Welcome To GCH Aviation Group
You’ve landed at the home of New Zealand’s most experienced and safest private aviation companies. GCH Aviation represent over three decades of helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft services in New Zealand, Fiji and Vanuatu.
Aircraft
Staff
Scenic Flights
Key Operations
We operate scenic and commercial helicopter flight services, certified flight training, and air rescue and ambulance operations from bases in New Zealand and the South Pacific. We are also home to Canterbury’s first full-service corporate Jet Centre, and a specialist UAV (drone) imaging facility.
For over three decades, we have maintained one of the most enviable safety records in helicopter aviation in New Zealand. This record, combined with the vast international experience of our pilots, regular training, familiarity with equipment, and extensive and continual exposure to the extreme terrain covered by our operations, ensures you'll experience service second to none.
Your Feedback
Emsy22
Awesome experience! Treated my husband to a scenic flight for our first wedding anniversary. It was fantastic!! I had thought we had booked a harbour flight, so we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves zipping down the south coast. The stop at the seal colony really was an added bonus! Thank you soooo much to the team for a wonderful trip, it made for a memorable day. Next time we’ll be back to do a picnic or a lunch and go all out!
Cosydell11
Little chopper – big sky. Well worth it! Fantastic, first of many now. Learnt more than a thing or two on a beautiful July winters day. Instructions were easy to understand from Johnathon and landing over the rural areas a treat. I have the bug now!
Darius69
WOW, absolutely amazing! Wow, by far the best way to see Vanuatu, highly recommended, next time we’ll do the longer flight. the views from above are absolutely stunning! Great way to see the overall beauty of this spectacular island. Can’t wait to do it again.
Discover539131
Fantastic fun flying with Garden City Helicopters. Our Fantastic pilot Jono took us to Akaroa for a special day. Viewed the city, Brighton beach, Sumner, Port hills beautiful coast line and into Akaroa harbour. There were 6 of us and we all had good views. Thanks for a great day GCH. Awesome fun.
Smashley2013
A-maz-ing! This was a Christmas present from the hubby. The tour was perfect on a lovely day. Johnathan, our pilot had a great sense of humor and had heaps to tell us as he helped us pin point what we were seeing. Might be time to start saving for a picnic trip!
Brett K
Recently in Vila for a cruise stopover and did the short 7 minute flight to see the highlights around port vila, the pilot was knowledgeable and friendly, we all had a great time and will definitely recommend to friends heading that way, a great way to get a quick over view, and all taking off and landing from a pontoon in the harbour with a glass bottom boat ride out to the pontoon. Great fun.
Falconface
Amazing Experience. Great flight. Saw lots of the Christchurch sites. Jordan was very informative, safety conscious, and made sure we were comfortable throughout the flight. Would highly recommend, especially for tourists.
Zuhal Genc
Amazing Experience! Had a pleasant experience seeing Christchurch from up above. Smooth flight. The scenery was amazinggg!!! Perfect weather. Our pilot did an excellent job on briefing us of the safety rules and history of Christchurch. I would definitely recommend Garden City Helipcopters as your scenic adventure. Thankyou!
Thehammerhead
Great way to experience piloting a helicopter. I had the amazing gift of a trial flight in a helicopter and could not have asked for a better experience than I had today at GCH. [The] wonderful instructor made the experience a fantastic one.
Trina S
Fabulous quick trip over Wellington with the most amazing views. While this trip is short, it is very worthwhile as it gives you the most amazing views and aerial insights to our capital city. Travelling at speeds of around 250k per hour, you feel like you are just taking a leisurely stroll as there is no reference point to judge your speed. Great trip to use as a gift.
Joe G
Wellington is a beautiful city from the sky. What an awesome experience. Very friendly and professional crew. The flight was smooth and the view from up there is amazing. The time flew by as it was so good up there, but with an experience like this, it always could be longer. Would definitely recommend for visitors or locals, and would do it again myself in a heartbeat. Thanks heaps Liz and team!!
