mariner wrote:

planemanofnz wrote:

FJ will name its latest aircraft (an A330), "Island of Vatulele". Villagers from Vatulele were invited to NAN to see the A330.

Vatulele is a long, tiny island somewhat to the south of Suva, whose four villages represent some what less than a couple thousand people. It is home to the unique and protected red prawn, red before it is cooked,

However, it famous for the Vatulele Island Resort - one the ritziest resorts in Fiji - and I suspect this is why it gets an A330 named after it, because of the all the mega-rich foreign visitors it attracts. LOL.

mariner

Didn't the resort close down? I learned to dive there 15 years ago. Vatulele is a very special place for me, lovely little island with the nicest people I have ever met

Mortyman wrote:

The atolls have about 1000-1500 people and it's not ready for tourism.

True, but there is a precedent for regions with a similar population size getting air services, like IUE, and even without tourism, as others have said, this air service could be used for the local Tokelauan population (both cargo and passenger traffic). I assume the entire aviation industry would be subsidized (likely at least in part, by New Zealand).

Cheers,

C.

planemanofnz wrote:

Mortyman wrote:

The atolls have about 1000-1500 people and it's not ready for tourism.

True, but there is a precedent for regions with a similar population size getting air services, like IUE, and even without tourism, as others have said, this air service could be used for the local Tokelauan population (both cargo and passenger traffic). I assume the entire aviation industry would be subsidized (likely at least in part, by New Zealand).

Cheers,

C.

Indeed. Tokelau is part of the New Zealand Realm and her people are NZ citizens. But which atoll gets the airtstrip?

This article made me laugh as it is filled with so many inaccuracies.

I feel sorry for the Samoan people and the way this airline is being run, as the burden of Samoa Airways failing will fall back on the Samoan people.

http://sobserver.ws/en/18_07_2018/colum ... a-Airways-–-a-brave-decision-or-what.htm

QuayWeeAir wrote:

I feel sorry for the Samoan people and the way this airline is being run, as the burden of Samoa Airways failing will fall back on the Samoan people

Their numbers on APW - SYD are terrible - in May 2018, the load factors averaged just ~40%.

Nevertheless, despite this, they are being asked to establish new APW - BNE flights, by BNE.

It'll be really interesting to see how long they last - I doubt they'll see 2019 through to year end.

See:
- https://bitre.gov.au/publications/ongoi ... y_1805.pdf.
- https://www.radionz.co.nz/international ... oa-airways.

Cheers,

C.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Air Vanuatu ATR incident on the weekend. Reading local news reports, it sounded pretty hairy onboard for a while.

There is a report on The Aviation Herald with a photo showing the damage to a couple of Islanders that "got in the way".

planemanofnz wrote:

Some developments with PX:

- They will launch a new TKK - NRT flight from September (on 738's)
- They have started to code-share with FJ on POM - HIR - NAN flights
- They still want to develop a hub at POM for Asia - Australia services
- One of their planes was burned down in Mendi by a mob last month

See:
- https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news ... ir-niugini.
- https://postcourier.com.pg/air-niugini- ... i-airways/.
- https://centreforaviation.com/news/air- ... hub-816119.
- https://www.pngindustrynews.net/governm ... d-in-mendi.

Cheers,

C.

Can someone please explain to me the logic of converting POM-NRT to POM-TKK-NRT? The Japan-TKK market is so tiny; TKK is a horrible place to visit except for the diving; and if the goal was to tech-stop then surely ROR, GUM or SPN would have been better options and directly on the line. Even PNI would have been a better place to stop - I love PNI although the runway may be too short.

I still can’t believe PX flies to PNI and TKK but someone must be flying with them. I’d love to see them connect to GUM and ROR to give United a run for its money. No one else has been able to do it successfully but all the Micronesian startups have been very imaginative without a lot of marketing or financial stability to support them long-term. A financially strong company like PX with the ability to connect to key points would be a huge boon to Micronesia.

If TKK and PNI can work, so could POM-ROR-MNL/GUM/NRT/TPE or POM-SPN-MNL/TPE/NRT. With connections to/from Australia, you’d be tapping into a plethora of markets in multiple directions. I’ve never flown with PX but hear nice things - has anyone else? I’d love to discuss their Micronesian foray in more detail.

Air services to Tokelau are at least 5 years away, according to New Zealand officials, but reports say that local leaders are set on progressing construction for an airport on Fakaofo as soon as possible. It'll be interesting to see if this happens, and who funds it.

See: https://www.radionz.co.nz/international ... -officials.

Motorhussy wrote:

Tokelau is part of the New Zealand Realm and her people are NZ citizens. But which atoll gets the airtstrip?

Fakaofo - see above.

Cheers,

C.

Can anyone shed some light on the connection between PNG and the Philippines? There are 7 flights a week between POM and MNL, a higher frequency than any other international destination ex-POM except for BNE. PR is also the only non-Australian international carrier to operate into POM. Is there some history between the two nations that facilitates this?

I realise MNL is the closest capital city in Asia to POM (excluding BWN... just) but it's not that much closer than SIN/KUL/HKG which are bigger economic hubs.

Qantas16 wrote:

Can anyone shed some light on the connection between PNG and the Philippines? There are 7 flights a week between POM and MNL, a higher frequency than any other international destination ex-POM except for BNE. PR is also the only non-Australian international carrier to operate into POM. Is there some history between the two nations that facilitates this?

I realise MNL is the closest capital city in Asia to POM (excluding BWN... just) but it's not that much closer than SIN/KUL/HKG which are bigger economic hubs.

At a guess, there are probably a lot of Filipinos working at the big mining sites and associated infracstructure projects in PNG.

Qantas16 wrote:

Can anyone shed some light on the connection between PNG and the Philippines?

Reports say there are more than 35,000 Filipinos living in Papua New Guinea - the largest group of expatriates there. They don't just work in infrastructure and mining, but in areas like agriculture and healthcare too. There is also freight traffic, for things like food.

See: https://www.radionz.co.nz/international ... -agreement.

Qantas16 wrote:

MNL is the closest capital city in Asia to POM (excluding BWN... just)

Both DIL and BWN (the airports) are closer to POM than MNL is.

POM - DIL: 1,483 mi
POM - BWN: 2,436 mi
POM - MNL: 2,437 mi

Cheers,

C.

OL is launching BNE - APW from November - not unexpected, as they had mooted the idea.

I wish them luck, but can't see it lasting because of how weak their SYD - APW loadings are.

See: https://www.ausbt.com.au/samoa-airways- ... ource=grid.

Cheers,

C.

https://www.saipantribune.com/index.php ... -airlines/
Northern Mariana want to attract airlines to operate services to the territory as it lost link to Japan and inter-island flights

Interesting to hear that Air Kiribati has ordered two Embraer E-2’s plus options for a further pair.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/378727/kiribati-buys-two-new-jet-planes

Motorhussy wrote:

Interesting to hear that Air Kiribati has ordered two Embraer E-2’s plus options for a further pair.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/378727/kiribati-buys-two-new-jet-planes

Article in Oz Aviation here…

http://australianaviation.com.au/2018/12/air-kiribati-to-go-the-distance-with-embraer-e2-order/

Let's hope it's better managed, particularly the cargo hold, than Air Tungaru's B727 was.
CFRP hull would have a better chance of long term survival in Kiribati ops.

Short video of Air Tahiti (VT) ATR72-600 F-ORVR 'Tapuata' (delivered 18 Oct 2017) and benediction ceremony at Rurutu on 22 Nov 2017.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW_O7KokyJM

PA515

Please continue to post your updates and to add your comments in the thread for 2019 which can be found here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1411789