US's Pacific Air Charters adds first two Tecnam P2012s

Pacific Air Charters (Honolulu) has taken delivery of two Tecnam P2012s, which it will deploy into American Samoa under the Pago Wings brand. The start-up will become the only active commercial airline based in the remote South Pacific US territory. The two aircraft were ordered from Costruzioni Aeronautiche TECNAM in March and are accompanied by an option for a further 23.

Pacific Air Charters Inc. is a Part 135 air carrier. Under the terms of its US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 135 certificate, Pacific Air Charters/Pago Wings can provide on-demand, unscheduled air services. The airline was recently acquired by the prominent Pago Pago-based Alofa family who want to expand air services in American Samoa. "We believe the Tecnam Traveller is a superior aircraft designed specifically for markets like American Samoa," said Pacific Air Charters CEO Marshall Ashley.

A Pacific Air Charters spokesperson told ch-aviation that the two Tecnams are N1202P (msn 56) and N1203P (msn 57), with the airline anticipating deploying them into American Samoa in the third quarter of this year.

According to ch-aviation PRO airlines data, there are now no airlines based in American Samoa, and just four airports - Fitiuta, Ofu, Pago Pago, and Tau. The same data indicates that no airlines regularly operate to Fitiuta, Ofu, or Tau, while Pago Pago is serviced by Hawaiian Airlines (HA, Honolulu) and Talofa Airways (Apia Faleolo). The Tecnam Traveller can use airstrips as short as 550 metres, making it suitable to fly into Ofu (610 metre runway), Tau (661 metre runway), and Fitiuta (975 metre runway) from the capital.

The Tecnam Traveller is beginning to carve out a small niche in the Pacific region, flying short ultra skinny routes into relatively undeveloped airports. The type briefly operated for the now-defunct Marianas Southern Airways (Saipan), with those aircraft now at Guam International and awaiting transfer to Mokulele Airlines (MHO, Kona). That airline has previously told ch-aviation that they will operate on their inter-island Hawaiian routes.