Flights on a dual seat Spitfire aircraft are being offered as an entree into the Tauranga City Airshow on January 23.

Classic Flyers CEO Andrew Gormlie says, for around $3000, people will get a half hour flight in the New Zealand Warbirds Association operated aircraft.

The rare dual seat Spitfire: Picture: Gavin Conroy of Classic Aircraft Photography.

The normal price to take a flight in a spitfire, which is due to arrive in Tauranga on Thursday, is $3950.

Andrew says it will be available for flights on the Friday before the show and even Saturday morning before the afternoon show, which is themed Spitfire at Sunset.

There will also be a couple of Harvard WWII trainers available for adventure flights, along with the Spearman aircraft

There are only a handful of dual seat Spitfires still flying, two of them in the UK.

'This particular spitfire is booked all the time,” says Andrew. 'It's done something like 70 rides in the last six months. Quite rare are the two seats.”

In England, a ride in a two seat spitfire costs more like 3000 pounds, and is booked six months ahead.

'We all know that exchange rates are relative, but at the same time it's a lot more money than here.”

The difference gets people coming to New Zealand to combine a holiday and a spitfire flight, says Andrew.

The dual seat Spitfires were mostly manufactured after the close of the war. In 1948, 10 Spitfire T Mk IXs, were exported to India.

In 1951, a further six TR 9 trainers were converted from the standard Mk IX to train pilots for the Irish Air Corps Seafire fleet.

The Ardmore-based aircraft has been in New Zealand since 2008. It was modified in America from a single seater to a two-seater.

It's painted in RAF desert colours with the markings of a Mk IX flown by a New Zealand Squadron Leader Colin Gray, when based in Tunisia in mid-1943.

'It's done several trips, in various directions we watched it at Masterton last year,” says Andrew.

'Lovely item, quite rare. A lot of people want to go for a ride in a Spitfire, because how often do you get the opportunity?

'It's the chief billed item of course. Spitfire at Sunset is our theme, all about that aircraft, among all the other aircraft.”

The airshow format is changed this year. Instead of having one two-day airshow, there will be two separate afternoon-evening shows - one on January 23, and the other March 16.

Each show will have its own theme or special attraction.

They are planned as ‘family picnic type events', starting mid-afternoon with static and flying displays, food stalls and children's entertainment. Air displays will start late afternoon and continue until evening.

The summer show is also being held in conjunction with the mount Truck Show.

The truck show was looking for a bigger venue and the air show organisers were looking for an event to combine with.

People interested in taking a flight in the Spitfire can email Classic Flyers at enquire@classicflyersnz.com