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Air Vanuatu

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Air Vanuatu
IATA ICAO Call sign
NF AVN AIR VAN
Founded5 September 1981; 43 years ago (1981-09-05)
Commenced operationsAugust 2024; 3 months ago (2024-08)
HubsBauerfield International Airport
Frequent-flyer programQantas Frequent Flyer
Parent companyGovernment of Vanuatu
HeadquartersBladiniere Estates, Port Vila, Vanuatu
Key people
Websitewww.airvanuatu.com

Air Vanuatu is an airline with its head office in Air Vanuatu House, Port Vila, Vanuatu. It is Vanuatu's national flag carrier, formerly operating to Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and points in the South Pacific. Its main base is Bauerfield International Airport, Port Vila. In May 2024 operations ceased with the airline placed into liquidation by the Government of Vanuatu. Limited domestic services resumed in August 2024.

History

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Foundation and early years

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Air Vanuatu was established in 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.[1] Ansett also took a 40% stake in the new airline, the government of Vanuatu holding the other 60%.[2] 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.[1] 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.[3] In March 1986, the agreement with Ansett expired and was not renewed; this had the effect of grounding the airline.[1]

In 1987, the company was re-established with 100% ownership by the government of Vanuatu,[4] 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.[1] 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.[5] In November 1992 the 727 was replaced by a Boeing 737-400 leased from Australian Airlines.[5] 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.[5] 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.[5] Qantas would be deeply involved in the airline's operations for the rest of its existence; Air Vanuatu used the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, while Qantas codeshared on Air Vanuatu's flights from Australia, and provided 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.[6] The same month Bandeirante services ceased when a Saab 2000 entered service.[6] The lease on the Saab 2000 was terminated in March 1999, and in June that year Air Vanuatu began using a de Havilland Canada Dash 8 from Vanuatu's government-owned domestic carrier Vanair on weekly services to Nouméa.[7]

21st century

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In April 2001 Air Vanuatu merged with Vanair, however the merger was reversed only five months later.[8][9] November 2003 an ATR 42 entered service for use on domestic routes in competition with Vanair.[10] In September 2004, Air Vanuatu again merged with Vanair.[11]

In January 2008, Air Vanuatu replaced its Boeing 737-300 with a new Boeing 737-800.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] The ATR 72 made its first revenue flight for Air Vanuatu on 8 November 2009.[15] A second ATR 72–500 was delivered to the airline in November 2014.[16]

In 2016 the Harbin Y-12s were phased out and replaced by de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters.[17]

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 its network.[18]

In May 2024 the airline was placed into liquidation with EY appointed as liquidator.[19][20] Due to the collapse of Air Vanuatu, 1,458 Vanuatuan seasonal workers were left stranded in New Zealand. Immigration New Zealand confirmed that it was working with employers to support the workers.[21] The airline owed creditors US$74 million.[22] 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.[23] It had 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 was deemed "significantly out of date."[24]

On 22 May 2024, Solomon Airlines began weekly direct flights between Auckland and Port Villa to fill the gap left by Air Vanuatu.[25]

In August 2024, limited domestic services resumed after an injection of funds by the Government of Vanuatu.[26][27][28]

Destinations

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Air Vanuatu Douglas DC-9-31 (1981)
Air Vanuatu Boeing 737-300 (2006)
Air Vanuatu Harbin Y-12 (2009)
Air Vanuatu ATR 42-300 (2009)
Air Vanuatu ATR 72-600 (2017)

Domestic destinations

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As of November 2009 Air Vanuatu operated 28 domestic routes throughout the country.[29][needs update]

Malampa
Penama
Shefa
Tafea
Torba

International destinations

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As of January 2023 Air Vanuatu operated scheduled flights to the following international destinations:[30]

Country City Airport Notes Ref
Australia Brisbane Brisbane Airport [31]
Australia Melbourne Melbourne Airport [31]
Australia Sydney Sydney Airport [31]
Fiji Nadi Nadi International Airport
New Caledonia Nouméa La Tontouta International Airport
New Zealand Auckland Auckland Airport
Vanuatu Luganville Santo-Pekoa International Airport
Vanuatu Port Vila Bauerfield International Airport

Codeshare agreements

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Air Vanuatu had codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[32]

Fleet

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As of June 2022, the Air Vanuatu fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[33][needs update]

Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
J Y Total
ATR 72-600 1[33] 1[33] — 70 70
Boeing 737-800 1[33] 1[33] 8 162 170 Aircraft repossessed by lessor in May 2024.[23]
Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander 1[33] — — 9 9
de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter 2[33] — — 19 19
Total 5 2

