Tauranga aviation company Sunair has announced it's expanding their Coromandel services and introducing a new, twice-daily flight connecting Whitianga and Auckland.

Starting next week on December 1, flights will depart the Whitianga Airfield at 7.30am daily, arriving at Ardmore Airport in South Auckland 20 minutes later.

Tauranga aviation company Sunair announced an expansion of its services this week and will introduce twi-daily flights connecting Whitianga and Auckland. Photo: File

Flights then return to Whitianga at 3.30pm daily, meaning passengers doing day trips to Auckland can still be home in time for dinner.

A one-way trip will cost $120 for adults and $90 for children aged 16 and under. Passengers will be given a baggage allowance of 15kg per person and $2 per kg extra.

Sunair will offer once-daily scheduled flight from Whitianga to Great Barrier Island or Tauranga, with both routes also costing $120 one-way.

Passengers will fly on-board Sunair's fleet of Aztec six-seat twin-engine aircraft and Cessna 172 four-seat aircraft.

Chief executive Dan Power says since yesterday's announcement they have received a lot of positive feedback.

'We've got good support from the Thames Coromandel District Council because they want to encourage growth, mainly in tourism, within the Coromandel.

'Local businesses also see it as a way of moving urgent freight and certainly the people living on Great Barrier Island will enjoy the frequent connections to Whitianga and Tauranga.”

Dan says their expanded service has no connection to Air New Zealand pulling out of certain routes as they 'never serviced the Coromandel Peninsula because it was too small for them”.

But the national carrier has certainly offered its help, says Dan

'Air NZ have been most helpful, they have provided us with all the statistics on these routes which is vital information for us.”

Dan also believe there is certainly an opportunity for Sunair to expand on these routes 'once Air NZ vacate them”.

Thames Coromandel District Council mayor Glenn Leach says this week's announcement is fantastic news for the region.

'We're really looking forward to welcoming more people who may now decide to come and visit our district by using this service. I want to thank Sun Air for its commitment to our area.

'We've already met their team and are working on how we can help promote and market the business through our channels.”

WHO ARE SUNAIR?

Sunair Aviation Ltd. is a Tauranga based company that's been in in operation for the past 22 years and is privately owned by Dan and his wife Bev Power.

It is a fully licensed Regional Air Transport Operator that services 10 provincial cities and operates on scheduled services and charters.

It operates about 4000 departures a year and to date have accumulated approximately 60,000 flying hours, with a total staff of 28. They have crew bases at Gisborne, Hamilton, Napier and Whitianga.

For more information or to book visit www.sunair.co.nz or call 0800 786 247