Royal Tongan Airlines
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Royal Tongan Airlines was the national
airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...
of
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 ...
until liquidation in 2004. It was a government agency and operated interisland services and international routes.


History


Formative years

In 1983 a feasibility study was undertaken by
All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...
to investigate the setting up of a Tongan airline. It was planned for Friendly Island Airways to begin operations in October 1974, with technical and managerial assistance provided by the Japanese airline, and for the airline to operate a surplus ANA
Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...
. The plan was dropped in favour of Tongan participation in
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 ...
, which was expected to take delivery of a third
Fokker F28 The Fokker F28 Fellowship is a twin-engined, short-range jet airliner designed and built by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. Following the Fokker F27 Friendship, an early and commercially successful turboprop-powered regional airliner, Fokk ...
and was also expected to extend the Nauru-
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. ...
route to Tonga. At the time, flights between Apia and Tonga were operated exclusively by
Polynesian Airlines Samoa Airways, formerly Polynesian Airlines, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Samoa. The airline was founded in 1959 as "Polynesian Airlines", providing domestic and international flights throughout the South Pacific. International ope ...
. In 1985, King of Tonga
Taufa'ahau Tupou IV George Tupou I (4 December 1797 – 18 February 1893), originally known as Tāufaʻāhau I, was the first king of modern Tonga. He adopted the name Siaosi (originally Jiaoji), the Tongan equivalent of ''George'', after King George III of the U ...
visited the
British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marcon ...
factory in
Woodford Woodford may refer to: Places Australia *Woodford, New South Wales *Woodford, Queensland, a town in the Moreton Bay Region *Woodford, Victoria Canada * Woodford, Ontario England *Woodford, Cornwall * Woodford, Gloucestershire *Woodford, Greate ...
, leading to hopes with the manufacturer that Tonga would purchase the
British Aerospace ATP The British Aerospace ATP (Advanced Turbo-Prop) is an airliner designed and produced by British Aerospace. It was an evolution of the Hawker Siddeley HS 748, a fairly successful feederliner of the 1960s. The ATP was developed during the 1980 ...
. However, the government of Tonga and the Tonga Commodities Board purchased a CASA 212 and
Britten Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...
with which domestic flights could be started. Flights to
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. ...
(
American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...
) and
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. ...
(
Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
) were begun with the CASA in 1986. As airfields in
Vavaʻu Vavau is an island group, consisting of one large island ( ʻUtu Vavaʻu) and 40 smaller ones, in Tonga. It is part of Vavaʻu District, which includes several other individual islands. According to tradition, the Maui god created both Tongata ...
, Haʻapai, ʻEua and the
Niuas Niua is a division of the Kingdom of Tonga, namely the northernmost group of islands. It consists of three islands (Niuafoʻou, Niuatoputapu and Tafahi) which together have an area of 71.69 km2 and a population of 1,150. The largest village is ...
were upgraded, the airline upgraded the inter-island aircraft. In 1989 the airline leased two de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters to replace the CASA and Islander, and after the initial lease period, purchased the aircraft from the lessor,
Guinness Peat Aviation Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA) was a Commercial Aircraft Sales and Leasing company set up in 1975 by Aer Lingus, the Guinness Peat Group (a London-based financial services company) and Tony Ryan, then an Aer Lingus executive. History GPA was ...
. In June 1991, the name was changed from Friendly Island Airways to Royal Tongan Airlines, and international services were begun with a
Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two u ...
which was leased from
Solomon Airlines Solomon Airlines is the national airline of Solomon Islands, based in Honiara. History Solomon Airlines was established in 1962 as a charter airline by Laurie Crowley. Crowley had a charter operation in Papua New Guinea with occasional charte ...
from
Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the nation ...
to
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 ...
, New Zealand. The airline was considering acquiring a
Douglas DC-8 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in July ...
in order to operate flights to Australia, New Zealand and
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
, however this didn't eventuate and in 1994 the airline entered into a
codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
with
Polynesian Airlines Samoa Airways, formerly Polynesian Airlines, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Samoa. The airline was founded in 1959 as "Polynesian Airlines", providing domestic and international flights throughout the South Pacific. International ope ...
on routes to Sydney,
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. In June 1995, an agreement was signed with
Air Pacific Fiji Airways (trading as and formerly known as Air Pacific) is the flag carrier airline of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, ...
, which saw the lease-sharing of a
Boeing 737-300 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...
operated on Royal Tongan routes. The airline also gained approval from the
Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...
to carry passengers on its Sydney-Auckland-Tonga route. In 1996 the airline opened an office in
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
, and began
codesharing A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
on
Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacif ...
flights from Tongatapu to the
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
an capital. On 28 October 1997, a
codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
with
Polynesian Airlines Samoa Airways, formerly Polynesian Airlines, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Samoa. The airline was founded in 1959 as "Polynesian Airlines", providing domestic and international flights throughout the South Pacific. International ope ...
was begun. The agreement signed in early October 1997, saw Polynesian Airlines extending its
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. ...
-
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...
-
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
flights to operate Apia-Tonga-Wellington-Melbourne. The agreement was a continuation of efforts by airlines in the South Pacific to pool their limited resources to maximise their services. Direct flights between
Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the nation ...
and Sydney were announced in April 1999 as part of a Tongan initiative to increase tourist numbers from Australia. The once-weekly flights, the first by a Tongan airline to Australia, were operated by a chartered
Air Pacific Fiji Airways (trading as and formerly known as Air Pacific) is the flag carrier airline of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, ...
Boeing 737.


