Real Tonga, stylised as "REALtonga", was an airline that operated domestic flights within Tonga. It commenced operations in March 2013, becoming the twelfth airline to operate domestic flights in Tonga since air services began. In 2020 the airline ceased all operations.

History

Real Tonga commenced operations on 4 March 2013, taking over services previously operated by Chathams Pacific, a subsidiary of New Zealand-based airline

Air Chathams Air Chathams Limited is an airline based in the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. It was established in 1984 and operates scheduled passenger services between the Chatham Islands and mainland New Zealand along with routes between Auckland a ...

. The airline was started up with funding from the owner Tevita Palu, as well as the gifting of several aircraft from China to the Tongan government, including a

Xian MA60 The Xian MA60 (新舟60, ''Xīnzhōu liùshí'', "Modern Ark 60") is a turboprop-powered airliner produced by China's Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). The MA60 is a stretched versio ...

, which were then leased to Real Tonga. The use of the MA60 generated controversy in both Tonga and New Zealand due to the type's safety record, and the New Zealand government issued a travel advisory, warning against air travel in Tonga. As a result of this, tourist numbers dropped, particularly on the outer islands, where the reduction in the number of tourists had a significant impact on the local economy. In June 2014, Real Tonga announced that it had purchased two British Aerospace Jetstream 32 aircraft from Australia. On May 12 2020 Real Tonga was not operating after the MA60 lease was terminated, the Y-12 lease expired and the Saab 340 was out of service after a birdstrike incident. This occurred amid issues related to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, including the laying off of staff and pilots. Two weeks later, on May 27, the Tongan government announced they were cutting support for Real Tonga in favour of a new airline to be called 'Lulutai'. It was reported that the airline had been running at a loss for seven years since inception in 2013. This would make the Real Tonga the fifth Tongan domestic operator to cease operations since Royal Tongan Airlines collapsed in 2004. (See also: List of defunct airlines of Tonga).

Safety record

Attempts have been made to verify that the MA60 flown by Real Tonga is safe. Pilot Rodger McCutcheon said the MA60 is an excellent aeroplane. Ex-Air New Zealand pilots with over 15000 flight hours have offered to recertify the plane. The chief executive of

Samoa Air Samoa Air was a small airline from Samoa that operated scheduled flights between the domestic islands as well as to American Samoa. It also provided charter flights and medical transfer flights. The airline appears to have become dormant in 2015 ...

added that he didn't believe the MA60 aircraft, gifted to Tonga by China, is a significant safety issue.
However, on March 6 of 2015, the airline decided to ground and return the MA60 turboprop, due to pressure from the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

government. By doing this, the

Pacific island Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

nation triggered a release of NZ$10 million in aid to it. A 68-seater

ATR 72-600 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...

was leased from Fiji Airways to operate a number of charter flights.

Destinations

Fleet

The Real Tonga fleet comprises the following aircraft (as of August 2016):

References

{{Reflist Defunct airlines of Tonga Airlines established in 2013 Airlines disestablished in 2020 2013 establishments in Oceania