Originair

Background

Nelson businessman Robert Inglis founded Air Nelson in 1979 with Nicki Smith. Air New Zealand purchased 50 per cent of the airline in October 1988, and the remaining share in 1996. Air Nelson operated as one of Air New Zealand's regional subsidiaries, operating turboprop aircraft on domestic routes under the Air New Zealand Link brand, until Air New Zealand merged Air Nelson and Mount Cook Airlines into its mainline fleet in 2019. Inglis and Smith founded Origin Pacific Airways in 1996, to provide regional flights around New Zealand. It had a code-share agreement with Qantas' New Zealand subsidiary Jetconnect between 2001 and 2004, allowing Origin Pacific's regional flights to connect with the larger airline's domestic and international routes. The termination of the code-share agreement resulted in Origin Pacific Airways losing 60% of its business, and it went into liquidation in 2006.^[4]

Operation

In 2015, Inglis founded Originair in response to Air New Zealand's termination of direct flights between Nelson and Palmerston North. Flight operations were contracted out to Air Freight NZ although the aircraft were painted in Originair's livery. The airline commenced operations on 12 August 2015 when flights between Nelson and Palmerston North began. Flights between Nelson and Wellington began the following month on 13 September 2015.

In February 2016, issues with Air Freight NZ's operating certificate led to the grounding of the Jetstream aircraft by New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The issues were stated to be "very specific to the particular operation" of Originair. Originair briefly contracted another company, Airwork, to operate its flights using Metroliner aircraft,^[5] although when this arrangement terminated at the end of March 2016, Originair temporarily ceased operations.^[6]

In July 2016 the airline announced it had resolved most of its CAA issues and would resume flights in September 2016 under the operation and Air Operating Certificate of Inflite Charters. It was announced that flights would resume between Nelson and Palmerston North, which had lacked a direct flight while Originair's operations were suspended, but flights between Nelson and Wellington would not resume because the introduction of Jetstar had made the route too competitive.^[7]

On 23 September 2016, Originair recommenced regular scheduled services between Nelson and Palmerston North, with flights being operated by air2there using Cessna Grand Caravans and Piper Chieftains.^[8] Flights with Originair's own aircraft resumed in June 2017. Originair added a new route from Nelson to New Plymouth on 29 September 2017.^[8] Hawke's Bay Airport at Napier was added to their network from 28 September 2018.^[9][10] Flights to Wellington resumed on 14 February 2020.^[11]

Flights to Napier resumed on 17 September 2021 and expanded services linked the city to Hamilton and Palmerston North for the first time.^[12]

Hamilton flights came to an end on 26 September 2025, because of soaring costs for the airline.^[13] In October, Originair reconnected Blenheim with Christchurch as well as connecting Blenheim with Palmerston North for the first time in 20 years. ^[14]