23WORDSKathy Catton PHOTOSSuppliedREACH FOR THE SKIES
T
herearenotmanybusinessesoutthere
thathavea triplebottomline.One
thatequallyvaluespeople,profit,and
communities.It’sevenmoreunusualwhenI
tellyouit’sa businessthatdealswithengines,
blades,andmotors.GCHAviationistrulya
familybusiness,andit showsfromthemoment
youarriveatitsnewlybuiltpremisesonGrays
Road,nexttoChristchurchInternationalAirport.
Foundedin 1983 byJohnCurrieasa scenic
flightoperatoronNewBrightonBeach,the
businesshasgrownyearonyear.Itnowoffers
tourismflightsandairrescueoperationsin
Christchurchandvariouslocationsonthe
SouthandNorthIslands,FijiandVanuatu.
Thebuilding’sreceptionarealeadstoa
glass-frontedbreathtakingvistaoftheairport’s
runwayswiththeexpanseoftheCanterbury
Plainsasa backdrop.OnarrivalI’mgreetedby
Caroline,thegroupmarketingmanager,who
showsmetherecentlyopenedpurpose-built
privatejetcentre,providingexclusivecustoms
andimmigrationfacilitiesforjetowners
wantinga stress-freetransitionfromaircraft
touchdowntotheirultimatedestination.
“It’stheonlypurpose-builtjetcentrein
theSouthIsland,”Carolinesays,“Wehave
customerswhowanta discreetarrivalanda
secureareafortheircorporatejets.Wepartner
withsomeofthemostexclusiveluxurylodges
andwanttobesurethesevisitorshave
thebestpossibleexperiencewhileinNew
Zealand.”Thenextstageisa corporate charter
jetserviceduenextyear.
FounderJohnCurriestillcomesintothe
officemostdays,andwithsonsAndrew(CEO)
andDaniel(CFO)verymuchinthedriver’s
seatofthebusiness,thecompany’ssenseof
familyisalwaysthere;justasfamiliesexpand
and branch out, so has this business.Carolinesaysthatsafetyisthenumberone
priority.“Weholdtheonlyhelicopterdiamond
safetyratinginNewZealand.If a pilotdoesn’t
deemit safetofly,thentheyareincommand.Our
helicopterrescuecrewsareon-call24/7,andthe
newbaseprovidesgreatrestareas.Thisensures
thecrewsarereadytogowithintenminutesofa
callout.Thebestthingforourtourismbusinessis
thatourpilotsarealsorescuepilots,whichisan
amazingassetfora helicopterbusinesstohave.”
Youquicklygetthefeelingthatthesepeople
wanttobegreatcorporatecitizensandarekeen
toreachouttoothers.ThenewChristchurch
baseinGraysRoadisfullyequippedforhandling
seriouslyillpatientswiththeNZFlyingDoctors
Servicehavinga fullyequippedmedicaltriage
areaandundercoverambulancebays.
In 2011 followingtheChristchurchearthquakes,
GCHwasstraightonthescene.Whentheseven
tropicalcyclonesstruckFijiandVanuatuin
2016,GCHwastheretohelp.In 2017 duringthe
PortHillsfires,GCHwasoneofthefirstinthe
airsupportingthefireretainmentprocess.And
ofcourse,theyhavepartneredwithWestpacfor
thelast 25 yearstoprovidemedicalemergency
responsetoincidentsthroughoutCanterbury.
Thecompanyhasmaintaineda strongpresence
inthescenicflightmarketandoffersa rangeof
packagesfrom‘bucketlist’gemsto corporate
helicopterwineryexcursions.
GCHrecentlybranchedoutintotheunmanned
aerialvehicle(UAV)businessprovidingdrones
foragricultural,realestateandthermalimaging.
“We’vecreatedproductsthatareuniqueand
allowcustomerstoexploretheirownbeautiful
backyard.Thegreatthingabouthelicoptersis
thattheycangoanywhere,”Carolinegrins.
Thisisa businessthat is really taking off.gchaviation.co.nz