Regional airline back on agenda

The possibility of fl ights between Samoa, Cook Islands, Tahiti, Fiji and Tonga is back on the agenda.

This time, the President of French Polynesia, Edouard Fritch, said he would raise the issue in Tahiti this week where Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, is due for the Polynesian Leaders Group (P.L.G) Summit.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa is scheduled to arrive in Papeete tomorrow where the meeting is being held.

And according to information from the Tahitian media, President Fritch said he would raise the issue on the sidelines of the meeting, which ends on Friday.

The key agenda of the P.L.G meeting is the preparation of a joint statement to be presented at C.O.P 21 in Paris later this year. But there are other key issues pertaining to the development of regional partnerships.

For Mr. Fritch, he has indicated that he wants to use the opportunity to raise the possibility of restoring an inter-Polynesian air service to establish direct links between the various regional destinations.

The President referred to a project that had already been suggested in 2011 by Oscar Temaru.

The idea, he said, is to revive and develop a road served up during the 50s by the company Teal (Tasman Empire Airways Limited), which became Air New Zealand Limited in 1965.

The company had previously served by seaplane, the Auckland-Tahiti road via Fiji, Samoa and Cook.

Islands.

The route was referred to as "Coral Road".

“The TEAL company for strategic reasons served Tahiti and some Pacifi c islands, Aitutaki and Samoa and Tonga,” said Mr. Fritch.

Today, given the importance of developing the tourism industry in Polynesia, the President said the idea of reviving the "Coral Road" is worth looking into.

Mr. Fritch said the idea was raised by former President, Oscar Temaru.

“My request - and that's what I explained to Tonga, during my last trip - would be that the large operators serving the Pacifi c today can meet around a table with our company: the project is interesting, but we do not want to do it alone,” he said.

Asked if the Coral Road holds any potential to develop tourism, he said: “What interests us most is economic development, tourism in each of our countries. We are not alone in expertise in this field.

There are others doing better than us. I think of Fiji. And in this context, do not try to reinvent the wheel; we must share our experiences".

Lastly, Mr. Fritch said raising the issue with Polynesian leaders is the fi rst step.

“I fi rst want to see how far our heads of states or regional governments are willing to invest,” he said, adding that the next step will be to talk to the major airlines in the region.

“Today, nobody is able to say that it will bring money. But it is a necessity for the development of our islands".

President Fritch also wants to utilise the marketing pull that Air Tahiti brings to the table.

Air Tahiti has fi ve Airbuses A340/300 fl ying twice daily from Tahiti to Los Angeles and on to Paris. It also has a domestic arm, which services 41 airports on 118 islands within Tahiti as well as the Cook Islands.