From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 18, no. 2, August 2003.

A new airline, Kingdom Airline, aims to open up the trading route between Tonga and the USA, using two 420 Convairs aircraft, scheduled to begin operations before August.

Steve Edwards, the only Tongan shareholder in the company, said that each of the Convairs, with four and a half tonnes cargo capacity, would fly once a week to Pago Pago. The service would start in Tongatapu with a stop-over in Vava‘u and then onward to Pago Pago, and return.

Steve was optimistic that the Pago Pago link would boost two-way trading between Tonga and the USA, and would increase once a regular air cargo service was provided.

He comes from the Tiger Airline, which operated a 727 via Tonga to the USA for three months earlier this year, before running into problems with aircraft leases.

“The cargo capacity is here. In three months our cargo loading jumped from three tonnes when we started, to 22 tonnes when the service was suspended,” he said.

Tongan company

The Kingdom Airline Company Ltd. is a Tongan registered company, which is jointly owned by one American, two Britains, two Canadians and one Tongan.

Steve said that their first two aircraft had left the USA and were expected to arrive in Tonga in early July.

Meanwhile, paperwork for the certifying of the two aircraft was being carried out with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and they were hopeful that after the arrival of the Convairs in Tonga, an Aviation Operator Certificate would be issued and an Economic Approval (Air Service Agreement) from the USA before August so that they could start operating.

Passengers

Steve said that the Kingdom Airline would not limit itself to carrying cargo only, and already they had plans to add two Dash-8, 30 and 40 seater aircraft by September. Steve said that the two Dash-8 would offer a regional service and fly between Tonga, Niue, American Samoa, Rarotonga, and Tahiti. “The Dash-8 will be able to land in Ha‘apai so it will also offer a domestic air service.”

Steve said he believed that the Kingdom Airline service would compliment the service that is currently offered by the national carrier, Royal Tongan Airlines.