There would've been had the Japanese not turned back after the Battle of the Coral Sea. Coral Sea was the closest they came.
It began as TEAL, which stood for Tasman Empire Airways Limited.
If you mean the picturesque township in the south of New Zealands South island where they have air shows every easter, it's spelt Wanaka.
Coast Air was created in 1988.
Coast Air ended in 2008.
You need to be more specific, did you mean "air-to-air" (airplane vs airplane) battles, or "air-to-ground" (airplane vs troops/ground emplacements) battles?
Air planes were mass produced because of the many new bombs an such made also there were more air battles.
A large, open field away from other people and buildings is a good place to have air-soft battles.
The distance is about 2,570 air miles from coast to coast.
Pacific Coast Air Museum was created in 1989.
A good estimation would be well over a thousand battles; when counting US warships off the coast; Riverine Swift Boats on the rivers; Jets and Bombers over North Vietnam and air strikes in South Vietnam; Covert operations along the borders; and standard tank/infantry battles thru-out the land for over 10 years.
New Zealands worst Air disaster was when an Air New Zealand DC10 crashed on Mt Erebus in Antarctica while on a sightseeing flight on Nov 29 1979. 257 people died. There were no survivors making it not only the worst air disaster in New Zealand but New Zealand 's worst ever disaster in terms of loss of life. Exceeding the Napier earthquake in which 256 people died by one death. New Zealand is a small country so most people knew someone who died on the flight.
The distance is about 4,193 air miles from coast to coast.