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Peau Vavaʻu
Defunct airline of Tonga (2004–2007) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Peau Vavaʻu Ltd (or Air Waves of Vavaʻu) was an airline based at the Pacific Royale Hotel in Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga.[1] It operated domestic services. Its main base was Fuaʻamotu International Airport, Tongatapu, with hubs at Lifuka Island Airport and Vavaʻu International Airport.[2]
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History
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Peau Vavaʻu was formed in May 2004 following the wake of the collapse of Royal Tongan Airlines.[3] The airline was 50% owned by Crown Prince Tupouto'a.[4] It began operations on 9 June 2004, using a Douglas DC-3 leased from New Zealand company Pion Air.[5] In August 2004 the company was awarded a monopoly on domestic air transport under a new "one airline" policy,[6] forcing the competing Fly Niu Airlines to cease operations.[7][8] In August 2004 it announced the addition of a Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander to its fleet.[9] In November 2004 it added a chartered De Havilland Canada Dash 8.[10] that same month a test flight to ʻEua Airport overshot the runway, resulting in a flat tyre.[11]
A second DC-3 arrived by Christmas 2004, when Peau Vavaʻu purchased both DC-3s from Pion Air. In March 2005 Peau Vavaʻu arranged to sublease an Air Chathams Convair aircraft from Reef Shipping, which had set up an airline in Niue.[12] In February 2005 the airline was criticised for the high fares it proposed charging for flights to Niuatoputapu.[13] In October 2005 the Tongan government threatened to withdraw the airline's monopoly after it had failed to service the Niua Islands.[14][15] The monopoly was finally withdrawn and the "one airline" policy overturned in May 2006.[16]
Flights were temporarily suspended in November 2006 when their corporate headquarters were destroyed during the 2006 Nukuʻalofa riots. Flights were planned to resume in May 2007.[17][18] However, the airline never flew again,[19] and its license was eventually surrendered in January 2008.[20]
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Destinations
Peau Vavaʻu operated scheduled flights to Tongatapu, Haʻapai, and Vavaʻu.[21]
Fleet
The Peau Vavaʻu fleet included the following aircraft:[4]
- BAe Jetstream 41[2]
- Beechcraft Queen Air
- Douglas DC-3 among the last DC-3 in regular scheduled service worldwide
Code data
External links
- Peau Vava'u (Archive)
References
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