International expansion

A delegation from the
government of Niue The Premier of Niue is Niue's head of government. They are elected by the Niue Assembly, and forms a Cabinet of Niue, Cabinet consisting of themselves and three other members of the Assembly. Sir Robert Rex was continuously re-elected every t ...
travelled to Tonga to try to persuade Royal Tongan to continue flying to
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 ...
from Tonga past 28 October 2002; that date on which the flights were to cease, and
Polynesian Airlines Samoa Airways, formerly Polynesian Airlines, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Samoa. The airline was founded in 1959 as "Polynesian Airlines", providing domestic and international flights throughout the South Pacific. International ope ...
would begin jet service to
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 ...
. Royal Tongan told the Niuean government that it could no longer justify the service. In 2002, the airline leased a
Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. The prototype completed its mai ...
from
Royal Brunei Airlines Royal Brunei Airlines Sdn Bhd (RB) ( ms, Penerbangan DiRaja Brunei, Jawi: ) is the national flag carrier airline of Brunei Darussalam, headquartered in the RB Campus in Bandar Seri Begawan. It is wholly owned by the Government of Brunei Da ...
in order to restart international flights. The deal saw the aircraft being leased for a period of five years, initially as a wet lease later to be changed to a dry lease. Prince
Tuʻipelehake The Tuipelehake (or Tui Pelehake to be more consistent with similar titles, like Tuʻi Tonga, Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua and Tuʻi Kanokupolu) is the second highest ranking chiefly title in Tonga. In the absence of the ancient Tui Faleua title, the Tuipe ...
, and a majority of Tongan MPs, opposed the government giving Royal Tongan financial support with public funds due to the high levels of debt the airline was already in. Royal Tongan service of the 757, nicknamed Ikale Tahi'', was inaugurated at
Fuaʻamotu International Airport Fuaamotu International Airport is an international airport in Tonga. It is on the south side of the main island, Tongatapu, 20 km from the capital of Tonga, Nukualofa. Although named after the nearby village of Fuaʻamotu, which is on Tung ...
on 23 November 2002, with thrice-weekly flights from
Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the nation ...
to
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 ...
, with a once-a-week extension to Sydney. In 2003 it obtained its own
air operator's certificate An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets, and system in plac ...
with a view to launching flights to
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
. On 19 December, the airline was due to launch a once-weekly direct flight from Tongatapu to
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
, marking the entry of the airline in the
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
market. The Director of the Tongan
Human Rights and Democracy Movement The Human Rights and Democracy Movement (HRDM) is a political party in Tonga. Its leader is Uliti Uata. The HRDM was founded in the late 1970s as an informal group of Tongans interested in democratic reform. It was formalised in 1992 as the Pro ...
claimed the restructuring of the airline suffered from a lack of transparency. Lopeti Senituli noted that Tongan Prime Minister Prince ʻUlukālala Lavaka Ata wrote to the board of Royal Tongan Airline and instructed them to resign. At the same time, he noted that Shoreline, a company owned by the prince, had expressed an interest in taking over the airline. The airline commissioned
KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...
to review the airline's financial position, and in November 2003 the report by the accounting firm concluded that the airline was nearly
insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...
and that too few passengers were flying on the airline's international routes. The review found that Royal Tongan had lost US$5.5 million in the first nine months of its international operations. It was also determined that whilst Royal Tongan expected a 65% load factor on these flights, the actual figure was closer to 34%. In dismissing KPMG's review, CEO Logan Appu, stated that the airline would continue to operate internationally, and confirmed that the airline would begin flights to
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
in December 2003, in spite of the report recommending that Royal Tongan ditch the international flights and concentrate only on domestic services. People's Representative
Feleti Sevele Feleti Vakaʻuta Sevele, Lord Sevele of Vailahi (born 7 July 1944) was the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga from 30 March 2006 to 22 December 2010. Biography Early life Lord Sevele was born in Ma’ufanga, Nuku’alofa. He began his hig ...
noted that report suggested that the government would need to inject US$10 million into the airline, whilst the entire Tongan budget is only US$50 million. The introduction of flights by Royal Tongan to Rarotonga sparked a price war with
Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacif ...
. Five night packages to Rarotonga before Royal Tongan entered the scene cost approximately
NZ$ The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New ...
1299, and after the airline entered the market prices dropped to NZ$829–$899 for seven night packages.


