The number of airlines operating regular services from Whakatāne Airport will double in January, when Sunair Aviation debuts its new weekday service to three regions.

Dubbed “the big little airline”, Sunair flies across the regional North Island and expects to offer direct flights from Whakatāne to Gisborne, Napier and Hamilton from January 13.

Sunair owner Dan Power said the company was working to expand on air travel services provided between regions in the North Island, and the plan had always been to include Whakatāne.

The airline resumed services in Hamilton Airport this year as part of its focus on expansion.

The Tauranga-based business has been built on operating region-to-region flights which bypass the main centres, rather than the hub and spoke model of national airline Air New Zealand.

The schedule includes flights departing Whakatāne for Hamilton in the morning and Gisborne and Napier in the afternoon.

Flights will arrive in Whakatāne in the morning from Gisborne and Napier, and in the afternoon from Hamilton.

The Sunair fleet is comprised of six-seater twin engine Piper Aztecs and four-seater Cessna 172 aircraft.

Flights range in price from $280 to $390, depending on destination.

Mr Power said the existing flight services were populated primarily by businesspeople wanting same-day travel options, but leisure travel picked up seasonally to airports such as Whitianga.

Whakatāne District Council manages day-to-day operations at the airport and Mr Power said the team was “very receptive” in helping Sunair to expand into the Eastern Bay.

Whakatāne has been primarily serviced for the past nine years by Air Chathams, since Air New Zealand pulled its local flights citing million-dollar losses monthly on regional routes using its 19-seater planes.

Air Chathams flies to Auckland multiple times every weekday, with fewer flights on weekends.

Air Chathams Chief Commercial Officer Duane Emeny said Sunair’s expansion into Whakatāne was exciting for both the district and the airline.

The airlines have shared the Whakatāne terminal in the past without issue.

Mr Emeny said Air Chathams and Sunair were not in competition, and the latter had a good model working for it.

In addition to direct flights from Whakatāne to Gisborne, Napier and Hamilton, Sunair flies to Ardmore, Great Barrier Island, Tauranga, Wairoa, Whangarei and Whitianga.

Airlines are expected to be a topic of conversation at the Whakatāne District Council infrastructure and planning committee meeting on Thursday.

Resolutions have been proposed to exclude the public from parts of the meeting discussing “incentives package for new airlines” and “Air Chathams financial support.”

The contents of the discussions can only be released with approval from the chief executive.