Air Vanuatu

Air Vanuatu to fly first outbound passenger flight on Friday

With support from the French Embassy in Vanuatu and the New Caledonian government, the airline is returning nine French nationals from Port Vila to Noumea.

It is the airline's first international passenger flight since Air Vanuatu suspended services in March following the closure of Vanuatu's borders.

The Vanuatu Daily Post reported no passengers were expected to be on the return flight.

Air Vanuatu's acting Chief Executive, Joseph Laloyer, said the flight was a positive step on the road towards international aviation recovery.

Air Vanuatu announces increase Boeing 737 service to Santo

The aircraft will depart at Port Vila 3pm and will arrive in Santo at 3.30pm. The return flight will depart Santo from 4.30pm and will arrive at Port Vila 5.30pm.

Air Vanuatu General Manager Commercial Jeff Murdoch says they are seeing encouraging passenger numbers between Port Vila and Santo and they will introduce the supplementary frequency to meet the demand.

“We hope that the additional services will also help our Santo Tourism industry partners and businesses to benefit from the additional capacity and help boost the domestic market”, Mr Murdoch said.

Air Vanuatu announces way forward as airline feels impact of global coronavirus pandemic

At a meeting, Wednesday, the Board acknowledged the efforts made by all the employees in Vanuatu, Australia and New Zealand, from the flight crew and engineers to the front-line airport and sales personnel for their commitments during these challenging times.

Chairman Sam Firi described the strategy as “New Era, New Look,”.

Air Vanuatu shareholders appoint new Board of Directors

Former aircraft engineer Sam Firi has been appointed Board Chairman.

Well-known lawyer, Andrew Bal is the new Vice Chairman.

The other Board members are Jean Paul Virelala, a former CEO of Air Vanuatu and a former Member of Parliament, Philip Charlie.

The new members, together with Derek Nice, Managing Director and CEO of Air Vanuatu, constitute the new Board of Directors.

Air Vanuatu schedules Boeing 737 aircraft for Santo

The flights have been scheduled as follows:

Tuesday, 14th April 2020

NF208 Port-Vila Santo 15:00 15:35
NF209 Santo Port-Vila 16:25 17:00

Friday, 17th April 2020

NF208 Port-Vila Santo 15:00 15:35
NF209 Santo Port-Vila 16:25 17:00

The airline’s sales office is open from 7:30am through 15:00 for bookings or call 20200 or email reservation@airvanuatu.vu for further information,

Vanuatu domestic air services to resume

Services had been suspended as precautionary measures due to Tropical Cyclone Harold which caused extensive destruction in parts of the country.

Following the notice of resumption of services Tuesday, Air Vanuatu announced that domestic passenger services will resume as of Friday 10 April 2020.

Air Vanuatu said it received the official notice of resumption of domestic services from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vanuatu (CAAV) and the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) at lunchtime Tuesday.

Air Vanuatu suspends domestic passenger services

The decision was made following direct instruction received from Director Abraham Nasak at the National Disaster Management, earlier today.

Honorable Minister Bruno Lengkon, responsible for the National Disaster Management Office, made the official request to Air Vanuatu, providing the following guidance:

Air Vanuatu buys 2 new Airbus jets

The two A220s, which are set to join the fleet in June for the first aircraft and October for the second, will mean more capacity both domestically and internationally.

Air Vanuatu's chief executive Derek Nice told the Daily Post that the government required the airline to ensure the expansion project was self-sustainable and profitable.

In preparation, more trainee pilots are undergoing training overseas.

     

Air Vanuatu implements new cargo requirements

Cargo bookings must now be made 48 hours prior to departure time and complete information must be clearly provided.

Air Vanuatu’s Manager Marketing and Communications, Paul Pio says the new cargo requirements apply to all aircraft operated by Air Vanuatu.

Pio says this new policy will allow customers and the airline to have enough lead in time to book cargo space and ensure the parcels are collected by the right consignees as per the details provided by the sender.

He adds that consignees must present a photo ID prior to collecting the shipment.

Air Vanuatu emerges as a leader in gender diversity

Air Vanuatu was one of the first to step forward.

“We identified the very real need to publicly validate our commitment to gender diversity and saw the IATA challenge as an opportunity that would not only benefit women in aviation in Vanuatu, but benefit us as an airline as well,” said Chief Executive Officer Derek Nice.

“I am pleased to announce that Air Vanuatu has already surpassed IATA’s target, with 36% of our management positions being held by women. This is a significant achievement, given the average for all IATA members in the Asia Pacific region is just 7%.”