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Peau Vavaʻu

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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]

Peau Vavaʻu
IATA ICAO Call sign
3O PVU PEAU
Founded27 May 2004 (2004-05-27)
Commenced operations6 June 2004 (2004-06-06)
Ceased operationsNovember 2007 (2007-11)
Hubs
HeadquartersPacific Royale Hotel, Nukuʻalofa, Tongatapu, Tonga
Key people
  • George Tupou V (Owner)
  • Joseph Ramanlal (Owner Director)
  • Soane Ramanlal (Secretary)
Fua'amoto International Airport

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to withdraw the airline's monopoly after it had failed to service the Niua Islands.[14][15] The monopoly was finally withdrawn and the "one airline" policy overturned in May 2006.[16]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]

Destinations

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Peau Vavaʻu operated scheduled flights to Tongatapu, Haʻapai, and Vavaʻu.[21]

Fleet

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The Peau Vavaʻu fleet included the following aircraft:[4]

Code data

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References

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  1. ^ "Contact Information for Peau Vavaʻu." Peau Vavaʻu. 12 June 2007. Retrieved on 20 January 2011. "Peau Vava'u Limited Pacific Royale Hotel Taufa'ahau Road Nuku'alofa Kingdom of Tonga"
  2. ^ a b c d "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 10 April 2007. p. 62.
  3. ^ "Tonga gets a new domestic air service". RNZ. 26 May 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b Peau Vava'u History (website) Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "NZ airline flies between Tonga's islands". RNZ. 10 June 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  6. ^ "No royal hand in choosing airline, says Tonga official". RNZ. 17 August 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  7. ^ "COURT RULING GROUNDS FLEDGLING TONGA AIRLINE". Pacific Islands Report. 9 September 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Tongan airline forced to cease operations under one-airline policy". RNZ. 8 September 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  9. ^ "TONGA AIRLINE TO GET THIRD AIRCRAFT". Pacific Islands Report. 24 August 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  10. ^ "AIRLINE BEGINS SERVICE BETWEEN SAMOAS, TONGA". Pacific Islands Report. 8 November 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Tonga air official denies tyre blowout report". RNZ. 26 November 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Reef Shipping to set up airline in Niue". RNZ. 2 March 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Tongan MP speaks out against proposed airfares to northern outer islands". RNZ. 2 February 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  14. ^ "DEADLINE EXPIRES ON STRUGGLING TONGAN AIRLINE". Pacific Islands Report. 28 October 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Tonga ponders allowing second domestic airline". RNZ. 31 October 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Tonga changes airline policy". RNZ. 2 May 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Air Peau Vava'u plans resumption of Tonga flights". RNZ. 9 May 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  18. ^ "TONGA'S PEAU VAVAU AIRLINE PLANS RETURN TO SERVICE". Pacific Islands Report. 2 April 2007. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  19. ^ "TONGA AIRLINE PEAU VAVAU STILL SIDELINED". Pacific Islands Report. 24 January 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  20. ^ "Tonga's second domestic airline likely to start in April". RNZ. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Peau Vavaʻu Schedules (website)". Archived from the original on 18 February 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2007.
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