Aviation
Logan Appu Has Big Plans For Royal Tongan
But are they viable?
Logan Appu, general manager of Royal Tongan Airlines, says the airline is "hurting competition" with its Boeing 757 aircraft's five flights a week to Auckland and two to Sydney.
But are they really? Since its launching last November, the aircraft leased from Royal Brunei Airlines has rarely been full during low peak season.
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Airfares are currently at T$499 to Auckland, and T$599 to Sydney on a special "two for one" fare. But despite this, Appu is optimistic.
The Tongan national air carrier is working on getting a United States certification to enable it to fly to Honolulu. It plans to launch a service immediately once an approval is obtained.
According to Appu, Royal Brunei does not operate to the United States and the aircraft must go through International Aviation Safety Assessment and apply for a Foreign Air Operator Certificate before it can do so.
There are also plans to also fly to Pago Pago in American Samoa.
A second service to Sydney, scheduled to have been launched on March 31, was cancelled for reasons unknown.
Appu says Royal Tongan Airlines wants to build on the Tongan market in Sydney and Melbourne and work on increasing the influx of tourists. His dream is to have daily flights to Sydney.
Royal Tongan Airlines is also working on travel incentives to be available by the end of the year with the launch of a loyalty programme where air points are granted for both domestic and international travel.
Appu says two Tongan pilots, Michael Fa'asolo and Unga Koloamtangi are undergoing training in Brunei to fly the Boeing 757 plane. A second group of eighteen cabin crew are also training there.
"You saw what has happened now. How many new Tongans I have got? How many girls are smiling away?" he says.
Apart from the Royal Brunei Airlines cabin crew, there's also local crew of which six are New Zealand citizens. They have been hired because they are "Tongans at heart" and it reduces costs for accommodation and expenses when they are in New Zealand. Locally recruited crew members are on an odd T$3500 salary and the New Zealand crew members are paid NZ$25,000.
"That's what you pay for the market there and that's what you pay for the market here (Tonga). And they don't get the NZ$25,000. The tax man takes a lot of it as well, and they're left with only NZ$15,000-NZ$16000," he says.
Royal Tongan flights are alcohol free, but this has not affected its market share. "I've been in the airline business for a very long time. Most airlines do not like to carry alcohol on board the aircraft. It's extra weight and extra money. But we in RTA believe we want to do our own little thing," he says.
Appu believes every airline suffers incidents with intoxicated passengers, and current indicators say they are not losing passengers because of this policy. However, they will be re-looking at the policy and may limit alcoholic beverages to business class.
It will take a maximum of two and a half years for Royal Tongan Airlines to stabilise financially.
And in five years, Appu predicts a viable transport system, a good airline and an overall growth development of the nation.
"If you don't have an air transport system, you can't talk about other things. Nothing will grow. We're surrounded by water. The only means of communications or transport is by air," Appu says.
In establishing this stability, there are plans to improve the Australian market.
Appu denies Royal Tongan has lost millions since its launch. "This is [a] question I have for the Tongan public. They're all worried that the government is spending a lot of money. Have they ever had such a low fare before? Ask them that."
Asked if the lease was affordable with the devalued pa'anga, Appu said: "Ask the Tonga Government and the shareholders. If you ask me, no matter what the dollar falls at, we've got no choice. We need an airline, full stop."
Meanwhile, Royal Tongan has become the dream flight for passengers. As one said, the fares are low, we can sleep on the seats, there's lots to eat and unlike other airlines, there is rarely a queue.
