Niue Airline was an airline in

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

, established in 1990. It serviced the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

route weekly, and later fortnightly, until its closure in 1992. The route was operated by a chartered

Air Nauru Nauru Air Corporation, trading as Nauru Airlines (formerly trading as Our Airline and Air Nauru), is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Nauru. It operates scheduled international services to other Pacific islands and Australia. Its mai ...

737 and carried mail. Flights were sometimes cancelled if passenger numbers or freight was not enough to fund the flight. The airline was majority New Zealand-owned (with some Niuean investment). The airline's uniforms were designed by Dutch-New Zealand fashion designer Doris De Pont. Niue Airlines was not linked to any international booking system, and so tickets could only be purchased at ticket offices, one of which was located in Auckland. The IATA code of the airline was FN.

History

In October 1990, Niue Airlines flew twenty-three pupils (and their parents and teachers) to the island after discovering it had 40 vacant seats on a flight. The group from Three Kings Primary School in Auckland, whose travel was arranged at no cost, was greeted with garlands of flowers, appeared on local television, had a short swim in the ocean and were then farewelled by Premier Sir Robert Rex after a whirlwind trip. In 1991, services were operated from Auckland to Niue, and returned via

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. Towards the end of the airline's life, services were only operated between

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. ...

and Niue using a nine-seat Beechcraft King Air. Travelling from Auckland to Niue then required stopovers in

Apia Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. ...

and Pago Pago. The airline ceased to operate in late 1992, when, after the Niuean government refused to provide bank guarantees for the purchase of aviation fuel, they defaulted on a fuel bill and their licence was cancelled.

References

{{Airlines of New Zealand Defunct airlines of New Zealand Companies of Niue Airlines established in 1990 Airlines disestablished in 1992 New Zealand companies established in 1990 1992 disestablishments in New Zealand

History

See also

References