pacific Transport

Jets Over Tonga-On

A Wing And A Promise

The opening of Tongatapu’s new sealed 6,400 ft international airstrip in early October means the ad vent of jet services for the kingdom, plus a new era in international con nections which may cut across pre sent alliances.

Tonga is now on the threshold of operating its own international char ter services, and it may soon follow with a bid for a regular international airline of its own.

The new international strip, tarmac sealed on coral, crosses the existing 4,800 ft grass strip at Fua’amotu, and will allow Air Pacific’s BAG 1-11 to make connections from Suva. Ai r Pacific has been operating 748 s on this run, and anxiously awaiting the completion of the strip, which has been behind schedule.

But Tonga now has its eye on the possibility of becoming its own inter national carrier.

If it does, it’s likely to be the only one flying on a wing and a promise.

Out of the blue in August came an offer of a Boeing 8737 twin pas senger 100-seater jet aircraft from a Japanese millionaire philanthropist, 74-year-old Mr Ryoichi Sasakawa, who visited Tonga early in August.

He liked what he saw and, later, bearing out a statement he made that his only hobbies were work and sharing what he has with other peo ple, he offered King Taufa’ahau Tupou a twin jet. All Nippon Air lines, of which Mr Sasakawa is a director, is ordering several new pla nes. As a multi-millionaire it was easy for Mr Sasakawa to say, “Put one in for Tonga”.

The king doesn’t think he will have to wait long for the gift. He thinks it may arrive before the kingdom is really ready for it, but negotiations are to begin soon with two, as yet un-named, overseas airlines which might be interested in building more hotels in Tonga. Outside help will also be sought over creating an inter national airline.

Meanwhile, its internal airline,

operated by the Tonga Tourist and Development Co Ltd, is currently tak ing delivery of a Beechcraft Baron 58, able to take five passengers plus pilot, to augment its present 10-seat er Britten-Norman Islander and Piper Aztec aircraft. The Aztec is tem porary and will be replaced at the end of the year by another Islander.

The Beechcraft will be available for charter operations from Vavau, Tonga’s northern group, to Pago Pago, Apia, Niue, and Nadi and Nau sori in Fiji. Vavau’s present strip is 2,300 ft although there are plans to extend it to 4,800. The only other airstrip in Tonga, apart from Fua’amotu, is on the big southern island of ’Eua, which is also 2,300 ft long and which will be operated in No vember. Work will shortly begin on a 2,200 ft strip for the central group of Tongan islands, Haapai, on that group’s main island of Lifuka, which

should be finished by February.

Tonga Tourist and Development Co has the rights to service these strips.

The international charter opera tions will be especially valuable, be cause the same organisation operates the first-class Vavau resort hotel, Port of Refuge, which has been suf fering from lack of clients because of the inadequate air services to date. Present connection is a daily flight from Nukualofa, but as Nukua lofa has not had its jet strip operating, passenger traffic into Tonga has been only a fraction of what it could be.

Both Air Pacific and Polynesian Air lines are encouraging more traffic on the run with cheap “Pacific Triangle” fares connecting Fiji, Western Samoa and Tonga.

Direct services into Vavau par ticularly from the Samoas will mean an additional increase in the traffic.

The hotel group also has a licence to build a resort hotel at Ha’atafu beach, on Tongatapu, and hopes to start construction before December and complete the first stage by 1975.

First stage is 96 bedrooms in what will eventually be a 162-bed hotel in competition with the Nukualofa Dateline Hotel for resort hotel visitors.