 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | 1985 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 18 May 2004 | ||||||
| Hubs | Fuaʻamotu International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 2 | ||||||
| Destinations | 12 | ||||||
| Parent company | Government of Tonga | ||||||
| Headquarters | Royco Building, Nukuʻalofa, Tonga | ||||||
| Employees | 100 | ||||||
Royal Tongan Airlines was the national airline of Tonga until liquidation in 2004. It was a government agency and operated interisland services and international routes.
In 1983 a feasibility study was undertaken by All Nippon Airways to investigate the setting up of a Tongan airline. It was planned for Friendly Island Airways to begin operations in October 1984, with technical and managerial assistance provided by the Japanese airline, and for the airline to operate a surplus ANA Boeing 737-200. The plan was dropped in favour of Tongan participation in Air Nauru, which was expected to take delivery of a third Fokker F28 and was also expected to extend the Nauru-Apia route to Tonga. At the time, flights between Apia and Tonga were operated exclusively by Polynesian Airlines. [1]
In 1985, King of Tonga Taufa'ahau Tupou IV visited the British Aerospace factory in Woodford, leading to hopes with the manufacturer that Tonga would purchase the British Aerospace ATP. [2] However, the government of Tonga and the Tonga Commodities Board purchased a CASA 212 and Britten Norman Islander with which domestic flights could be started. [3] Flights to Pago Pago (American Samoa) and Apia (Western Samoa) were begun with the CASA in 1986. As airfields in Vavaʻu, Haʻapai, ʻEua and the Niuas were upgraded, the airline upgraded the inter-island aircraft. In 1989 the airline leased two de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters to replace the CASA and Islander, and after the initial lease period, purchased the aircraft from the lessor, Guinness Peat Aviation. In June 1991, the name was changed from Friendly Island Airways to Royal Tongan Airlines, and international services were begun with a Boeing 737-200 which was leased from Solomon Airlines from Tongatapu to Auckland, New Zealand. The airline was considering acquiring a Douglas DC-8 in order to operate flights to Australia, New Zealand and Honolulu, [4] however this didn't eventuate and in 1994 the airline entered into a codeshare agreement with Polynesian Airlines on routes to Sydney, Honolulu and Los Angeles. [3]
In June 1995, an agreement was signed with Air Pacific, which saw the lease-sharing of a Boeing 737-300 operated on Royal Tongan routes. The airline also gained approval from the Australian government to carry passengers on its Sydney-Auckland-Tonga route. [5] In 1996 the airline opened an office in Honolulu, and began codesharing on Air New Zealand flights from Tongatapu to the Hawaiian capital. [6] On 28 October 1997, a codeshare agreement with Polynesian Airlines was begun. The agreement signed in early October 1997, saw Polynesian Airlines extending its Apia-Wellington-Melbourne flights to operate Apia-Tonga-Wellington-Melbourne. The agreement was a continuation of efforts by airlines in the South Pacific to pool their limited resources to maximise their services. [7] By 1998, [8] at the age of 37, Silva McLeod,Tonga's first woman pilot, was working full time as a captain for them. [9]
Direct flights between Tongatapu and Sydney were announced in April 1999 as part of a Tongan initiative to increase tourist numbers from Australia. The once-weekly flights, the first by a Tongan airline to Australia, were operated by a chartered Air Pacific Boeing 737. [10]
A delegation from the government of Niue travelled to Tonga to try to persuade Royal Tongan to continue flying to Niue from Tonga past 28 October 2002; that date on which the flights were to cease, and Polynesian Airlines would begin jet service to Auckland. Royal Tongan told the Niuean government that it could no longer justify the service. [11]
In 2002, the airline leased a Boeing 757 from Royal Brunei Airlines in order to restart international flights. The deal saw the aircraft being leased for a period of five years, initially as a wet lease later to be changed to a dry lease. [12] Prince Tuʻipelehake, and a majority of Tongan MPs, opposed the government giving Royal Tongan financial support with public funds due to the high levels of debt the airline was already in. [13]
Royal Tongan service of the 757, nicknamed 'Ikale Tahi, was inaugurated at Fuaʻamotu International Airport on 23 November 2002, [14] with thrice-weekly flights from Tongatapu to Auckland, with a once-a-week extension to Sydney. [15] In 2003 it obtained its own air operator's certificate with a view to launching flights to Honolulu. [15] On 19 December, the airline was due to launch a once-weekly direct flight from Tongatapu to Honolulu, marking the entry of the airline in the American market. [16]
The Director of the Tongan Human Rights and Democracy Movement claimed the restructuring of the airline suffered from a lack of transparency. Lopeti Senituli noted that Tongan Prime Minister Prince ʻUlukālala Lavaka Ata wrote to the board of Royal Tongan Airline and instructed them to resign. At the same time, he noted that Shoreline, a company owned by the prince, had expressed an interest in taking over the airline. [17]
