Solomon Airlines
Encyclopedia
Solomon Airlines is the national airline
of the Solomon Islands
, based in Honiara
.
when he started to fly charter flights on a single Piper Aztec
plane to the Solomons. Since no commercial aircraft was based at the Solomon Islands, Crowley decided to start an airline and called it Megapode Airlines.
After Macair of Papua New Guinea
decided to buy off Megapode in 1968, they decided to change the airline's name to Solomon Islands Airways, although most of the public knew the airline by the acronym of SOLAIR. Macair had bought Megapode it had become a regular flights one. Under Macair, SOLAIR became the smallest international airline in the world, serving the island of Bougainville
, Papua New Guinea, with a total of two Doves
and two Beech Barons
.
In 1975, Macair and SOLAIR were bought off by Talair
, and in 1976, the airline received two Beech Queen Air 80 airplanes, and the Solomon Islands Government bought 49 percent of the airline's shares and establishing the right to buy the remaining 51 percent by the next five years.
For the next five years, growth was slow but steady. A brand new Fairchild Metro
was bought, and services were established to Vanuatu
.
In 1984 the Government decided it wanted to buy all of the airline's shares, and two Twin Otters
and one Bandeirante
plane were leased from Talair. Soon after full Government take-over, the three leased planes were returned. In 1987, the sale of the airline and its assets Pacific Car Rental (a subsidiary of Avis
) and tour company Hunts of the Pacific, were completed.
The new ownership was met with skepticism and distrust by airline workers, and many of them would leave their jobs soon, including some on the managerial level. Then, the Government was faced with the task of rebuilding the airline, and it started doing so by investing 2 million dollars to buy two -300 Twin Otters. Soon, a new livery was introduced, and the name was changed to "Solomon Airlines" officially.
A joint venture with Qantas
followed, and then Solomon Airlines entered the jet age by leasing a Boeing 737
from Air Pacific
. Solomon Airlines and Air Pacific soon also made a joint venture, but when Air Pacific announced in 1989 it was planning to substitute its Boeing 737 with a Boeing 767
to upgrade international services, Solomon Airlines was forced to lease one from another company, and so it decided on leasing a 737 owned by International Lease Finance Corporation
. Since then, the airline has operated with leased 737s alongside their own turbo-props. In 1999, after civil war broke out in the Solomons, United Nations
imposed sanctions severely damaged the airline's international routes, and at one point, the airline was allowed to have only one such route, the one they decided to keep flying being the flight to Brisbane
.
Nowadays, Solomon Airlines has apparently battled off the consequences of the Civil War, and it still flies, mainly nearby their area of the Pacific Ocean
.
For the months of January and February 2009, Solomon Airlines leased a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 seating 40, from Vincent Aviation of Wellington, New Zealand.
While they trial this service, one of their Twin Otter aircraft is undergoing heavy maintenance at Honiara.
In August 2009, Solomon Airlines obtained an Airbus A320-200 aircraft including pilots, leased by Strategic Airlines
.
As of January 2011 the Solomon Airlines fleet includes:
Flights to Nadi operated by Air Pacific use Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Flights to Port Vila operated by Air Niugini use Fokker 100 aircraft.
Solomon Airlines will lease their own Airbus A320
on March 27, 2011 and will no longer use Strategic aircraft on the Honiara to Brisbane route.
It was reported in the Solomon Star newspaper on 17/5/10 that Solomon Airlines Dash 8 pilots shut off one engine in mid air when they encountered a technical problem and landed in Temotu, during a flight from Honiara on Saturday 15 May 2010.
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
of the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, based in Honiara
Honiara
Honiara, population 49,107 , 78,190 , is the capital of the Solomon Islands and of Guadalcanal Province, although it is a separately administered town...
.
History
Solomon Airlines was established in 1962 as a charter airline by Laurie Crowley. Crowley had been flying around Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
when he started to fly charter flights on a single Piper Aztec
Piper Aztec
-Accidents and incidents:*On 18 April 1974, Aztec G-AYDE was involved in a ground collision with BAC One-Eleven G-AXMJ at London Luton Airport after the pilot of the Aztec entered the active runway without clearance. He was killed and his passenger was injured...
plane to the Solomons. Since no commercial aircraft was based at the Solomon Islands, Crowley decided to start an airline and called it Megapode Airlines.
After Macair of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
decided to buy off Megapode in 1968, they decided to change the airline's name to Solomon Islands Airways, although most of the public knew the airline by the acronym of SOLAIR. Macair had bought Megapode it had become a regular flights one. Under Macair, SOLAIR became the smallest international airline in the world, serving the island of Bougainville
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...
, Papua New Guinea, with a total of two Doves
De Havilland Dove
The de Havilland DH.104 Dove was a British monoplane short-haul airliner from de Havilland, the successor to the biplane de Havilland Dragon Rapide and was one of Britain's most successful post-war civil designs...
and two Beech Barons
Beechcraft Baron
|-See also:- Further reading :*Harding, Stephen. U.S. Army Aircraft Since 1947. Shrewsbury, UK:Airlife Publishing, 1990. ISBN 1-85310-102-8.*Michell, Simon. Jane's Civil and Military Aircraft Upgrades 1994-95. Coulsdon, UK:Jane's Information Group, 1994. ISBN 0-7106-1208-7.*Taylor, John W. R....