Steama47
Just amazing!! If you’re going to do anything helicopter related in NZ use garden city helicopters we just had a fantastic day with them and our pilot jhonno was fantastic. Just professional through and through. thanks again guys.
Sean Linton
I highly recommend getting in touch with Wellington Helicopters for any commercial lifting needs. The staff were thoroughly professional and showed a very high level of skill and safety planning. Very impressive level of care and precision from the highly capable air and ground crew. The helicopter was also fantastic value for money given the nature of our job and alternatives available to us. It gave us a greatly increased (ten fold) carrying capacity (in dollars per tonne) compared to other methods we investigated, and was also a major time saver.
CD618
This was a spectacular way to see Port Vila and it’s surrounds. Taking a flight around to the turtle sanctuary was great fun. Dugongs and turtles were visible from the air which was totally unexpected. A fly-by of a waterfall and a beach landing only added to the experience. But this isn’t just limited to a flight. We also got educated. We got to understand the efforts being undertaken to help conserve the Hawksbill turtle in this small part of the world. Well worth the time and highly recommended.
Ange13ok
We visited Vanuatu for our wedding anniversary and decided to take a helicopter ride on our special day. This was amazing! We went for the 40 minute trip out the Turtle Sanctuary. Even though it was a little expensive – it was worth every cent. Andy the Kiwi pilot was so much fun and told us about the different landmarks along the way. The flight home was across the forests of Vanuatu – just amazing scenery. Andy even pointed out a waterfall that in the 7 years of flying he had never seen! Definitely book this in – it was AMAZING!
Familyoffour_2010_10
Awesome experience. We took a helicopter from Nadi airport to Plantation Island. Jane the pilot was wonderful. Very informative and kept us entertained on our short journey. Weather was a little over cast but the helicopter gives great views all round. Would highly recommend as we all loved it and a quick way of getting to the island.
NanDeb03
Such a great company. We had our helicopter transfers booked by our island resort, however due to very bad weather, heavy rain & wind our flight was grounded. Tupou on the front desk kept us updated and made telephone calls on our behalf to our resort and as we had to overnight in Denarau, he organised for us to be driven to the Hilton that evening and picked up the following morning and taken to Denarau for our flight to our destination. The flight over & our return a week later was nothing less than spectacular! Our pilot, Luke was very informative and pointed out points of interest for us. Although both our flights were only about 15 minutes, we wouldn’t hesitate to fly with them again to experience more. Well done on a great experience Pacific Island Air.
Lynn B
Wonderful flight. Our helicopter flight to Tokoriki Island was wonderful. Our check in was efficient and friendly. Our pilot friendly and informative. Safety was paramount. Would love to do it again. Many thanks.
Rajiv M
Lovely scenic flight! We a family of 3 took a Christchurch scenic flight with Garden City Helicopters. We had wonderful views of the city, the Peninsula Bay and Southern Alps (from far). The flight was smooth during the entire journey and our Pilot Jordan gave a commentary briefing us of the places we flew over. While most people take flights over glaciers, I would not hesitate recommending a scenic flight over Christchurch which also has a lot to offer.
Jack Thompson
I have flown with Garden City several times and highly recommend them to everyone! Always an enjoyable and safe journey.
Andy Martin
Best way to see sunny Nelson and the Abel Tasman.
Miriam Reihana
We absolutely recommend GCH. You should be absolutely proud of yourselves, from start to finish the staff were so accommodating especially as we had our 7 month old grandson with us. Nothing was an issue and the experience was amazing, what a memorable adventure and we are planning on doing it again.
Elis Hacioglu Kurtic
I had a super nice experience from the first minute with warm welcoming to the last bye. The staff are so friendly and my pilot made my day! Thank you very much…
Eddie Simon
Today I went out on a Helicopter Trial Flight with Juliette and had the most amazing experience. Everyone and everything was just perfect. Everything was explained thoroughly and I was made to feel comfortable. My flight experience was brilliant and I got a chance to take over the controls briefly and take some awesome photos. I rate these guys 5 Stars. Thanks and I’ll be back.
