Our Story

Gaven and Jennie Burgess are the local couple behind Te Anau Helicopter Services. In 2014, with thousands of flights between them, the pair launched their helicopter flight offerings in Te Anau, the gateway to Fiordland. In those early days, juggling two pilots and two helis seemed like a lot for the happy couple – little did they know how fast their business would grow.

This was a busy yet hugely fulfilling year, spent flying, exploring Fiordland, raising their family and growing a business built on satisfied clients.

In 2016, we welcomed our new Hughes 500 helicopter. We continued to grow as a business, spending endless hours discovering new vistas in Fiordland and beyond.

This was a huge year, growing from a small crew to what felt like a solid team. In October, we said hello to our brand new helicopter, ZK-IMY, our B3E Squirrel, to round out our busy year.

We did some digging, expanded our services, and evolved our packages to offer our clients an even better Fiordland experience.

This was another whirlwind year. We opened a new booking office in Te Anau over the summer months, located in front of the Distinction Luxmore Hotel. We welcomed a limo to the team for heli transfers, decked in the same paint as our Squirrel helicopter.

In 2020, we welcomed Milford Helicopters onboard as a sister company to Te Anau Helicopter Services. The only helicopter company based out of Milford Sound, this addition only further opened up the wonderful world of Fiordland to our clients. From our Milford base, the team offered the same great service and a range of flights. Heli-hunting, commercial, and scenic flights are a popular choice in Milford. This was also a big year for New Zealand and the wider world – Covid-19 hit, and we were forced to evaluate what we wanted for the business and our customers.

With COVID-19 in our midst, this year was all about helping Kiwis explore their own backyard. We showed New Zealand the beauty found in Fiordland and beyond, while also operating commercially. It was a year of ups and downs, but we made the most of every day.

We continued to grow our team, which now included eight pilots, support staff, and an office team working hard behind the scenes to get us in the air. We continued expanding and put our all into being a supportive and dedicated team more than a little obsessed with Fiordland.

We now offered a wide range of services, including helicopter scenic flights, day packages and experiences, as well as transfers through Fiordland and beyond. We also provide a range of commercial services, hunting and fishing transport, and flight training.

We are forever expanding what we offer. With so much growth behind us, we can only imagine what the years to come may look like – but we’ve got a few ideas up our sleeves. No matter where life takes us, we’ll always strive to provide a safe, efficient, and incredibly memorable experience for our clients. We’ll put your needs first, and keep our standards as high as our helicopters.

– Gaven and Jennie Burgess