Transport in New Zealand final sailing of the Rangatira, which was custom built and entered service in 1972, was on 15 September 1976, after two money-losing years (subsidised by the government). New Zealand's air travel sector is served by 15 airlines. The largest airline is Air New Zealand, a state-owned flag carrier. There are 123 airports (and aerodromes) in New Zealand. Six airports provide international air services (besides domestic services); Auckland and Christchurch (the largest airports in the North and South Islands, respectively) providing long-haul and short-haul international air services; and Wellington, Hamilton, Dunedin and Queenstown providing short-haul international air services to Australia and
New Zealand British Rail Mark 2 carriage New Zealand British Rail Mark 2 carriage The New Zealand British Rail Mark 2 carriages were built by British Rail Engineering Limited for British Rail in the early 1970s. From the mid-1990s, some were exported to New Zealand and after being rebuilt/refurbished and re-gauged, entered service. They are used on the Capital Connection (S class), owned and operated by KiwiRail Scenic; and on the Metlink Wairarapa Connection (SW/SWG/SWS class and SE/SEG/SES class), owned by Greater Wellington Regional Council and operated under contract by Tranz Metro. They were used on Auckland Transport commuter trains in Auckland (SA/SD class), operated under contract