Tourism
Here Come The Long-Range Airbuses
Aircalin, Air Tahiti Nui Follow Same Route As Fiji
New Caledonia and French Polynesia are taking multi-million dollar gambles to equip themselves with long-distance airliners able to bring tourists to them from core markets. The French territories decided, as Fiji did more than two decades ago, that foreign airlines could not be relied on. Air Caledonie International (Aircalin) is investing more than US$200 million to acquire two 250-passenger Airbus 330 jets and a smaller Airbus 320. Since early 2000 it has flown to Japan with a leased Airbus 330. The French Development Agency will help fund the purchase of the two A330s and the lease of an A320 with a purchase option. The new jets are due to enter service mid next year on services to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, French Polynesia, Fiji, and Wallis and Futuna.
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Shareholders of Air Tahiti Nui, floundering financially two years after its inception, have recommitted themselves to keep it going until at least 2005. The French Polynesia territorial government has agreed to pump more capital into the airline. Having run up a US$23 million deficit in two years, Air Tahiti Nui has had to make several public appeals for more capital. The territorial government is supplying more than half the extra money needed. Auditors said to shut the airline down would be a "costly mistake" since the 37,000 extra Japanese and Americans landed in French Polynesia had injected more than US$100 million into the local economy. The airline’s chairman, Noel Levy, said the shareholders’ pledge to continue supporting the airline until at least 2005 would give tour wholesalers confidence to channel business needed to operate profitably.
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AIR PACIFIC:
Fiji’s national airline, after more than a dozen consecutive years of profit, had what would have been record revenues and profit savaged by the May coup. It says while tourist traffic on its USA, Japan, Australia and New Zealand services has recovered well, the opening of services to three new destinations has gone on hold.
POLYNESIAN:
The Samoa Government owned Polynesian Airlines could eventually add a 250-seater Boeing 767 jet to the two long-range Boeing 737-800 jets being acquired, says prime minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, the airline’s chairman. Polynesian has used the new jet to open scheduled services to Hawaii, the Cook Islands and Tahiti and non-stop flights to Sydney.
ROYAL TONGAN:
Another government-owned airline, Royal Tonga Airlines in 2000 leaseda Boeing 737-200 jet used for Monday to Saturday flights to Auckland; a Sunday Auckland-Niue return flight; and flights to Fiji. In a code-share arrangement with Polynesian it opened a non-stop service to Sydney.
SOLOMON AIRLINES:
Solomon Airlines reopened Boeing 737 flights to Australia, Vanuatu and Fiji. It had suspended these after the overthrow of the former Solomon Islands government in June 2000 amidst ethnic conflict.
AIR VANUATU:
The Vanuatu Government decided to merge Air Vanuatu, which operates a Boeing 737 jet to Australia and New Zealand, with the country’s financially-troubled internal airline, Vanair. Air Vanuatu management will run the combined airline.
AIR NAURU:
Busy Air Nauru is looking at buying a Boeing 737-800 because, says chief executive Owen Coughlan, the utilization of its present jet has reached the permitted maximum. The Nauru airline hopes to persuade at least three Micronesian governments to accept it as their Central Pacific regional carrier charged with the responsibility of developing tourist and business traffic into and within the region.
AIR KIRIBATI:
Kiribati’s airline says it is exploring acquisition of a 70-seater ATR 72 prop jet primarily for use on a Tarawa/Tuvalu/Fiji route. Air Fiji now operates Suva-Funafuti and Air Nauru operates Tarawa-Nadi.
