from Hamilton to Christchurch<\/a> and up to five return flights. They all used an ATR 72 turboprop aircraft.<\/p>\nThe jet service operates five days a week. On the days it runs, the jet will replace two of the usual ATR services.<\/p>\n
![\"Medical]()
Medical tattooist Debbie Casson. Photo\/ Tom Eley<\/p>\n
Medical tattooist Debbie Casson frequently flies from Christchurch to Hamilton, at least once a week.<\/p>\n
The new flights will bring convenience to Casson\u2019s weekly transit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will add comfort and save time.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Air]()
Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
The decision to resume jet services was a simple decision, Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt made a lot of sense to us, and so we moved pretty quickly. And in a matter of months, this has come together.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the inaugural flight from Christchurch to Hamilton, passengers on board were served snacks and drinks by Foran, a task he has done since joining the company six years ago.<\/p>\n
The new route is only the second regional route that Air New Zealand has put a jet on, after Invercargill-Auckland in 2019, Foran said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about giving communities better access and creating more opportunities for tourism, trade and people across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Foran said Air New Zealand was always looking to improve service when it can.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an inaugural, we didn\u2019t quite get the in-flight service right. So we have to sit down and say, \u2018How can we speed that up?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
The connectivity between the airports will offer up Waikato as an economic driver for the North Island, Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is all about connectivity and building a strong economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with the return of jet services between Hamilton and Christchurch, the airport had also welcomed international travellers since June 18 this year, Southgate said.<\/p>\n
![\"]()
Hobbiton CEO Russell Alexander. Photo \/ Tom Eley<\/p>\n
Hobbiton CEO Russell Alexander is looking forward to the boost to tourism the faster flights will bring.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is going to provide an opportunity, from a tourism perspective. It will make it really easy, and that is fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the end of the Covid-19 lockdowns the tourism industry had not had the \u201cbounceback\u201d but this addition showed progress, Alexander said.<\/p>\n
Waikato Regional Airport chief executive Mark Morgan said the return of a domestic jet service was \u201ca milestone moment\u201d for the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a boost for our community and economy,\u201d Morgan said, and makes it easier for visitors and businesses to connect with Waikato.<\/p>\n
Christchurch Airport chief executive Justin Watson said Waikato and Canterbury were \u201cnatural partners\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth are powerhouse regions with strong economies and proud identities. This connection will strengthen trade, tourism and business links between north and south.\u201d<\/p>\n
Associate Transport and South Island Minister James Meager called the connection a win for regional connectivity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will make it easier for people to travel for events, business and to see loved ones, while delivering real benefits to communities at both ends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. He previously worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Beca Regional manager Waikato Richard Douch and Hamilton Central Business Association member Mike Neale. Photo \/ Tom Eley…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29380,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[74,806,11231,3246,138,4487,14736,10668,6562,2082,28727,28726,6288,28725,28372,58,111,139,69,6695,1527,102,1530],"class_list":["post-29379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-after","tag-as","tag-boost","tag-both","tag-business","tag-christchurch","tag-domestic","tag-economic","tag-flights","tag-for","tag-gamechanger","tag-hailed","tag-hamilton","tag-hamiltonchristchurch","tag-jet","tag-link","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-regions","tag-return","tag-with","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}