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Air Rarotonga heading to Niue’s rescue?
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Posted on Apr 06 2001
ALOFI, Niue (PINA Nius) — Niue’s hopes of economic survival may lift slightly this weekend when Air Rarotonga runs a trial flight to the island, New Zealand’s The Independent newspaper reports.
Niue’s already shaky outlook turned bleaker three weeks ago after the grounding of Royal Tongan Airlines, which provided Niue’s only air link with the outside world, The Independent said.
Prospects of a bumper tourist season for Niue began to turn to custard as tourists by the score cancelled their holidays for the lack of reliable air service.
Then up popped Air Rarotonga – again, The Independent reported. Having submitted a plan 18 months ago to provide a Cooks Islands-Niue service with its Saab 340 aircraft, the airline has renewed its interest in the wake of Royal Tongan’s woes.
A New Zealand civil aviation inspector will be among the passengers Air Rarotonga will take to Niue on Sunday to complete its long range, over water assessment — a technical, operational requirement for commercial air service.
Managing director Ewan Smith told The Independent from Rarotonga yesterday that the basic problem facing a prospective airline service provider is insufficient Niue-bound passenger traffic.
With Royal Tongan’s decision to withdraw its gas-guzzling 737-200 jet service between Tonga and Auckland, Air Rarotonga is redrawing plans to put to Noman Macfarlane, an Auckland aviation consultant commissioned to explore air service options for Niue.
He believes Air Rarotonga could tap into the annual 75,000 visitors to the Cook Islands, particularly those from Europe and the United States, for a three-day Niue diversion.
Minimum Rarotonga-Niue fares would be NZ$ 350 (US$ 141.86) each way. The Saab aircraft could take a maximum 24 passengers, each with 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of luggage, on the two and a half hour flight.
If Air Rarotonga could not generate NZ$ 14,000 (US$ 5,674.20) for each flight, then such a service would not be viable.
Air Rarotonga expects some government seeding if the service were to proceed. Its original plan called for an injection of NZ$ 480,000 (US$ 194,544) for route development over the initial 12 months plus an initial commitment of NZ$ 200,000 (US$ 81,060) for tourist promotion.
