Unity Airlines buys Air Vanuatu Britten Norman Islander

By Andrew Curran.

Unity Airlines has purchased a weather-beaten Britten Norman Islander from Air Vanuatu, who say they have neither the interest nor the capacity to return the aircraft to service and that, even if they did, the cost would be unaffordable and greater than the sale price.

Port Vila’s Daily Post newspaper first reported on the sale. The buyer, Unity Airlines, paid VUV8.05 million (USD67,800) for the aircraft, YJ-008 (msn 2172). The sale was finalised on August 25, 2026.

The purchase price, which included 15% value-added tax, was significantly less than the original VUV15 million (USD126,350) offer from Unity Airlines, which was withdrawn following re-inspections of the aircraft, which has been out of service since late 2023.

The newspaper questioned whether Air Vanuatu, keen to rid itself of an asset that was deteriorating by the day, ended up accepting a price that was below the aircraft’s market value. Air Vanuatu said it did not.

Responding to a series of questions, Air Vanuatu said it accepted the revised offer because no other party had shown interest in buying the 38-year-old Islander. The aircraft has sat outside in the weather since ceasing operations and now requires overhauls of both engines and propellers, rectification of corrosion damage and inspections to get the aircraft certified again.

The airline said the cost of getting this done was several times the sale price. Air Vanuatu added that it no longer had the in-house capacity to do this type of work.

Since withdrawing the Islander from service almost three years ago, state-owned Air Vanuatu was liquidated and, for a period of time, ceased operations. It is now owned by a state-owned shelf company and operates a trio of DHC-6-300 Twin Otters and one ATR72-600 around the country. Air Vanuatu says there is no longer a place in its fleet plan for YJ-008.

Air Vanuatu said the relationship between its Chairman, Robin Deamer, and Unity Airlines founder, Anthony Deamer, had no bearing on the final price paid for the aircraft. Anthony is Robin’s son. Air Vanuatu said Unity’s initial interest in the Islander predated Robin’s August 2025 appointment to Air Vanuatu’s board and that he subsequently played no role in the negotiations or sale decision-making process.

Unity Airlines is a Port Vila-based charter operator that already flies Islanders. It purchased the YJ-008 on an “as is, where is” basis. It is unclear whether Unity Airlines intends to try to return the aircraft to service or break it down for parts and scrap. Aero South Pacific has approached Unity Airlines for comment.

Photo: AI-Generated.
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com