Air Calédonie
Encyclopedia
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...
for New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, headquartered on the grounds of Magenta Airport in Nouméa
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
. It operates scheduled passenger and cargo flights from Nouméa to 10 destinations in New Caledonia. Its main base is Magenta Airport (GEA).
History
The airline was established in 1954 and started operations on 25 September 1955 as Transpac. It changed its name to Air Caledonie in 1968. The New Caledonian Territorial government became the majority shareholder during a major refinancing operation in 1969. The airline is owned by New Caledonia government (50.28%), Islands Provinces (43.31%), private investors (4.32%) and Air FranceAir France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
(2.09%). It had 225 employees as of March 2007.
Destinations
Air Caledonie operates services to the following domestic scheduled destinations (at March 2005): BélepBelep
Belep is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean....
, L'Île-des-Pins
L'Île-des-Pins
L'Île-des-Pins is a commune in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. L'Île-des-Pins is made up of the Isle of Pines, the smaller Kôtomo Island, and several islets around these two, as well as the distant island of Walpole, which is located almost...
, Koné, Koumac
Koumac
Koumac is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.-History:On 5 January 1977 about 46% of the territory of Koumac was detached and became the commune of Poum. Residents are famous for their technological contribution to the wmirchi.com...
, Lifou
Lifou
Lifou is a commune in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean.-Geography:Lifou is made up of Lifou Island, the largest and most heavily populated of the Loyalty Islands, its smaller neighbour Tiga Island, and several uninhabited islets in between these two...
, Maré
Maré
Maré is a commune in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean.The commune of Maré is made up of Maré Island and the much smaller Dudun Island, which lie among the Loyalty Islands, to the northeast of New Caledonia's mainland. The settlement...
, Nouméa
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
, Ouvéa
Ouvéa
Ouvéa is a commune in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The settlement of Fayaoué , on Ouvéa Island, is the administrative centre of the commune of Ouvéa. -Geography:...
, Tiga
Tiga Island
Tiga Island, also called Tokanod, is a small, island in the South Pacific Ocean. Tiga lies from Lifou Island, and from Maré Island in the Loyalty Islands...
, La Tontouta and Touho
Touho
Touho is a municipality in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Touho lies on the east coast of the main island and is served by a road and an airfield....
.
Fleet
The Air Calédonie fleet includes the following aircraft (as of December 2009):- 1 ATR 42-500
- 2 ATR 72-500 (one of which is operated for Air TahitiAir TahitiSociété Air Tahiti Société Anonyme is a regional airline with its head office on the property of Faa'a International Airport, in Faaa, Tahiti, French Polynesia, near Papeete. Air Tahiti's network covers 46 islands within French Polynesia, plus the island of Rarotonga...
).