Towards liquidation

The airline stopped selling international flights on 23 April 2004, and announced that the last international flight would leave
Tongatapu Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the nation ...
for
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 ...
the following day, whereby the
Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. The prototype completed its mai ...
was repossessed for non-payment and returned to
Royal Brunei Airlines Royal Brunei Airlines Sdn Bhd (RB) ( ms, Penerbangan DiRaja Brunei, Jawi: ) is the national flag carrier airline of Brunei Darussalam, headquartered in the RB Campus in Bandar Seri Begawan. It is wholly owned by the Government of Brunei Da ...
. Whilst airline management provided no reasons for the cessation of international flights, it was believed to be linked to the funding crisis which was being experienced by the state-owned airline. After the closure, Tonga was reliant on
Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacif ...
,
Air Pacific Fiji Airways (trading as and formerly known as Air Pacific) is the flag carrier airline of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, ...
,
Air Fiji Air Fiji was an airline based in Nausori, Fiji. It operated inter-island services to destinations within the Fijian Islands. Its main base was Nausori International Airport, Suva, with a base at Nadi International Airport.Flight International 27 ...
and
Polynesian Airlines Samoa Airways, formerly Polynesian Airlines, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Samoa. The airline was founded in 1959 as "Polynesian Airlines", providing domestic and international flights throughout the South Pacific. International ope ...
for international air services. The cessation of international flights also had the side effect of stranding mail being sent to Tonga in Auckland, up to a month afterwards, due to limited cargo space being available on the
Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacif ...
flights to the nation, and in late May it was reported that the nation had not received mail for a week. Akilisi Pohiva, a pro-democracy member of Tonga's parliament blamed King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV for the financial crisis of the airline, and called on the king to use his own funds to bail Royal Tongan out of its financial woes. He noted that the Tupou had issued a
royal decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...
for the 757 project to proceed, despite opposition from the cabinet and parliament, and claimed that the monarchy is not accountable to the public. On 18 May 2004, the airline ceased all operations with the remaining one hundred employees losing their jobs, and the islands of Tonga being left without domestic air service. The closure was forced as the airline's only airworthy aircraft, the
Shorts 360 The Short 360 (also SD3-60; also Shorts 360)Mondey, David. ''Encyclopedia of the World's Commercial and Private Aircraft''. New York: Crescent Books, 1981. , p. 228. is a commuter aircraft that was built by UK manufacturer Short Brothers during ...
, broke down and the airline had no funds with which to repair it. Airline administration was hoping that the government would bail it out, but this did not eventuate. In discussing the sending of Australian and New Zealand specialists to Tonga, to help the government wind up the airline,
Phil Goff Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition between 11 N ...
, the New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs stated "lessons can be learned from how and why the RTA collapsed." The Tongan government confirmed that it had a financial commitment in the airline to the value of 14 million
Tongan paʻanga The paanga is the currency of Tonga. It is controlled by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga (''Pangikē Pule Fakafonua o Tonga'') in Nukualofa. The paanga is not convertible and is pegged to a basket of currencies comprising the Australian, New ...
, and had pumped some 20 million paʻanga into the airline since its inception in 1985. In July 2004
PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...
found that the only substantial remaining assets of the company were a hangar and the two aircraft. It recommended that the aircraft be repaired and sold. By December 2004, it was reported that creditors had lodged claims of US$8.5 million from the liquidators, but had recovered only US$1.13 million from the sale of assets. PricewaterCoopers also noted that only 106 of 206 former employees of the airline had thus far lodged claims. The
Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restart ...
was sold in January 2005 for US$850,000, and the sale of assets from the airline's offices in
Nukuʻalofa Nukualofa (; ) is the capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group. History First western records of Nukualofa On 10 June 1777, British captain Jam ...
and abroad netted US$71,000 and US$8,000 respectively. In the absence of domestic flights in Tonga, by June 2004 Air Waves of Vava'u and Fly Niu Airlines had begun operations on some of the former Royal Tongan routes.


Destinations

Royal Tongan mainly operated domestic flights linking all the major islands the capital Nukuʻalofa. The airline also operated a number of international destinations, linking Nukuʻalofa to some 6 international points.


Fleet

As of its closure the Royal Tongan Airlines fleet included:


Former Fleet

* CASA 212 *
Britten Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...
* de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter *
Boeing 737-300 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...
*
Boeing 767-200 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...
* Hawker Siddeley HS-748


References


External links

* *{{cite web , url=http://www.royaltonganairlines.com , title=Archived copy , accessdate=27 March 2017 , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130201124704/http://www.royaltonganairlines.com/ , archivedate=1 February 2013 , df=dmy-all
former Royal Tongan website
accessed 18 July 2005 - maintained to retain historical information.
Royal Tongan Airlines aircraft
Defunct airlines of Tonga Airlines established in 1985 Airlines disestablished in 2004
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 ...
Government-owned airlines 1985 establishments in Tonga