The airline commissioned KPMG to review the airline's financial position, and in November 2003 the report by the accounting firm concluded that the airline was nearly insolvent and that too few passengers were flying on the airline's international routes. The review found that Royal Tongan had lost US$5.5 million in the first nine months of its international operations. [18] It was also determined that whilst Royal Tongan expected a 65% load factor on these flights, the actual figure was closer to 34%. [19] In dismissing KPMG's review, CEO Logan Appu, stated that the airline would continue to operate internationally, and confirmed that the airline would begin flights to Honolulu in December 2003, [20] in spite of the report recommending that Royal Tongan ditch the international flights and concentrate only on domestic services. People's Representative Feleti Sevele noted that report suggested that the government would need to inject US$10 million into the airline, whilst the entire Tongan budget is only US$50 million. [21]
The introduction of flights by Royal Tongan to Rarotonga sparked a price war with Air New Zealand. Five night packages to Rarotonga before Royal Tongan entered the scene cost approximately NZ$1299, and after the airline entered the market prices dropped to NZ$829–$899 for seven night packages. [22] [23]
The airline stopped selling international flights on 23 April 2004, and announced that the last international flight would leave Tongatapu for Auckland the following day, whereby the Boeing 757 was repossessed for non-payment and returned to Royal Brunei Airlines. Whilst airline management provided no reasons for the cessation of international flights, it was believed to be linked to the funding crisis which was being experienced by the state-owned airline. [15] [24] After the closure, Tonga was reliant on Air New Zealand, Air Pacific, Air Fiji and Polynesian Airlines for international air services. [25] The cessation of international flights also had the side effect of stranding mail being sent to Tonga in Auckland, up to a month afterwards, due to limited cargo space being available on the Air New Zealand flights to the nation, and in late May it was reported that the nation had not received mail for a week. [26]
Akilisi Pohiva, a pro-democracy member of Tonga's parliament blamed King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV for the financial crisis of the airline, and called on the king to use his own funds to bail Royal Tongan out of its financial woes. [27] He noted that the Tupou had issued a royal decree for the 757 project to proceed, despite opposition from the cabinet and parliament, and claimed that the monarchy is not accountable to the public. [28]
On 18 May 2004, the airline ceased all operations with the remaining one hundred employees losing their jobs, and the islands of Tonga being left without domestic air service. [29] The closure was forced as the airline's only airworthy aircraft, the Shorts 360, broke down and the airline had no funds with which to repair it. Airline administration was hoping that the government would bail it out, but this did not eventuate. [29]
In discussing the sending of Australian and New Zealand specialists to Tonga, to help the government wind up the airline, Phil Goff, the New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs stated "lessons can be learned from how and why the RTA collapsed." [30] The Tongan government confirmed that it had a financial commitment in the airline to the value of 14 million Tongan paʻanga, and had pumped some 20 million paʻanga into the airline since its inception in 1985. [30]
In July 2004 PricewaterhouseCoopers found that the only substantial remaining assets of the company were a hangar and the two aircraft. It recommended that the aircraft be repaired and sold. [31] By December 2004, it was reported that creditors had lodged claims of US$8.5 million from the liquidators, but had recovered only US$1.13 million from the sale of assets. PricewaterCoopers also noted that only 106 of 206 former employees of the airline had thus far lodged claims. [32] The Twin Otter was sold in January 2005 for US$850,000, and the sale of assets from the airline's offices in Nukuʻalofa and abroad netted US$71,000 and US$8,000 respectively. [33]
In the absence of domestic flights in Tonga, by June 2004 Air Waves of Vava'u and Fly Niu Airlines had begun operations on some of the former Royal Tongan routes. [34]
Royal Tongan mainly operated domestic flights linking all the major islands the capital Nukuʻalofa. The airline also operated a number of international destinations, linking Nukuʻalofa to some 6 international points.
As of its closure the Royal Tongan Airlines fleet included:
| Aircraft | In Service | Future | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 757-200 | 1 | 0 | 200 | Leased from Royal Brunei Airlines |
| Boeing 737-200 | 1 | 0 | 115 |
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about 750 km2 (290 sq mi), scattered over 700,000 km2 (270,000 sq mi) in the southern Pacific Ocean. As of 2021, according to Johnson's Tribune, Tonga has a population of 104,494, 70% of whom reside on the main island, Tongatapu. The country stretches approximately 800 km north-south. It is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna (France) to the northwest, Samoa to the northeast, New Caledonia (France) and Vanuatu to the west, Niue to the east and Kermadec to the southwest. Tonga is about 1,800 km from New Zealand's North Island.
