Air + Sea

Virgin Blue Under Fire Pacific Services Scrutinized The impact of the worrying performance of Virgin Blue in Australia on its plans to enter a joint venture with Polynesian Airlines is still unclear. Virgin Blue shares have been slammed, dropping to record lows in January. The company has also issued a profit warning, saying earnings are expected to fall by up to 15 percent for the year to March 31. Samoa's government picked Virgin Blue as the "preferred partner" for a new joint venture airline, Polynesian Blue, which would take over the long-haul jet operations of Polynesian Airlines. Virgin Blue has also been operating lower cost flights to Fiji and Vanuatu under the banner Pacific Blue. Virgin Blue chairman Chris Corrigan says, however, that the airline should concentrate on Australia and competing with Qantas offshoot, Jetstar, in that market. Corrigan's company, Patrick Corp, is trying to wrest at least 50 percent control of Virgin Blue, and has offered a very low A$1.90 per share. Pacific Blue is due to make its first weekly flight from Christchurch to Rarotonga on March 19. The flight was scheduled to debut in November last year but information technology problems forced the deferral.

CNMI-Guam Routes
Out With The Old, In With The New

Pacific Island Aviation no longer flies between Guam and the Northern Marianas as of Feb.9. The announcement follows the entry in August of Continental Micronesia's Continental Connection, a turbo-prop commuter service, into the Marianas market. PIA Chief Executive Office Robert F. Christian said: "There is too much capacity in the market…we feel it is an appropriate time to exit." Freedom Air will continue servicing the route as it has done for more than 30 years. Freedom Air recently added a freighter-a SD3-30, formerly an Air Force C-23A-to its fleet and expanded its cargo services.
-Frank Whitman

Respite In Sight
Tongan Service To Northern Islands To Resume

Peau Vava'u's domestic air services to the northern Tongan islands of Niuafo'ou and Niuatoputapu were expected to resume by the second week of February, after a lapse of nine months. A quality assessment expert with the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority has carried out final assessment of the ability of the aircraft to land and to take off safely from the two runways. However the Peoples' Representative for Niuatoputapu and Niuafo'ou, Sione Peauafi Haukinima, told Radio New Zealand he also has concerns about the cost of flights under Peau Vava'u: "The airfares to the Niuas are higher than the airfares to Fiji and Pago Pago and Samoa."

Overlapping Responsibilities
Vanuatu And New Caledonia To Iron Out Boundaries

Discussions between Vanuatu and New Caledonia over maritime boundaries are continuing, with Vanuatu's Minister for Maritime Affairs visiting Noumea recently. The negotiations have been prompted by the arrest of a fishing boat by the French Navy last year which had a valid fishing license to fish in Vanuatu waters. New Caledonian authorities suspected it of fishing illegally in New Caledonia's Exclusive Economic Zone. The boat was eventually released after Port Vila and Noumea decided to negotiate an agreement on how to manage and share resources where their EEZs overlap. Cooperation on search and rescue operations is also being discussed.

Dream Or Nightmare?
The Association of South Pacific Airlines (ASPA) says studies on regional aviation have been "donor-driven," and that none have been implemented.

ASPA Secretary-General George Faktaufon says the proposed Pacific Islands Air Space Agreement is "merely a consultant's dream."

Faktaufon is interested in studying the impact of lower cost airlines on existing regional services, telling PACNEWS that while these airlines can quickly enter a market, they can just as quickly exit if they need to.

Transport Briefs The Samoa government has granted locally-based Inter Island Airways rights to operate on-demand charter flights to and from Faleolo International Airport, but for only six months at this stage. No start up date has been set as yet. -Fili Sagapolutele Air Niugini has posted increased passenger growth in the last quarter of 2004, with domestic and international passenger traffic rising 10.3 percent and 7.5 percent respectively over the same quarter in 2003. Officials say the growth comes from continued recovery of the Papua New Guinea economy and increasing inbound tourism. A new non-stop charter air service between Japan and Marshall Islands is being mooted for the end of this year, which could see up to 200 tourists visiting for a week at a time. Local business has indicated it is broadly supportive of the initiative. A local tourism industry executive says non-stop flights to Majuro raises the potential for the Marshalls to become a specialty dive market for Japan. In Vanuatu, people on outer islands hope that two new Chinese-funded ships will bring businesses and people closer together. The vessels, worth US$9.4 million should be completed by the end of the year. Sun Air (Pacific) has appointed Tui Beddoes as its new General Manager and Ganga Gounder as Chief Financial Officer. Sun Air services ten domestic Fiji destinations.