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Founded | 1973 | ||||||
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Ceased operations | 1987 | ||||||
Hubs | Pago Pago International Airport Honolulu International Airport | ||||||
Focus cities | Pago Pago, American Samoa Apia, Samoa Agana, Guam | ||||||
Fleet size | 8 | ||||||
Destinations | 18 | ||||||
Headquarters | Honolulu, Hawaii [2] | ||||||
Key people | George Wray (CEO) |
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. [3] The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the carrier in 1984, when it almost flew a charter flight into the airspace of the Soviet Union. [4] [5] 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.
South Pacific Island Airways served these destinations during its existence primarily flying Boeing 707 jet aircraft although small de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops were used for feeder service as well: [6] [7]
As its peak South Pacific Island Airways fleet included: [2]
Type | Number |
Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander | 1 |
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | 3 |
Boeing 707 | 4 |
Oxnard Airport is a county-owned, public airport a mile west of downtown Oxnard, in Ventura County, California. The airport has not had scheduled passenger service since June 8, 2010, when United Express ended flights to Los Angeles International Airport. America West Express also served the airport with nonstop flights to Phoenix in the early-2000s via a code sharing agreement with America West Airlines.
Faaʻa International Airport, also known as Tahiti International Airport, is the international airport of French Polynesia, located in the commune of Faaa, on the island of Tahiti. It is situated 5 km (3.1 mi) southwest of Papeete, the capital city of the overseas collectivity. It opened in 1960. Regional air carrier Air Tahiti and international air carrier Air Tahiti Nui are both based at the airport.
The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada in the mid-1960s and still in production today. De Havilland Canada produced it from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted production in 2008 before re-adopting the DHC name in 2022. In 2023 DHC restarted production of the 300 series, in addition to the Series 400 produced by Viking. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL capabilities, twin turboprop engines and high rate of climb have made it a successful commuter airliner, typically seating 18–20 passengers, as well as a cargo and medical evacuation aircraft. In addition, the Twin Otter has been popular with commercial skydiving operations, and is used by the United States Army Parachute Team and the 98th Flying Training Squadron of the United States Air Force.
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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.
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PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines, operating as Merpati Nusantara Airlines, was an airline in Indonesia based in Central Jakarta, Jakarta. It operated scheduled domestic services to more than 25 destinations in Indonesia, as well as scheduled international services to East Timor and Malaysia. The word merpati is Indonesian for "dove", and Nusantara is a Javanese word found in the Pararaton meaning "the outer islands", referring to the Indonesian archipelago. The airline was based at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta. It also maintained both a maintenance and simulator facility at Juanda International Airport, Surabaya. The Merpati Training Centre at Surabaya housed Fokker F-27, AVIC MA60 and CN-235 full motion simulators.
The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with short take-off and landing (STOL) performance. Variants were built with 50–54 seats. It first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent company, de Havilland Canada, was purchased by Boeing in 1986 and later sold to Bombardier. In 2006 Bombardier sold the type certificate for the aircraft design to Victoria-based manufacturer Viking Air.
Time Air was an airline in Canada founded in 1966 by businessman Walter “Stubb” Ross from Lethbridge in Alberta. It was called Lethbridge Air Service before becoming Time Airways Ltd. in 1969, which was later shortened to Time Air Ltd. In 1993 it was merged with Ontario Express to create Canadian Regional Airlines.
Air Moorea was a French airline based on the grounds of Faa'a International Airport in Faaa, Tahiti, French Polynesia, France near Papeete. It operated passenger services within the Polynesian islands. Its main base was Faa'a International Airport.
Inter Island Airways was an American Samoan airline based in Pago Pago. It operated passenger and cargo flights in and between American Samoa, Samoa and neighboring Pacific island countries. Its main base of operations was at Pago Pago International Airport.
Rocky Mountain Airways was a commuter airline in the United States that operated from 1963 until it merged with Britt Airways in 1991. It was headquartered in Hangar No. 6 of the now-closed Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. It was sold to Texas Air Corporation/Continental Airlines in 1986 and was operated as a Continental Express subsidiary until its operations were merged with Britt Airways in 1991. The airline flew from Denver's Stapleton International Airport to a variety of destinations in Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming. The airline operated out of the old commuter terminal in Concourse A at Stapleton.
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.
Guyana Airways was the flag carrier of Guyana. During its operations, Guyana Airways operated services to destinations in the Caribbean, the United States and Canada. The airline was headquartered in Georgetown, Guyana. It was declared insolvent in 2001.
Samoa Air was a scheduled and charter passenger airline based in Pago Pago, American Samoa.
Lesotho Airways, formerly Air Lesotho, was the national airline of Lesotho based on the grounds of Mejametalana Airport in Maseru. Until 1997, it was wholly owned by the Basotho government and operated both international and domestic passenger services to 16 destinations across 4 countries. Its main base was the Moshoeshoe International Airport. On October 1, 1996, Lesotho Airways had to suspend its international flights due to the inability to satisfy the minimum requirements specified by the Department of Civil Aviation. In 1997, Rossair Contracts Private Ltd acquired the assets of Lesotho Airways as it was financially insolvent.
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