Air Vanuatu

The Pacific Island carrier advised its passengers earlier in the week it was 'working as quickly as possible' to source the replacement parts that grounded the carrier's only capable aircraft connecting Port Vila to Australia and New Zealand.

The airline said in a statement it has been operating all regular international schedules since Saturday, after a replacement mechanical part for the Boeing 737 was sourced.

Final mechanical work would take place later this month to replace the loan auxiliary power unit that was currently fitted. This work would be conducted overnight, so it was not expected to affect any flights.

The airline said the backlog of stranded customers had been resolved through recovery flights and assistance from other airlines, including Solomon Airlines, Nauru Airlines and Fiji Airways.

The disruptions are occurring amid a mechanical issue with the airline's only international Boeing 737 aircraft, which serves a few destinations, including those between Port Vila (Vanuatu) to Brisbane and Sydney in Australia, and Auckland in New Zealand. Officials have canceled and/or delayed at least a dozen flights and expect the flight disruptions to continue through at least Sept. 29.

 Airline officials have indicated that travelers no longer intending to fly can explore refund options.

Statement by the airline confirmed that it is now operating on reduced international capacity via its partnership with Solomon Airways while its sole Boeing 737 aircraft is out of service.

The airline has confirmed that services will be affected until mid-next week. The cause of these disruptions is unscheduled technical work that is required on the aircraft.

The aircraft is currently grounded in Brisbane and is understood to be awaiting the arrival of a spare part.

Paul Spijkers (GFDL or GFDL ), via Wikimedia Commons

This shows why cooperation between airlines is more crucial than ever before. The two airlines will work together to expand their networks. 

Together the airlines will increase Port-Vila to Auckland flight frequency to two Solomon Airlines operated services weekly, expanding Air Vanuatu’s New Zealand schedule to 4 x return services weekly on the Port Vila to Auckland route.

Solomon Airlines will also operate double return weekly flights between Brisbane and Port Villa with seamless connection via Port Villa to New Zealand 

Their airlines do the same, as evidenced by last week's cooperation between Solomon Airlines and Air Vanuatu.

On April 26th, Solomon Airlines confirmed its latest cooperation with a close neighbor, Air Vanuatu, establishing a new wet lease arrangement. The wet lease agreement will see Solomon Airlines operating a third frequency between Port Vila, Vanuatu and Auckland, New Zealand, for Air Vanuatu.

As of 15 April, all international flights for Australia and New Zealand had resumed, the airline said in a statement.

Hundreds of passengers' plans were disrupted when the airline was forced to halt its international operations due to mechanical issues.

The airline tapped into partner airlines for support with flying impacted passengers while waiting for parts for its plane.

Solomon Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Gus Kraus has confirmed that a Havilland Twin Otter aircraft and operating crew will assist Vanuatu’s recovery efforts following the devastation caused by Cyclones Judy and Kevin earlier this month.

The 19-seater Twin Otter and flight crew will join Air Vanuatu’s fleet for an initial two months, to provide much needed operational capacity as the airline strives to restore vital domestic operations.

The national carrier said via a statement on Tuesday that all flights to and from Australia and New Zealand have been cancelled until the end of the week.

"It is with deep regret that we now are cancelling all flights on the New Zealand and Australia routes up to and including Friday 7th of April," the airline said.

"This announcement follows recent news regarding the parts that we are waiting on for the Boeing 737 aircraft."

The airline is awaiting parts for its Boeing aircraft.

Air Vanuatu operates a Boeing 737 for the Australian and New Zealand flights and the aircraft is currently in Australia awaiting parts that are being sourced with urgent support from Boeing offices in both the United States of America and Australia, the airline said.

Most international flights to and from Brisbane, Sydney and Auckland will not be operational until Thursday at the earliest.