The story
Mountain Air was founded in 1988 by Keith and Robyn McKenzie and used a Cessna 172 and 206 to conduct scenic flights over the Tongariro National Park. The company established an airstrip on a high country sheep station airfield at the base of the active volcano, Mount Ruapehu. Recently passengers have had the added attraction of viewing sites in the Park where filming for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy took place.
In 2005 then Prime Minister Helen Clark was flying aboard a Piper Aztec when the door came loose mid-flight. The plane landed safely.
Two Britten Norman Islanders and two Piper Aztec aircraft were added to the fleet and services extended to provide New Zealand wide charter. Schedule services were developed to provide several flights a day between Auckland International Airport, Whangarei and Great Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf in 1998. Two more Britten-Norman Islander aircraft were added to the fleet in 2006 & 2007.
The Chateau division was sold to Bhrent and Kathy Guy in 2007 and retained the name ‘Mountain Air’ operating the Cessna 172 and Cessna 206. The Auckland base was renamed 'Fly My Sky' and was operated as a separate company by Keith and Robyn McKenzie.
Flight operations at Mountain Air included:
Volcanic scenic flights around Tongariro National Park and the central north island
Aerial tracking for kiwi, short-tailed bats and deer
Photography Charter
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Air transfers for hunting trips
General air transfers between aerodromes throughout New Zealand
On March 28 2021, the airline shut down and ceased all operations.
From Wikipedia’s article on Mountain Air (New Zealand), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3