Air Vanuatu

Last updated
Air Vanuatu
Air Vanuatu logo new.svg
IATA ICAO Callsign
NFAVNAIR VAN
Founded1981
Hubs Bauerfield International Airport
Frequent-flyer program Qantas Frequent Flyer
Fleet size5 [1]
Destinations37
Parent company Government of Vanuatu
HeadquartersBladiniere Estates, Port Vila, Vanuatu
Key peopleCarcasses Kalosil (Chairman)
Joseph Laloyer (CEO)
Website airvanuatu.com

Air Vanuatu is an airline with its head office in Air Vanuatu House, Port Vila, Vanuatu. [2] It is Vanuatu's national flag carrier, operating to Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and points in the South Pacific. Its main base is Bauerfield International Airport, Port Vila. [3] In May 2024 the airline was placed into voluntary administration by the Government of Vanuatu.

Contents

History

Foundation and early years

Air Vanuatu was established in early 1981 after Vanuatu gained independence from the United Kingdom and France the previous year. The assistance of Ansett Airlines was sought and a five-year agreement put in place for Ansett to provide aircraft and operating staff. [4] Ansett also took a 40% stake in the new airline, the government of Vanuatu holding the other 60%. [5] The first Air Vanuatu flight, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 owned and operated by Ansett, departed Sydney for Port Vila on 5 September 1981. [4] In May 1982 a Boeing 737-200 of Polynesian Airlines replaced the DC-9; this was replaced in turn by an Ansett 737-200 in October 1985. [6] In March 1986, the agreement with Ansett expired and was not renewed, this had the effect of grounding the airline. [4]

In 1987, the company was re-established with 100% ownership by the government of Vanuatu, [7] after a new commercial agreement was signed with Australian Airlines; weekly Sydney – Port Vila flights re-commenced on 19 December using a Boeing 727-200 chartered from Australian. [4] Air Vanuatu subsequently bought the aircraft in 1989 and leased it back to Australian for use on that airline's network on days that it was not used by Air Vanuatu. [8] In November 1992 the 727 was replaced by a Boeing 737-400 leased from Australian Airlines. [8] The following year an Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante was also leased from Australian, entering service that April to operate flights between Port Vila and Nouméa. [8] The leases on both aircraft continued after Australian was taken over by Qantas in October 1993, with the commercial agreement being rolled-over to Qantas as well. [8] Qantas is deeply involved in the airline's operations to this day; Air Vanuatu uses Qantas Frequent Flyer program, Qantas codeshares on Air Vanuatu's flights from Australia, and provides maintenance and pilot training services as well.[ citation needed ]

Air Vanuatu terminated the lease on the Qantas Boeing 737-400 after it took delivery of its own Boeing 737-300 in April 1997. [9] The same month Bandeirante services ceased when a Saab 2000 entered service. [9] The lease on the Saab 2000 was terminated in March 1999 and in June that year Air Vanuatu commenced using a de Havilland Canada Dash 8 of Vanuatu's government-owned domestic carrier Vanair on weekly services to Nouméa. [10]

21st century

In April 2001 Air Vanuatu merged with Vanair, however the merger was reversed only five months later. [11] [12] November 2003 an ATR 42 entered service for use on domestic routes in competition with Vanair. [13] In September 2004, Air Vanuatu again merged with Vanair. [3]

In January 2008, Air Vanuatu replaced its Boeing 737-300 with a new Boeing 737-800. [14] Three Harbin Y-12s were added to the fleet in early 2009 and in October the same year the airline took delivery of a new ATR 72–500 aircraft to replace its ATR 42. [15] Four days after the ATR 72 arrived at Port Vila the Board of Air Vanuatu was sacked and replaced by Directors General of various Vanuatu government ministries. [16] The ATR 72 made its first revenue flight for Air Vanuatu on 8 November 2009. [17] A second ATR 72–500 was delivered to the airline in November 2014. [18]

In 2016 the Harbin Y-12s were phased out and replaced by de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters. [19]

In July 2020, Air Vanuatu announced a major set of changes for the airline due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the reshuffling of orders and the shrinking and localization of the management team, the CEO Derek Nice stepped down, being temporarily replaced by Joseph Laloyer, until a replacement could be found. This included delaying the delivery of the four Airbus A220 aircraft it had on order, and a strategic review of their network. [20]