Incidents and accidents

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  • 25 July 1991 – a Britten-Norman Islander aircraft crashed on the island of Espiritu Santo, killing all nine passengers and the pilot. The crash site was located only after a four-day search involving several helicopters. The crash was attributed to pilot error.[34]
  • 19 December 2008 – a Britten-Norman Islander aircraft (Flight 261) with nine passengers crashed into a mountain near Olpoi Airport on the western side of the island of Espiritu Santo, killing the pilot and seriously injuring some passengers. The aircraft had been heading to Santo-Pekoa International Airport. The mountainous region where the aircraft crashed was shrouded in thick fog at the time.[35][36][37]
  • 28 July 2018, ATR 72 registration YJ-AV71, operating Flight 241, suffered an in-flight engine failure. On landing at Port Vila, the aircraft departed the runway and collided with two parked Britten-Norman Islander aircraft belonging to Unity Airlines and another company. Thirteen people sustained minor injuries.[38]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Reid, Gordon. "1988 Major Airline Directory", Australian Aviation magazine, No. 44, May/June 1988, p40. Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd., Weston Creek ACT. ISSN 0813-0876
  2. ^ "World airline directory". FlightGlobal. 3 April 1982. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  3. ^ Reid, Gordon. "1986 Major Airline Directory", Australian Aviation magazine, No. 33, July/August 1986, p39. Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd., Weston Creek ACT. ISSN 0813-0876
  4. ^ "World Airline Directory". FlightGlobal. 1 April 1989. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Reid, Gordon. "Major Airline Directory", Australian Aviation magazine, No. 96, May 1994, p75. Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd., Weston Creek ACT. ISSN 0813-0876
  6. ^ a b Reid, Gordon. "Major Airline Directory", Australian Aviation magazine, No. 150, May 1999, p50. Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd., Weston Creek ACT. ISSN 0813-0876
  7. ^ Reid, Gordon. "Major Airline Directory", Australian Aviation magazine, No. 161, May 2000, p56. Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd., Weston Creek ACT. ISSN 0813-0876
  8. ^ "Vanuatu industry: Air Vanuatu merges with bankrupt domestic carrier". Economist Intelligence Unit. 16 April 2001. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Air Vanuatu & Vanair DEMERGE". South Pacific Tourism Organisation. September 2001. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  10. ^ Flight International, 18–24 November 2003, p.15
  11. ^ Flight International 27 March 2007
  12. ^ Willieq\, Royson (5 January 2021). "NEW AIR VAN CEO ASSUMES OFFICE". Vanuatu Daily Post. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Air Vanuatu starts operations of its first ATR 72-600". Aviation News. 9 November 2016. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Garae, Len. "ATR-72, a touch of international class" – Vanuatu Daily Post Online[permanent dead link] retrieved 13 November 2009
  16. ^ "Second ATR for Air Vanuatu". Airliner World: 17. January 2015.
  17. ^ "Air Vanuatu improves fleet". Radio New Zealand. 24 September 2015. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  18. ^ Air Vanuatu Cancelling A220 Order To Focus On Domestic Fleet Expansion Smart Aviation Asia Pacific 10 June 2022
  19. ^ Bywater, Thomas (10 May 2024). "Hundreds of Air Vanuatu passengers stranded as airline enters voluntary administration". New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 12 May 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
  20. ^ "Air Vanuatu (Operations) Limited (In Liquidation)". Air Vanuatu. 9 May 2024. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Air Vanuatu liquidation: Seasonal workers from Vanuatu in limbo as airline grounds all flights". New Zealand Herald. 14 May 2024. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  22. ^ Air Vanuatu owes creditors at least $120m, has sole international aircraft repossessed Stuff 16 May 2024
  23. ^ a b "Air Vanuatu owes at least US$65m, liquidators say". Radio New Zealand. 16 May 2024. Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  24. ^ Jeffrey, David (16 May 2024). "'Position is dire': Air Vanuatu owes more than $110 million, liquidators say". Nine News. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  25. ^ "Solomon Airlines runs flights between New Zealand and Vanuatu". Radio New Zealand. 22 May 2024. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  26. ^ Air Vanuatu to resume domestic services after $3 million injection ABC News 29 July 2024
  27. ^ Air Vanuatu to bring back some flights this week Australian Aviation 6 August 2024
  28. ^ Air Vanuatu's ATR returns to the skies Australian Aviation 26 August 2024
  29. ^ "Air Vanuatu Domestic Fares Matrix" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
  30. ^ "Air Vanuatu route map". Air Vanuatu. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  31. ^ a b c Debrief Australian Aviation March 2019 page 12
  32. ^ "Profile on Air Vanuatu". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 2016-11-02. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  33. ^ a b c d e f g IB, Reporter (2022-06-15). "Air Vanuatu to focus on domestic fleet expansion". Islands Business. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
  34. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Britten-Norman BN-2A-6 Islander YJ-RV4 Olpoi". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  35. ^ "Vanuatu plane crash injured flown to Brisbane". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 22 December 2008. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  36. ^ "Crash: Air Vanuatu BN2P near Olpoi on Dec 19th 2008". The Aviation Herald. Salzburg. 21 December 2008. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  37. ^ "Few details on cause of fatal plane crash in Vanuatu". Radio New Zealand. 22 December 2008. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  38. ^ 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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Media related to Air Vanuatu at Wikimedia Commons

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