.
In 1975, Macair and SOLAIR were bought off by Talair
Talair
-Company history:Talair had its origins as Territory Airlines, founded in 1952 as a charter company. It operated to towns throughout the country where the only means of communication was by air. Its bases of operations were Lae and Madang. The aircraft used were small Cessna and Beechcraft...
, and in 1976, the airline received two Beech Queen Air 80 airplanes, and the Solomon Islands Government bought 49 percent of the airline's shares and establishing the right to buy the remaining 51 percent by the next five years.
For the next five years, growth was slow but steady. A brand new Fairchild Metro
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner
The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner or the Fairchild Aerospace Metro is a 19-seat, pressurised, twin turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas, United States....
was bought, and services were established to Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
.
In 1984 the Government decided it wanted to buy all of the airline's shares, and two Twin Otters
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian 19-passenger STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and currently produced by Viking Air. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL abilities and high rate of climb have made it a successful cargo, regional passenger airliner and MEDEVAC...
and one Bandeirante
Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante
The Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante is a general purpose 15-21 passenger twin-turboprop light transport aircraft suitable for military and civil duties...
plane were leased from Talair. Soon after full Government take-over, the three leased planes were returned. In 1987, the sale of the airline and its assets Pacific Car Rental (a subsidiary of Avis
Avis Rent A Car System
Avis Rent a Car System, LLC is a car rental company headquartered in Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, New Jersey, United States. Avis, Budget Rent a Car and Budget Truck Rental are all units of Avis Budget Group....
) and tour company Hunts of the Pacific, were completed.
The new ownership was met with skepticism and distrust by airline workers, and many of them would leave their jobs soon, including some on the managerial level. Then, the Government was faced with the task of rebuilding the airline, and it started doing so by investing 2 million dollars to buy two -300 Twin Otters. Soon, a new livery was introduced, and the name was changed to "Solomon Airlines" officially.
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
followed, and then Solomon Airlines entered the jet age by leasing a Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
from Air Pacific
Air Pacific
Air Pacific Limited, Fiji's international airline, operates international and domestic services around the Pacific and to North America and Hong Kong. It is also a partner with the frequent flyer programmes of Qantas, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines...
. Solomon Airlines and Air Pacific soon also made a joint venture, but when Air Pacific announced in 1989 it was planning to substitute its Boeing 737 with a Boeing 767
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
to upgrade international services, Solomon Airlines was forced to lease one from another company, and so it decided on leasing a 737 owned by International Lease Finance Corporation
International Lease Finance Corporation
The International Lease Finance Corporation is an aircraft lessor headquartered in Century City, Los Angeles, California.It is the world's largest aircraft lessor by value, though ILFC's rival, General Electric's GECAS unit, has more aircraft...
. Since then, the airline has operated with leased 737s alongside their own turbo-props. In 1999, after civil war broke out in the Solomons, United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
imposed sanctions severely damaged the airline's international routes, and at one point, the airline was allowed to have only one such route, the one they decided to keep flying being the flight to Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
.
Nowadays, Solomon Airlines has apparently battled off the consequences of the Civil War, and it still flies, mainly nearby their area of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
For the months of January and February 2009, Solomon Airlines leased a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 seating 40, from Vincent Aviation of Wellington, New Zealand.
While they trial this service, one of their Twin Otter aircraft is undergoing heavy maintenance at Honiara.
In August 2009, Solomon Airlines obtained an Airbus A320-200 aircraft including pilots, leased by Strategic Airlines
Strategic Airlines
Strategic Airlines Pty Ltd, trading as Air Australia Airways is a scheduled passenger and charter airline with its head office in Hendra, Brisbane, Australia,...
.
Livery
The Solomons livery consists of an overall white fuselage, with a cheatline extending up onto the vertical fin in colors mirroring those of the national flag. The vertical fin is mainly royal blue, with five white stars prominently displayed. The single word "Solomons" is carried above the window line forward, along with the national flag.Fleet
- 1 Britten-Norman IslanderBritten-Norman IslanderThe Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a 1960s British light utility aircraft, regional airliner and cargo aircraft designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in...
- 2 De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 300De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin OtterThe DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian 19-passenger STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and currently produced by Viking Air. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL abilities and high rate of climb have made it a successful cargo, regional passenger airliner and MEDEVAC...
- 1 De Havilland Canada DHC-8-102 (operated by Airlines PNG)
Flights to Nadi operated by Air Pacific use Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Flights to Port Vila operated by Air Niugini use Fokker 100 aircraft.
Solomon Airlines will lease their own Airbus A320
Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
on March 27, 2011 and will no longer use Strategic aircraft on the Honiara to Brisbane route.
Incidents
Solomon Airlines have lost two aircraft during their history. These were a BN-2A Islander in 1978 near Bellona Island and a DH6 Twin Otter in 1991 over Guadalcanal, resulting in 26 fatalities.It was reported in the Solomon Star newspaper on 17/5/10 that Solomon Airlines Dash 8 pilots shut off one engine in mid air when they encountered a technical problem and landed in Temotu, during a flight from Honiara on Saturday 15 May 2010.