Daniel Paget
Came in for a trial flight today and what a buzz with the awesome staff and the experience I totally recommend this to anyone it’s an amazing experience and totally worth doing. Thanks GCH I had a blast. Thanks Juliette what a trip.
Emma Rush
My partner absolutely enjoyed his own personal flying lesson in a Helicopter with the Garden City team. Brian was a great teacher. And we felt at home having a chat afterwards over a cuppa.
Hamish Wilson
Thanks to Juliet for taking me out for a hoon in IHC yesterday. Was an awesome experience and I have bit of learning to do on my behalf. Thinking if I start skipping meals I might be able to afford my fledgling addiction.
Howard Banwell
The people here are really friendly and professional, and our pilot for the 50-minute Coastal Whale Watch helicopter flight was just terrific. The Raven II chopper is also a good model for this kind of flight. We managed to see one Sperm Whale and a pod of Dusky Dolphins and got some great views of the Kaikoura Peninsula as well as the nearby coastline and the rebuilt coastal road. All wonderful stuff.
Erez Amosi
Worth every dollar! At first, we try to take the boat in order to see the whales. After few cancellations because of bad weather, we decided to take the helicopter. We saw 2 whales and more than a hundred dolphins! The sites were beautiful and the pilot (Aharon) was super nice and friendly. In the end, it was much better choice then going on the boat.
Karen M
Incredible. Our whole experience with Kaikoura Helicopters was great, from the initial booking over the phone with Aaron and Lloyd to the actual 30-min whale watching helicopter flight. We were lucky enough to see a pod of Orcas and two Sperm Whales during our flight with Aaron and we enjoyed stunning views of the Kaikoura Ranges and the Peninsula too. It was worth every cent and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Kaikoura Helicopters to others. Thank you for such a memorable experience!
RKLEH
Worth every penny. Many thanks to Dave & Aaron (our pilot) for a fantastic 40 minute flight yesterday. We saw & photographed 3 Sperm whales and also went up into the mountains to see some of the terrible 2016 earthquake damage. The time literally flew past & we loved every minute of it. A very professional outfit. Strongly recommend.
Jan Ka
Awesome Experience. What an amazing experience yesterday. I am still wearing a huge smile on my face the day after. On our tour we got to see a Humpback Whale, a Fin Whale and a Blue Whale. Absolutely awesome. Thanks to the whole team @ Kaikoura Helicopters. Very kind, helpful and professional.
Chow Shen Wei
The most amazing helicopter ride. Got to see sperm whales, dolphins and landed on the snow-capped mountain all in one ride. What more can you ask for? And the guide was very friendly and engaging. Recommended to go!
Paul Potter
The flight up the mountains with two landings was great the mountains were up close you could see deer. The contrast between the snow covered mountains and the neat fields around Kaikoura was amaising.
Evan Rayner
We have done the Whale watching by boat but nothing compares to seeing them from the air. We had the most amazing flight. On take off we saw Dolphins in the waves. The trip we took was the Top n Tail. This trip takes you to the top of My Fyffe and the out to see the Whales including views of Kaikoura. The pilot was very informative and helpful throughout the flight. This trip was an amazing experience and I fully recommend it.
Tim Le Cren
We used Garden City Helicopters (Nelson) for a Spa relocation on the hill we couldn’t of asked for much more! Delivered as per time frame along with exceptional patience from the start to delivery. Thanks Jordan and the boys for a outstanding job! We will be in touch again soon.
Liz Rea
Well a huge huge thanks to the team at GCH….we had an absolute blast of a ride with your team member Reagan yesterday over to Akaroa….mum was a bit nervous but he explained everything and made me feel better about it. What an amazing way to see our beautiful country. Totally recommend people to tick this one off on their bucket list…don’t wait like I did for years to do it! Thanks again.
AmandaP5343
An awesome experience! We flew Christchurch to Akaroa and back. Time for lunch and a quick walk-around in between flights. It was amazing. Highly recommend it. Still buzzing 2 weeks later!
