About Us

 

Mackenzie Helicopters offers extraordinary flight experiences across the South Island, ranging from scenic flights and private charters to commercial and agricultural operations.

About Us

 

Mackenzie Helicopters offers extraordinary flight experiences across the South Island, ranging from scenic flights and private charters to commercial and agricultural operations.

Mackenzie Helicopters is a family-owned business based in Lake Tekapo, New Zealand.

We strive for excellence and customer satisfaction. We’re passionate about offering extraordinary, unforgettable experiences, tailored to your desires and dreams. Our mission: To deliver you a service limited only by your imagination, carefully crafting flights and experiences you’ll treasure for a lifetime.

Our team of skilled commercial pilots are experienced flying in alpine environments and carry a wealth of knowledge and passion for the area, its people and experiences.

Our pilots operate across all sectors of helicopter operations, including private charter and scenic tourism, backcountry adventures, commercial flying and aerial lifting, agriculture, conservation and fire fighting.

We’re committed to conservation and have strong relationships with the Te Manahuna Aoraki Project, a collaborative conservation project in the upper Mackenzie Basin and Aoraki Mount Cook National Park, as well as the Department of Conservation and private landowners throughout the region. We’re proud to contribute to the preservation of our region so that it can be enjoyed by generations to come.

Who We Are

Mackenzie Helicopters is family owned and operated by Mark Pridham and his wife, Casey. Both local to the area, Mark and Casey are passionate about the South Island and showing the best it has to offer to visitors from New Zealand and around the world.

Mark is an adventurer at heart and loves nothing more than being in the outdoors showing off the breathtaking places and experiences he discovered through years of flying and exploring. With the founding of Mackenzie Helicopters, Mark and Casey brought together a team of highly-trained and experienced pilots who share their vision for the business and dedication to excellence.

Experience and Safety

The number one priority of Mackenzie Helicopters is to conduct all operations and activities in such a way that the Health and Safety of all guests, employees and others are safeguarded and the environment protected.

Our team of skilled, highly-trained professional pilots have extensive experience flying in alpine environments and across a wide range of sectors, from tourism to agricultural and commercial work.

Mackenzie Helicopters holds a Civil Aviation Part 135 Air Transport and a CAA Part 137 Agricultural Operators certificate.

Our fleet of helicopters is routinely maintained by licensed aircraft engineers.

Safety is of our upmost priority; therefore, we operate under a CAA-approved Safety Management System (SMS) using international best practices and guidance regarding the management of risk, which has been implemented to protect our pilots, passengers and staff.