In May 2024 the airline was placed into voluntary administration with EY appointed as administrator. [21] [22] Due to the collapse of Air Vanuatu, 1,458 Vanuatan seasonal workers were left stranded in New Zealand. Immigration New Zealand confirmed that it was working with employers to support the workers. [23] The airline owed creditors US$74 million. [24] At the time of being placed in administration, it had six aircraft and 441 employees across Vanuatu, Australia and New Zealand. Its biggest aircraft, a leased Boeing 737, was repossessed in Melbourne. [25] It has also been reported that only two of the airlines' aircraft remained operational due to awaited maintenance for the remaining fleet while the available financial information of the company has been deemed "significantly out of date." [26]

On 22 May 2024, Solomon Airlines began launching weekly direct flights between Auckland, New Zealand and Port Villa, Vanuatu to fill the gap left by the bankruptcy of Air Vanuatu. New Zealand has several Vanuatuan RSE (Recognised Seasonal Employer) workers who were left stranded as a result of Air Vanuatu's liquidation. [27]

Destinations

Air Vanuatu Douglas DC-9-31 (1981) Air Vanuatu McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 at Tullamarine.jpg
Air Vanuatu Douglas DC-9-31 (1981)
Air Vanuatu Boeing 737-300 (2006) YJ-AV18 'Spirit of Vanuatu' Boeing 737-3Q8 Air Vanuatu (8658960108).jpg
Air Vanuatu Boeing 737-300 (2006)
Air Vanuatu Harbin Y-12 (2009) Air Vanuatu (YJ-AV5) Harbin Y-12 IV departs Bauerfield International Airport in Port Vila.jpg
Air Vanuatu Harbin Y-12 (2009)
Air Vanuatu ATR 42-300 (2009) ATR 42 at Port Vila - Vanuatu.jpg
Air Vanuatu ATR 42-300 (2009)
Air Vanuatu ATR 72-600 (2017) Air Vanuatu flight in Vanuatu.jpg
Air Vanuatu ATR 72-600 (2017)

Domestic destinations

As of November 2009 Air Vanuatu operated 28 domestic routes throughout the country. [28] [ needs update ]

Malampa
Penama
Shefa
Tafea
Torba

International destinations

As of January 2023 Air Vanuatu operated scheduled flights to the following international destinations: [29]

CountryCityAirportNotesRef
AustraliaBrisbane Brisbane Airport [30]
AustraliaMelbourne Melbourne Airport [30]
AustraliaSydney Sydney Airport [30]
FijiNadi Nadi International Airport
New CaledoniaNouméa La Tontouta International Airport
New ZealandAuckland Auckland Airport
VanuatuLuganville Santo-Pekoa International Airport
VanuatuPort Vila Bauerfield International Airport

Codeshare agreements

Air Vanuatu has codeshare agreements with the following airlines: [31]

Fleet

As of June 2022, the Air Vanuatu fleet consisted of the following aircraft: [1] [ needs update ]

AircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengersNotes
JYTotal
ATR 72-600 1 [1] 1 [1] —7070
Boeing 737-800 1 [1] 1 [1] 8162170Aircraft repossessed by lessor in May 2024. [25]
Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander 1 [1] ——99
de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter 2 [1] ——1919
Total52

Incidents and accidents

See also

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References

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  16. ↑ Royson, Willie (3 November 2009). "Opposition says high salaries part of Air Vanuatu problems". Vanuatu Daily Post . Archived from the original on 7 November 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  17. ↑ Garae, Len. "ATR-72, a touch of international class" – Vanuatu Daily Post Online [ permanent dead link ] retrieved 13 November 2009
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  22. ↑ "Air Vanuatu (Operations) Limited (In Liquidation)". Air Vanuatu. 9 May 2024. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
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  24. ↑ Air Vanuatu owes creditors at least $120m, has sole international aircraft repossessed Stuff 16 May 2024
  25. 1 2 "Air Vanuatu owes at least US$65m, liquidators say". RNZ . 16 May 2024. Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
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  30. 1 2 3 Debrief Australian Aviation March 2019 page 12
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  36. ↑ Fox, Liam (27 October 2020). "Air Vanuatu crash report highlights lack of emergency training for pilots and crew". ABC News . Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2024.

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