were placed under Mount Cook Airline's management structure for the duration. (Up to 4 aircraft were operated at any one time as the BAe fleet were rotated through and sold off.) This allowed time for Air New Zealand to add another sixBoeing 737-300sto the mainline fleet. The BAe 146s were then retired ending 12 years of domestic service in New Zealand.

Aircraft previously operated include:

Aircraft	Introduced	Retired	Notes
ATR 72-200	1995	2006
Auster J/1B Aiglet	1951		Two aircraft
Auster J/5P Autocar	1956		Two aircraft
British Aerospace 146-300	2001	2002	Eight aircraft
Bell 206B Jetranger	1980	1985	One helicopter
Britten-Norman Islander	1970		Six aircraft
Cessna 180			Four aircraft
Cessna 185 Skywagon			Now operated by Mount Cook Ski Planes.
Cessna U206 Stationair			Three aircraft
de Havilland DH.98B Dominie			Three aircraft
de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Ripide			One aircraft
de Havilland Tiger Moth			Two aircraft
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter	1969	1998	Three aircraft
Douglas DC-3 Dakota	1961	1978	Four aircraft
Eurocopter AS.350B Squirrel 1	1997	1998	One helicopter
Fletcher FU.24			Six aircraft
Fokker F27-100 Friendship	1991		One leased aircraft
Fokker F27-200 Friendship	1981		Three aircraft leased from the Department of Civil Aviation.
GAF N22C Nomad	1993	1998	One aircraft
GAF N24A Nomad	1993	1998	One aircraft
Grumman G-21A Goose	1972	1975	One aircraft
Grumman G-44A Widgeon		1975	Six aircraft
Hawker Siddeley HS 748	1968	1996	Eight aircraft
Kawasaki BK 117 Helicopter	1996	1998	Three helicopters
Miles M-11A Whitney Stright			One aircraft
Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter	1982		Four aircraft. Now operated by Mount Cook Ski Planes.
Piper PA-18A Super Cub	1956		Two aircraft
Piper PA-22 Tri Pacer	1956		One aircraft
Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain	1993	1997	Three aircraft

Change in heavy maintenance

In April 2010, parent airlineAir New Zealandannounced that it was moving theATR 72-500andATR 72-600heavy maintenance work away from Mount Cook Airline's home of Christchurch Airport to Nelson.Air Nelson's maintenance base would take over all ATR 72-500/600 heavy maintenance work from November 2010.

Logo

Former Mount Cook Airlines logo

The airline's symbol was theMount Cook Lilywhich was displayed on the tails of its aeroplanes prior to the integration with the Air New Zealand link brand in the mid 1990s. At this stage, the flower was relegated to a spot just below the tail,before vanishing totally in the early 2000s. However, it made a return in 2012, appearing towards the front of Mount Cook's ATR 72-600 aircraft. The new logo was a much-simplified flower, featuring six separate petals rather than the former layered specimen.

Surviving aircraft

Most of Mount Cook Airline's ATR 72's are still in operation, either with Air New Zealand or sold off to other operators. Below is a list of other known aircraft that flew in Mount Cook colours.

Surviving MCA Aircraft

Type	Registration	Location/Operator	Notes
Auster J1-A Autocrat	ZK-BDX	Located atMount Cook Hermitage Hotel Edmund Hillary Centre
De Havilland DH.89BDominie	ZK-AKY	Located at Croydon Aviation Heritage Centre,Mandeville	Painted in Mount Cook Airlines blue, but never wore the Mount Cook Lilly
Douglas DC-3Skyliner	ZK-BKD	Located at Smash Palace Bar,Gisborne	ExAustralian National AirwaysandNAC
Douglas DC-3Viewmaster	ZK-CAW	Located atMcDonald's,Taupō	ExAustralian National Airways
Hawker Siddeley HS 748	ZK-CWJ	Located inDhaka,Bangladesh	Stored, last used as freight aircraft

See also

• List of defunct airlines of New Zealand
• History of aviation in New Zealand