Air Tetiaroa adds third Twin Otter with an epic ferry flight

By Andrew Curran.

French Polynesian charter airline Air Tetiaroa is taking delivery of its third DHC-6-300 Twin Otter in a marathon 11-day ferry flight spanning half the globe.

The 38-year-old aircraft, F-ONCA (msn 840), departed St Gallen (ACH) on September 9 for Papeete (PPT) via Cardiff (CWL), Reykjavik (KEF), Iqaluit (YFB), Saskatoon (YXE), Boise (BOI), Santa Maria (SMX), Hilo (ITO) and Kiritimati (CXI). It is due to land at Papeete on September 19.

Air Tetiaroa styles the flight as “le grand voyage” and says it will cover 18,000 kilometres, involve nine stages and about 60 hours of flying.

“After several months of preparation, modifications and refurbishment in Switzerland, it is now ready to join its new base – Tahiti,” the airline posted on social media.

“The arrival of this aircraft marks a new important step in the development of Air Tetiaroa,” the post adds. “It will allow us to strengthen our operational capabilities to better meet the needs of our customers and operate more missions.”

The airline is using two of its own pilots to ferry the Twin Otter to French Polynesia. Prior to delivery, Swiss MRO entity Zimex overhauled the aircraft, including replacing its wings, overhauling its engines, propellers and landing gear, and installing new avionics. Before going to Air Tetiaroa, the DHC-6-300 most recently flew for New Caledonia’s Air Oceania (formerly known as Air Loyauté).

All three Air Tetiaroa Twin Otters are leased from Zimex Aviation.

Third Twin Otter to improve redundancy and reliability

Air Tetiaroa is owned by the Pacific Beachcomber Group, which also owns assorted luxury hotels and resorts around French Polynesia, including the InterContinental Tahiti Resort & Spa. The charter airline’s bread-and-butter business is transferring Beachcomber’s well-heeled clientele between Papeete’s Faa’a International Airport (PPT) and its accommodation venues.

Pacific Beachcomber Group CEO Laurent Darcy told French Polynesia’s Radio 1 that the third Twin Otter will improve Air Tetiaroa’s redundancy and reliability. Its current Twin Otters are worked hard and the arrival of the third will help maintain operations, particularly during busy periods when an aircraft is taken out of service.

“The goal isn't for it to remain in a hangar as a backup, but to be able to complement other missions,” Darcy adds.

The CEO says Air Tetiaroa loses money, noting that running an aviation business in French Polynesia is “complicated”. Darcy says the airline is trying to diversify its business beyond airport – hotel transfers.

“We are exploring possibilities with certain government services, particularly in the healthcare sector,” he said.

“The constraints are increasing – regulatory constraints, operational constraints, (and) operating costs,” Darcy said. “Now, in addition to the soaring price of oil, our spare parts and approach costs are skyrocketing. It's difficult, despite a growing volume of activity.”

Photo: Air Tetiaroa.
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com