Barrier Air is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

that was established in 1983 by Jim Bergman as Great Barrier Airlines. The head office is located at the Domestic Terminal at

Auckland Airport Auckland Airport is an international airport serving Auckland, the most populous city of New Zealand. It is the largest and busiest airport in the country, with over 18.7 million passengers served in the year ended December 2024. The airpor ...

Māngere Māngere () is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau City Centre and south of the Auckland CBD, Auckland city centre. ...

, with additional offices in the terminal buildings at Great Barrier Aerodrome, Kaitaia Airport and North Shore Aerodrome.

History

The airline's initial fleet was one Cessna 172, one Cessna 206 and one vintage three-engine de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover. Bergman flew the first scheduled service to

Great Barrier Island Great Barrier Island () lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, north-east of central Auckland. With an area of it is the sixth-largest List of islands of New Zealand, island of New Zealand. Its highest point, Mount Hobson, Great Barrier ...

on 2 December 1983, departing from Ardmore Airport, three nautical miles southeast of

Manurewa Manurewa is a suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located south of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of the Auckland City Centre. It is home to the Auckland Botanic Gardens, which receives over a million visitors a year. Manurewa h ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. The company initially operated three flights a day from Ardmore to Auckland International and on to Great Barrier Aerodrome at Claris. In July 1984 the airline started flights to Okiwi Airfield on Great Barrier Island as well. The first Britten Norman Islander was introduced in December 1984. The first flights to Whangārei from its Auckland base began in August 1987. The airline briefly served Waiheke island, from August 1994 to April 1995. They also purchased a subsidiary company, Air Coromandel, in 1995, which had sole commercial rights to Whitianga. In November 1996 Rotorua (served via Tauranga) and

Paihia Paihia is a town in the Bay of Islands in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is 60 kilometres north of Whangārei, located close to the historic towns of Russell, New Zealand, Russell and Kerikeri. Missionary Henry Wi ...

were added to the network. The Rotorua flight was extended to

Taupō Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town located in the central North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the edge of Lake Taupō, which is the largest freshwater lake in New Zealand. Taupō was constituted as a borough in 1953. It h ...

in November 1998. A new aircraft type was added, the Britten Norman Trislander starting services on 24 December 2002. Since then three other Trislanders have served in the fleet. In early 2015, coinciding with a change in management, and the purchase of an ex- Bering Air

Cessna Grand Caravan The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA ...

, the name of the airline was changed from Great Barrier Airlines to Barrier Air. The airline now operates a fleet of Grand Caravans – other aircraft models have been retired. Barrier Air started a service to Hamilton from Auckland in February 2016 to link with the Kiwi Air service. For more than two decades, it was in a long-running commercial battle with its main local competitor Fly My Sky, until the latter went into liquidation in 2021. Fly My Sky descended from the Great Barrier division of Mountain Air, and operated at various times under the names ''Great Barrier Xpress'' and ''Great Barrier Air'', the latter name being subsequently forbidden by a legal injunction as it was too similar to Great Barrier Airlines, the name of which is now Barrier Air. The competition between the two airlines is considered one of the main reasons for the relatively low flight prices, which as of January 2008 remained almost exactly at 1998 prices, despite a trebling of aviation fuel prices in the nine years of competition between the two airlines. Barrier Air returned to Whitianga on 15 December 2021 using Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft. On 22 December Barrier Air announced plans to purchase a fifth Cessna Grand Caravan and look at launching new routes such as Auckland to Tauranga, following the success of the new Whitianga to Auckland route. A year later a new air service between Tauranga and Great Barrier Island was launched. In May 2024 Barrier Air decided to serve Kerikeri from Auckland to introduce competition on the Auckland to Kerikeri Route.

Current destinations

As of May 2024, Barrier Air operate the following routes: From

Claris Claris International Inc., formerly FileMaker Inc., is a computer software development company formed as a subsidiary company of Apple Inc., Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) in 1987. It was given the source code and copyrights to several program ...

- Great Barrier Aerodrome *

Kaitaia Kaitaia () is a town in the Far North District of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupōuri Peninsula, about 160 km northwest of Whangārei. It is the last major settlement on State Highway 1. Ahipara Bay, the southern end of Te Oneroa-a- ...

- Kaitaia Airport * Whitianga - Whitianga Aerodrome *

Kerikeri Kerikeri () is a town in the Bay of Islands, in the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the head of Kerikeri Inlet, a northwestern arm of the Bay of Islands, where fresh water of the Kerikeri River enters the Paci ...

- Kerikeri Airport From

( Great Barrier Aerodrome) *

* North Shore - North Shore Aerodrome *

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

Tauranga Airport Tauranga Airport is an airport serving the city of Tauranga, New Zealand. It is located adjacent to Tauranga Harbour in the suburb of Mount Maunganui, approximately 3 km northeast of Tauranga CBD. The terminal is located to the north o ...

From

From Whitianga *

From

- Great Barrier Aerodrome

Former destinations

Barrier Air over the years operated to many former destinations. * Ardmore - Ardmore Airport *

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

- Hamilton Airport * Ōkiwi - Okiwi Airfield *

- Paihia Aerodrome *

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

- Rotorua Airport *

Taupō Airport Taupō Airport (Māori: ''Te Papa Waka Rererangi o Taupō'', ) is a small airport to the south of Taupō township on the eastern shores of Lake Taupō, New Zealand. Scheduled flights are operated by Air New Zealand Link, using Bombardier DHC ...

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

- Thames Aerodrome *

Waiheke Island Waiheke Island is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland. It is the most populated island ...

- Waiheke Island Aerodrome *

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

Whangarei Airport Whangārei Airport is an airport to the south east of Whangārei city, in the suburb of Onerahi, on the east coast of Northland Region, Northland in the North Island of New Zealand. The airport has a single terminal with two gates. History Th ...

Fleet

, Barrier Air's fleet consists of the following aircraft: Barrier Air (and its predecessor Great Barrier Airlines) formerly operated the following aircraft:

References

External links

Official website

{{Airlines of New Zealand Airlines of New Zealand Airlines established in 1983 Transport in Auckland Companies based in Auckland New Zealand companies established in 1983