Neeta Bhushan attended a dinner with the directors of the burgeoning New Zealand Airline Academy (NZAA) and special guests.
The Indian-owned flying school (NZAA) based at the Oamaru aerodrome has gone from strength to strength since 2018, with its fleet, student and staff numbers taking off.
Ranked one of New Zealand’s leading pilot training schools, international student numbers have risen from 92 in January last year to 172.
The school has 25 planes, 10 of which were added to the fleet this year.
The High Commissioner also met Waitaki District Mayor Gary Kircher, MP Miles Anderson and district councillor Jim Hopkins at the NZAA-hosted event at Del Mar Restaurant in Oamaru last week.
Mr Kircher said it was an "entertaining and enlightening" evening where topics such as the aviation industry, exports and politics were discussed.
Waitaki was fortunate to have a relatively significant Indian population and the NZAA had helped to strengthen those connections, he said.
NZAA co-director and academy co-founder Celroy Mascarenhas said it was great for the academy to be acknowledged for its "high-value training programme" based out of Oamaru.
"The Ministry of Education classifies it as high value because the students end up spending a lot of money within a short time.
"Not just on their fees, but also in their local surroundings," he said.
The flight school also offers accommodation for its mostly Indian students at Aviator’s Place based in Reed and Torridge Sts in Oamaru.
Mr Mascarenhas said student numbers had gone up significantly since the middle of last year, as had staff numbers.
"We’re still going through our post-Covid recovery. We’re hiring pretty much every day.
"We’ve just taken on another five instructors, and the intention is to take on another two."
The NZAA had also hired "a lot more support staff" with new developments ahead at the Oamaru Airport.
This included the council’s $1.3 million project plan to cap the sealed runway at the airport in 2025-26.
Cr Hopkins said the academy was one of the most successful Indian-owned businesses not only in the North Otago, but the country.
The burgeoning academy was a "positive part" of the local economy.
Its success suggested a model the government could build on, as an example of the benefits a trade deal would deliver to both India and this country.
"If you add up all the spending associated with housing, feeding, clothing, entertaining and training that number of students year round, it’s pretty clear NZAA is an important local contributor."
