Maintaining The Fleet

from Air Chats Autumn 2020 Inflight Magazine

Foundation Day

Air Chathams passengers know the friendly faces of our flight and cabin crews, but another important part of our team works entirely behind the scenes; they’re our maintenance crew and they’re dedicated to making sure everything is running as smooth as silk, from take off to landing and everything in between.

AT AIR CHATHAMS WE’RE PROUD to be connecting Kiwis via our regional network, we’re proud to be one hundred per cent Kiwi owned, and we’re also proud that our fleet is maintained right here in New Zealand by the skilled technicians in our maintenance team. Regular upkeep is the cornerstone of safety, and safety is a paramount concern at Air Chathams, so keeping our maintenance programme ‘in the family’ makes perfect sense to us. And knowing that we have some of the best in the business working with us right here in our hangars means our maintenance team have a close relationship with our flight crews – and with our aircraft.

“The aircraft that we work on in our fleet are like members of the family,” says Bevan Iorns, Head of Engineering at Air Chathams Auckland hangar. “You get to know all the aircraft, you get to know just what needs to be done and when, and you know when something isn’t spot on. They’re not just planes, they’re our pride and joy.”

Bevan started out as an apprentice at 16 years of age, earned his ‘ticket’ by 21 and has worked around the world as an aircraft engineer; it’s in his blood and it’s clearly a passion.

“As an engineer nothing beats working on aircraft,” he says. “You are dealing with all sorts of mechanisms, whether it’s turbine engines or piston engines, structures, composites, control systems, avionics, you name it. I love the challenge of constant improvement, of always doing things better, and at Air Chathams maintenance is a priority so we really can make constant improvement. It’s not about just bringing something in, working on it, and sending it back out ASAP, it’s about employing a system to do it properly. At Air Chathams everything is hands on – I can pick up the phone and talk to Craig (Air Chathams CEO) or Duane (Air Chathams GM) and we’ll be doing what needs to be done five minutes later. No expense is spared when it comes to safety and reliability, because they have a really direct approach to aviation, which is quite a rare thing these days. And that’s a great environment to be in as an engineer. There is a huge amount of responsibility in this line of work – I tell people I got my engineering ticket at 21 and had grey hair at 22! – but at Air Chathams we know we’ve got the very best systems in place and the support and resources to do the very best work.”

At Air Chathams we’re proud to be one hundred per cent Kiwi owned.

Just as Bevan started out in his apprenticeship ‘back in the day’, Engineer Edgar Roberts is embarking on his own journey in aircraft engineering. After training with Air New Zealand, Edgar joined the Air Chathams family a year ago and is enjoying soaking up the experience of the old hands. “For me the diversity of the fleet is really great,” he says. “We have the Saabs, the Metroliners, the Convairs, an ATR, the DC3 – there’s so much opportunity to see how all these different platforms operate, the engineers we have here are great, and there’s so much opportunity to get hands on experience.”

And that’s important to Edgar. “I went to Uni and did an engineering degree, but I just wasn’t getting my hands dirty enough! So I jumped ship and went into aircraft engineering and I’m loving it. It’s not a faceless corporation here, it’s like a family and for me it’s a great place to be starting out on a career.”

No expense is spared when it comes to safety and reliability, because they have a really direct approach to aviation, which is quite a rare thing these days.

“It’s like a family here” is a familiar refrain at Air Chathams, and in the cavernous Auckland maintenance hangar there is a real sense of camaraderie and shared purpose in everyone you meet, from engineer Craig Hunter giving a wing component the kind of detailed attention you’d see at NASA, to contract engineer Tim Grayer on his hands and knees in an aircraft aisle making sure the technical stuff under the floor is doing exactly what it’s supposed to. It’s a family, and in the Air Chathams hangar, it’s a happy family.

Our fleet

Air Chathams has a fleet of 15 aircraft, ranging from single-engine light planes to turboprop passenger aircraft capable of speeds of over 500km/h. With this diverse fleet we can offer everything from scenic flights to charters, passenger services and freight.