Who owns Sounds Air?
Sounds Air is owned by Sounds Air (New Zealand).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Sounds Air Company Background. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Sounds Air reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- Origin
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- Founded
- 1987 by Cliff Marchant, Diane Marchant
- Category
- Travel & transport › Airlines
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Sounds Air
Sounds Air is a New Zealand airline started by Cliff and Diane Marchant in 1987 to give locals and tourists low-cost access to the Marlborough Sounds. Its company background page says it has made over 225,000 Cook Strait crossings to its own airport at Picton and to Blenheim, Nelson and Paraparaumu, flying a fleet of single-engine turbine Cessna Caravans between Wellington and the Marlborough and Nelson regions.
Ownership timeline of Sounds Air
- Current owner Sounds Air [1] reported
Where Sounds Air sits in Sounds Air
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Sounds Air ownership tree →
Other brands in airlines, and who owns them
The 509 brands in airlines on Brandtree belong to 341 owners. The largest is Lufthansa Group, with 10.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Air Dolomiti | Lufthansa Group | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| China Southern Airlines | China Southern Airlines | 🇨🇳 China |
| Air China | Air China | 🇨🇳 China |
| Aer Lingus | IAG | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| LATAM Airlines Brasil | LATAM | 🇨🇱 Chile |
| Air France | Air France-KLM | 🇫🇷 France |
| AirAsia | AirAsia X | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| Calm Air | Exchange Income | 🇨🇦 Canada |
About the owner: Sounds Air
Sounds Air is a privately held company headquartered in New Zealand, founded in 1987. Brandtree records 1 brand under its control.
Privately held New Zealand airline started by Cliff and Diane Marchant in 1987. Its company background page names Cliff Marchant as founder and Andrew Crawford as CEO and director, with Steve Handyside as a director, and gives no filing or ownership percentages, so that page is the source.
🇳🇿 Sounds Air and other New Zealand brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 75 brands that began in New Zealand. 19 of them (25%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Sounds Air is not one of them.
- Air Chathams — Air Chathams 🇳🇿
- Air New Zealand — Air New Zealand 🇳🇿
- Barrier Air — Barrier Air 🇳🇿
- Fliway — NZ Post 🇳🇿
- Heritage Expeditions — Heritage Expeditions 🇳🇿
- Mainfreight — Mainfreight 🇳🇿
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Sounds Air?
The parent company of Sounds Air is Sounds Air, a privately held company headquartered in New Zealand.
Is Sounds Air New Zealand?
Yes. Sounds Air originated in New Zealand in 1987 and its owner, Sounds Air, is also headquartered in New Zealand.
Is Sounds Air still owned by Sounds Air?
Yes. As of 4 October 2026, Sounds Air is still owned by Sounds Air. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Sounds Air Company Background — Sounds Air, Official document; retrieved 4 October 2026.
Report a correction Opens a pre-filled GitHub issue. See our corrections policy.