The history of Tonga is recorded since the ninth century BC, when seafarers associated with the Lapita diaspora first settled the islands which now make up the Kingdom of Tonga. Along with Fiji and Samoa, the area served as a gateway into the rest of the Pacific region known as Polynesia. Ancient Tongan mythologies recorded by early European explorers report the islands of 'Ata and Tongatapu as the first islands having been hauled to the surface from the deep ocean by Maui.
Nukuʻalofa is the capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group.
Fiji Airways, formerly Air Pacific, is the flag carrier of Fiji. It operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 27 destinations, and has an extended network of 108 international destinations through its codeshare partners, including Qantas, who also own a stake in the airline.
Samoa Airways, formerly Polynesian Airlines, is the flag carrier of Samoa.
Air Chathams Limited is an airline based in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. It was established in 1984 and operates scheduled passenger services between the Chatham Islands and mainland New Zealand along with routes between Auckland and Whakatāne, Auckland and Kapiti Coast and Auckland and Whanganui. Its main base is Chatham Islands / Tuuta Airport.
Fuaʻamotu International Airport is an international airport in Tonga. It is on the south side of the main island, Tongatapu, 20 km from the capital of Tonga, Nukuʻalofa. Although named after the nearby village of Fuaʻamotu, which is on Tungī's estate, in reality the airfield is located on the Tuʻi Pelehake's estate, closer to the village of Pelehake.
Peau Vavaʻu Ltd was an airline based at the Pacific Royale Hotel in Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga. It operated domestic services. Its main base was Fuaʻamotu International Airport, Tongatapu, with hubs at Lifuka Island Airport and Vavaʻu International Airport.
Pago Pago International Airport, also known as Tafuna Airport, is a public airport located 7 miles (11.3 km) southwest of the central business district of Pago Pago, in the village and plains of Tafuna on the island of Tutuila in American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States.
Faleolo International Airport is an airport located 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Apia, the capital of Samoa. Until 1984, Faleolo could not accommodate jets larger than a Boeing 737. Services to the United States, Australia, or New Zealand, could only land at Pago Pago International Airport in American Samoa. Since the airport's expansion, most international traffic now uses Faleolo.
South Pacific Island Airways (SPIA) was an airline operating flights in the Pacific including American Samoa and Hawaii with service to the west coast of U.S. and Canada as well as to Alaska, New Zealand, Guam and Tahiti from 1973 to 1987. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the carrier in 1984, when it almost flew a charter flight into the airspace of the Soviet Union. SPIA was allowed to continue operations after some management changes were made at the airline, but was grounded again in 1985 due to some allegedly questionable dealings involving engine hush kits for its Boeing 707 jetliners. South Pacific continued to operate limited services until it ceased all operations in 1987.
Lifuka Island Airport, also known as Salote Pilolevu Airport or Haʻapai Airport, is an airport on Lifuka in Tonga. The airport is located 5 km (3.1 mi) north of the capital Panga, and is only served domestically, roughly 40 minutes by flight to Tongatapu and 30 minutes to Vava'u. Taxis serve the airport, and services include a cafe inside the terminal.
Tongan nationality law is regulated by the 1875 Constitution of Tonga, as amended; the Nationality Act, and its revisions; and international agreements entered into by the government of Tonga. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Tonga. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Tongan nationality is typically obtained either on the principle of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Tonga or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth abroad to parents with Tongan nationality. It can be granted to persons who have lived in the country for a specific period of time, or who have an affiliation to the country through naturalisation.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Tonga:
William Clive Edwards OBE is a Tongan barrister and politician who formerly served as a Cabinet Minister and acting Deputy Prime Minister. He is a member of the People's Democratic Party.
Siale ʻAtaongo Kaho, Lord Tuʻivakanō is a Tongan politician who served as the prime minister of Tonga from 2010 to 2014.
Real Tonga, stylised as REALtonga, was an airline that operated domestic flights within the Pacific island-country of Tonga. It commenced operations in March 2013, becoming the twelfth airline to operate domestic flights in Tonga since air services began there. In 2020 the airline ceased all operations.
Virgin Australia Airlines (NZ) Limited formerly Pacific Blue Airlines (NZ) Limited, was an airline based in New Zealand. It was established as the New Zealand subsidiary of Australian airline Virgin Blue. It was a fully owned subsidiary of Virgin Australia Holdings. It was renamed Virgin Australia Airlines (NZ) Ltd in December 2011 when its parent company decided to bring all its airlines under the one banner.
New Zealand–Tonga relations refers to the diplomatic relations between New Zealand and the Kingdom of Tonga. Both nations are members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Pacific Islands Forum and the United Nations.
Princess Mele Siuʻilikutapu of Tonga was a Tongan royal and politician. In 1975 she was elected to the Legislative Assembly, becoming its first female member.