JemmaW148
Amazing Friendly Experience. We flew from Christchurch to Akaroa and it was incredible, friendly staff, and such an amazing experience.
Paula Foxall
Great experience very informative wonderful scenery very Professional would definitely recommend them.
Glenn Sparrow
The team at Garden City have a Romantic Getaway package that I surprised my wife for her 40th Birthday with. The service from everyone at Garden City was exceptional and the pilot was very engaging. We were allowed to bring our son on the flight and everyone made him feel special. I wanted the trip to be a complete surprise for my wife, she still had no idea where we were going till we came into land at Clearwater ( which is part of the package). I would thoroughly recommend the trip.
Melissa Fenwick
Amazing flight up to Mt Herbert. My husband and I loved flying over our beautiful city and enjoying a glass of bubbly over looking the harbour. I would recommend to my friends and family!
Anita Twiss
Massive thanks to the GCH crew for an amazing experience this morning! They went above and beyond, making my parents 30th wedding anniversary one to remember. Fantastic service.
Trenna F
Amazing first flight in a helicopter yesterday on a cold but sunny southerly day to the Port Hills. Fantastic great pilot and wonderful service and lovely bottle of very chilled wine at the top! I would highly recommend this trip can’t wait to do it again!
Lisa M
Overwhelmed when thinking about our wonderful day. When we arrived at Garden City Helicopters we were greeted by the receptionist who was welcoming and genuinely friendly. We met our pilot Johnno who was definitely one of the highlights of our day. He was witty and made us feel at ease. We set off and although it was cloudy we managed to see the landscape and stunning colours of Autumn around Christchurch. On our return flight it was kind of sad to end….we had such an awesome time. Thanks Garden City Helicopters.
Rebekah Ritsma
Thanks guys for making my 50th birthday so special. Love my flight to the Pegasus Bay Winery the views were amazing as was our pilot she made the flight very special. Pegasus Bay winery just gorgeous wine, food and setting amazing.
Dreames2
Great view over Akaroa. Picked up from cruise ship Akaroa – by Christine – chauffer – to the top of hill and met by Martin the Pilot who confidently flew us above the Akaroa hillside and river – amazing views and good commentary.
ToTheGoodElf
We had the best day with [pilot] Ryan as we flew from a hill overlooking the water and our cruise ship to Pegasus Bay Vineyard. It was an amazing ride and landing in a vineyard in “our” helicopter wasn’t so bad. Lunch was amazing and then the return trip we got an aerial view of our cruise ship. It is safe to say we will never forget that day in our lives because it truly was one of the Best Days Ever!
J H H
Booked this through a cruise line during a stopover in Akaroa. What an amazing way to see the devastation of the city, it’s port city of Lyttleton and the spectacular coastline between Akaroa and Christchurch. Our trip included a jet boat excursion in Christchurch that was fun too – but the helicopter ride was just amazing. Would do it again in a flash!
Jodie Jellick
Thank you to the team at GCH for the incredible day you gave us today. So helpful in getting it organised for us, legend pilot and spectacular scenery. You guys rocked it. From Akaroa to over the Canterbury plains, to Rakaia River on a jet boat, a jaw-dropping flight through the southern alps to meet our ski plane and a coastal tour on the way home. You made our NZ trip unforgettable and got us back in plenty of time to reboard our ship.
RochelleG225
My mother and I did this tour as our Mother’s Day present and I can highly recommend it to others. Our pilot, Jordan, was fantastic and took it very easy as my mother is a bit of a nervous flyer. Seeing the city from the air and getting commentary from Jordan as we went was fantastic and valuable to both locals and visitors to Christchurch. We are already planning our next excursion.
Adam Richards
Awesome flight today with Jono our pilot. Great way to see the city and good fun entertainment provided with Jono’s commentary 🙂 cheers team
Ashleigh Hinton
A great flight over the city centre with my partner for our anniversary. Joni knew what he was talking about and made it lots more fun for the 20 minutes of flying!! Thanks so much. Have recommended already to many Friends! Well worth the cost.
GCH Aviation
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