Warbirds Over Wānaka’s (WOW) new event manager has a lifelong connection to aviation. 

Andrena Davis is a plane junkie, a licensed pilot and regular airshow attendee, making the experienced event manager and photographer a perfect fit for the role.

She replaces Mandy Deans, who has retired after 14 years.

“Mandy has left big shoes to fill but I’m very excited about taking on the challenge of bringing together a fantastic airshow at Easter 2024,” Andrena said.

“I have a passion for getting things done and thrive on seeing an event come together with attendee experience my number one priority.”

Andrena’s passion for aviation was first sparked after a ride in her father’s glider as a child.

She went on to take flying lessons before gaining her pilot’s licence with the Otago Aero Club.

Andrena grew up in Dunedin and spent most of her childhood holidays in Wānaka so she is familiar with the area, WOW general manager Ed Taylor said.

More recently she has been based in Wellington and the Wairarapa where she has worked as a professional photographer and in event management, including working on the Wings Over Wairarapa Airshow.

Ed Taylor said he was looking forward to having Andrena on board as WOW gears up for its 2024 airshow.

The last Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow was in 2018 and both the 2020 and 2022 events were cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions. 

“We are already in the early stages of planning for the next airshow which by all early indications is going to be a huge event,” he said. 

“By the time Easter 2024 rolls around it will have been a long six years between airshows and we know there is plenty of pent-up demand for our event from around New Zealand and overseas.”

The 2018 airshow attracted 55,000 visitors over three days from both New Zealand and overseas and injected around $42M into the regional economy. 

PHOTO: Supplied