Air Vanuatu

Vanuatu will be the first stop on an extensive tour of the South Pacific which will see Airbus highlight the A220’s performance across the region. The aircraft, a new Airbus A220-300, will be in the colours of A220 launch customer airBaltic.

Air Vanuatu is the launch customer in the South Pacific region for the A220, the most advanced airliner in its class, featuring new manufacturing technologies, reduced fuel consumption and carbon emissions, lower operating costs and a more attractive passenger cabin.

"The first aircraft will arrive in June 2020 and will replace a wet-leased B737. So we will not be increasing capacity but this aircraft is going to deliver us some substantial economies through cost-savings and efficiencies. The second aircraft will arrive in October of 2020. That will be our first growth aircraft and will allow us to transition from ATR to jet services on some of our regional services and also to increase frequencies," Nice explained.

Air Vanuatu CEO Derek Nice says the government has identified Norsup, Lonorore and Motalava as the first runways to be upgraded and extended to accept ATR-sized regional turboprops. These airfields mainly serve local communities, although the country is pushing to eventually promote these destinations to tourists as well, Nice adds.

The country has seen a steady uptick in tourism, says Nice, who predicts the current 10 percent year-on-year growth in international arrivals to remain intact for the foreseeable future.

“Air Vanuatu appreciates the continuous effort made by the Government of Vanuatu in issuing a nationwide identification facility. It has tremendously assisted the airline with the implementation of its domestic ID check policy.”

“We also understand a number of financial and technical challenges are met by the issuing authority during this lengthy process and we will continue to collaborate with the Office of Civil Status.” Says Paul Pio, Air Vanuatu Marketing & Communication Manager.

All 13 are graduates of Air Vanuatu’s first Flight Attendant Class of 2019. “These new flight attendants really are the best of the best,” says Beverly Alvos, the airline’s Manager of Cabin Services. “It was difficult for us,” she says. “With over 300 applications, we had so many highly qualified candidates to select from.”

The rigorous selection process included panel interviews, exams and background and reference checks. Then training was conducted in the classroom and on aircraft, both in Port Vila and in Brisbane in Australia.

The inaugural service, operated by Boeing 737-800 YJ-AV8, touched down at Tullamarine a little after 2000 local time on Wednesday, some four and a half hours after taking off from Port Vila’s Bauerfield Airport as NF8.

The aircraft was on the ground overnight before taking off as the reciprocal NF7 bound for Port Vila a little before 0730 on Thursday.

The additional services include an extra flight on Mondays, Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays with a total of three flights a day.

Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays remain at two daily flights.

With the extra services from Australia and New-Zealand, the additional flights on selected days will allow seamless international connections as well as offering more flexibility to our business and leisure travelers.

Photo file 

The airline introduced the policy in February but gave a six month grace period to passengers in the outer islands while the government's National ID Card programme was being rolled out.

Air Vanuatu's communications manager, Paul Pio, said he was confident most passengers would have some form of photo ID from next month.

They could use the National ID Card, the Vanuatu National Provident Fund (VNPF) card, a passport, school ID or a company card, Mr Pio said.

The MOU lays the groundwork for a close and productive working relationship between Vanuatu’s national airline and the office of the government’s Commissioner of Labor and employment services. It provides for proactive consultation and communication on a wide range of employment issues, including interpretation and application of employment law and labor policies, staff development and succession planning, and compliance with the work permit under the (Amendment) Act of 2018.

The airline's chief executive Derek Nice said it will allow the airline to achieve the country's tourism growth targets.

Mr Nice said the new aircraft will complement the existing fleet and mean more tourists for the country through new international destinations and boosted airline schedules.

"We've announced today, February 26, that we are moving ahead with the purchase of four Airbus A220 aircraft with options for another four."

Airbus list prices put the value of the order at US$690 million.