Union Airways of N.Z. Ltd
Union Airways' Karoro at Milson c. 4 November 1936
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| Founded | April 1935 |
|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 15 January 1936 |
| Ceased operations | 31 March 1947 |
| Operating bases | Mangere, Milson, Rongotai, Taieri |
| Secondary hubs | Palmerston North |
| Focus cities | Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin |
| Alliance | |
| Subsidiaries | Cook Strait Airways, Air Travel (NZ), East Coast Airways, TEAL (associates) |
| Parent company | P & O |
| Headquarters | Dunedin |
| Key people | F Maurice Clarke, Norris Falla |
Union Airways of New Zealand Limited was New Zealand's first major airline. Founded in 1935 by local shipping giant Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand. Its services reached main centres from Auckland to Dunedin and extended to Gisborne and the West Coast of the South Island. Union Airways was instrumental in the establishment of Australian National Airways and TEAL.
After the Second World War New Zealand's government nationalised Union Airways forming New Zealand National Airways Corporation taking over on 31 March 1947 all Union Airways operations assets and facilities and adding them to those taken from other local airlines.
In March 1935 Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, subsidiary of P & O, applied to New Zealand's Transport Coordination Board for a licence to operate a national trunk airline service together with three other companies: New Zealand Airlines of New Plymouth; Dominion Airways of Auckland (together they were Great Pacific Airways); and New Zealand Airways of Dunedin. The facilities at Rongotai being inadequate it was proposed the service would operate between Auckland, Milson (Palmerston North), Blenheim, Christchurch and Dunedin. In May having won a first licence to fly between Palmerston North and Dunedin (calling at Blenheim and Christchurch) Union Steam formed Union Airways Limited keeping for itself 600 of the planned issue of 1000 shares. The new Great Pacific Airways covered the rest of the North Island though, again, not Wellington and shared the South Island calls. There were strong protests from the Wellington resident Coordination Board member. Licence applications for other routes from other sponsors were firmly opposed by Union Steam.
The general public seemed unaware that no other country had commercial flying services without government subsidy. Only in United States were military and civil aviation clearly separated though civil was still subsidised. For their Brisbane-Darwin-Singapore service operating the same DH86 aircraft QANTAS Empire Airways received a greater subsidy per mile than proposed for the trunk route. The board had been directed to take into account the value of the usefulness of all the proposed airways facilities for auxiliary defence purposes.
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