A Dunedin to Queenstown air link looks set to be scaled back after only just taking off, despite being a big hit with those who turned up for its inaugural flight yesterday.
Kiwi Regional Airlines (KRA) chief executive Ewan Wilson said shortly after the flight landed in Queenstown what was to have been a daily service might be scaled back to Fridays and Mondays.
Mr Wilson said while three months of marketing had achieved good results for routes to Nelson and Hamilton, it appeared there was ''an over-supply of capacity'' for the Dunedin to Queenstown route.
KRA is the work of Mr Wilson, a former Dunedin man, now a Hamilton city councillor, who was behind Kiwi Air, which collapsed in 1996 after intense competition.
His latest venture targets regional routes not servedby other airlines.
The inaugural flight to Queenstown was delayed by low cloud in the resort, something that did not seem to bother passengers, who were in a festive mood.
The flight's captain approached ticket-holders personally in the Dunedin terminal to explain the situation, and keep them updated.
The 19 paying passengers who boarded the first flight clapped and cheered as it left the terminal, took off and landed.
Such was the mood of the passengers, even a flight crew member received a round of applause when she momentarily forgot the name of the first officer during her welcoming and safety spiel, then remembered it.
Once in the air, KRL2 flew north towards Dunedin, then headed inland over the Strath Taieri.
Tony and Cynthea Corbett, of Dunedin, said they booked to experience the first flight, and to support the new business.
Ms Corbett said it was a good service for people with family in the region.
Karen Holmes, who lives on the Taieri, was travelling to visit family in Queenstown, and friends in Wanaka, and would ''most definitely'' fly with the airline again.
''I've been waiting for it,'' she said of the service.
The first passenger off the plane, Jon-Paul Jordan, of Dunedin, described the flight as brilliant.
''A bit of a long journey here but it was all worth it - a beautiful view on the way in, too.''
Mr Jordan, a private banking manager for ASB Bank, worked in Queenstown for the day and was due to fly back to Dunedin yesterday evening.
Mr Wilson said he was ''really proud'', and described the enthusiastic response of passengers as ''pleasing''.
''We'll certainly need a lot more of that.''
But after marketing the airline before its launch, it was clear there was interest in flights to Nelson and Hamilton.
''The challenge will be Queenstown.''
Shifting the mindset of people away from driving the route would take time, he said.
''Sometimes, you've just got to try the route and see how it pans out.
''I can already see we'll need fewer flights.''
Mr Wilson expected the result would be flights on Mondays and Fridays.
Businesses told him their representatives were more inclined to travel to Queenstown on Monday, and spend the week there.
The service would also allow people to travel for weekend stays.
KRA spokesman Max Coyle said the airline had approached the Southern District Health Board, and companies to gauge interest in the Queenstown flights.
The airline lands at a buoyant time for tourism. Visitor arrivals to New Zealand topped three million for the first time in the year to July 2015, fuelled by a huge increase in Chinese tourists.
Domestic tourism spending was $13.4 billion in 2014, up 2% on the previous year.
Total tourism spending was almost $24billion, 4% of New Zealand's GDP.
Destination Queenstown chief executive Graham Budd said the Queenstown-Dunedin route had not been fulfilled before - despite several attempts - and he hoped the company was well supported.
Queenstown Airport Corporation acting chief executive Mark Edghill said the arrival of Kiwi was welcome news for business travellers and holiday-makers.
Dunedin Airport chief executive Richard Roberts, in comments read by Mr Edghill, said: ''It's over to us at Dunedin Airport and our local community now to support these new services, to ensure they're successful and sustainable.''
• Jetstar will today start flying between Dunedin and Wellington.
The new jet services will depart Wellington on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 11.10am, with the return service departing Dunedin at 12.55pm.
