David Hedges charts the evolution of regional carrier Air Chathams, and enjoys flying on one of the few scheduled Douglas DC-3 passenger services still operating in the world today.
The Chatham Islands form a small archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, around 400 miles (650km) east of the South Island of New Zealand and it is here the small regional airline, Air Chathams, operates a varied fleet of rare aircraft types. Created in 1984, Air Chathams is remarkably still owned and run by its founders Craig and Marion Emeny. However, the family’s connection to the industry goes back a further three years, when Emeny started flying crayfish between Pitt Island and Chatham Islands. He initially used a Cessna 180K Skywagon, ZK-EYH (c/n 180-53011), but it soon became apparent that a larger, faster aircraft was required – one that would also enable flights to the mainland
Forming an Airline
In 1984, Emeny acquired a Cessna 337 Skymaster, ZK-TAI (c/n 337-01456) from Air Rarotonga on the Cook Islands and initially flew it under Napier-based East Air’s air operator certificate, until obtaining his own AOC in March the following year. As demand for freight carriage to New Zealand quickly grew, so a Beech 65 Queen Air …
