Safe Air - History

History

From airline to world-class military MRO

1950	Straits Air Freight Express (SAFE) was registered as a company in 1950. Shortly after it was awarded the New Zealand Railways Department air freight contract. In May 1951, SAFE took delivery of its first two Bristol 170 freighters. This ungainly, 'bull-nosed' aircraft was to become the iconic work horse of the airline. The fleet eventually grew to 13.
1967 (December)	Safe Air was granted a licence to operate a passenger service between New Zealand’s capital Wellington and the Chatham Islands.
1972 (September)	NAC (National Airways Corporation) bought out Safe Air making it a 100% owned subsidiary. Business continued as usual.
1973 (October)	Safe Air took delivery of the first of two series 222 Argosies, the Merchant Pioneer. The other, Enterprise, also arrived in 1973. These were pressurised modern aircraft with higher freight capacity than the Bristols.
1978 (April)	NAC merged with Air New Zealand to become one national airline. Safe Air remains a 100% owned subsidiary of Air New Zealand today.
1987 (October)	Safe Air started a military contract on a scale never seen before. This 38-month subcontract from Smiths Industries was to install and test updated navigation and attack systems on the Royal New Zealand Air Force's 21 A4 Skyhawks.
1990 (August 17)	Safe Air's General Manager Ron Tannock announced that flying operations were to cease within one month. Safe Air was grounded to reform as an aircraft maintenance facility.
1993 (July)	Safe Air started work on the ANZAC frigate contract to manufacture heating ventilation and air-conditioning containers (HVAC). This contract was extended into other frigate components and continues today.
1998	Safe Air was awarded the RNZAF contract to run the Air Force's heavy maintenance facilities at RNZAF Woodbourne, known as the 1RD. This effectively tripled Safe Air's staff to 360 and significantly enhanced the company's capability.
1999	Safe Air commenced work on the RNZAF and Royal Australian Kaman Seasprite acquisition programme. This work continues today with Safe Air supporting the Kaman Aerospace International Support Centre.
2004	Safe Air undertook its first Boeing 737 C Check. Eight were completed during the year.
2005	The New Zealand Ministry of Defence announced that Safe Air had been awarded two major RNZAF upgrade subcontracts. The first being the P-3 Orion missions systems upgrade. The second being the C-130 Life extension programme.

For a full account of this extraordinary company's history, read the book "Safe in the Skies" available through Safe Air. Email [email protected] for details.