Direct flights Indonesia to PNG

[PineappleSkip]

Papua New Guinea and Indonesia have signed an Air Services Agreement which will permit direct flights between PNG and Indonesia. Radio Australia and RNZI have separately reported on aspects of the flights that will result from the agreement.

The reports are here
Direct airline from PNG to Indonesia could include Fiji and Solomons | Pacific Beat | ABC Radio Australia

and here
PNG and Indonesia step up cooperation

The reports suggest that PX will use one of its 737s to fly between POM and DPS, with the possibility of connecting through from one of the twice weekly PX flights between POM and NAN via HIR.

There is also discussion of a code share arrangement between PX and GA. Direct flights between Indonesia and PNG have not existed for many years, and currently you need to make a circuitous journey via Cairns or Brisbane. (I'm not sure direct flights ever existed.) Or, if you're really keen, you can fly into DJJ on the Indonesian side, overland it to VAI using the only land border crossing, and continue on to POM with PX.

Of course, indications of a fair degree of speculation in these reports. An air services agreement is rather less than approval for flights from either side, or a code share agreement.

The RNZI report suggests flights will start as soon as August. Doesn't quite fit with PNG Time, and I would wait and see on that one. But then again PX and I think GA are still government owned...


Cheers skip

 

[DrA]

That...Would be awesome

It'd make planning my dive trips a whole lot more convenient!

 

[here2go]

While not in the drop-down of destinations, it is planned according to Air Niugini

 

[PineappleSkip]

According to this article the flights will be to Bali, weekly, and commence Monday August 5

PNG’s national air carrier to fly to Bali | GantDaily.com

Speculation dept: the flight time POM-DPS would be about 4:30. According to their timetable, one of PX's 737s currently flies in from NAN/HIR on Monday morning and sits on the tarmac all week :shock: before flying back to NAN/HIR on Friday. To connect both ways suggests it would do POM-DPS on Monday afternoon (hence the start date), sit on the tarmac at DPS all week before doing a very short overnight run back to POM on Thursday night to connect to NAN Friday morning.

This would limit its value as a spare if another plane is unserviceable. Also not sure what the crew would do all week in Bali. I bet the crew wouldn't mind that though .


Cheers skip