New Caledonia made easy

NEW Caledonian airlines, Aircalin and Air Caledonie, have signed a new codeshare agreement this week in a bid to make it easier for travellers to purchase all flights needed to explore the French island chain.

The new agreement means travellers will soon be able to purchase Air Caledonie flights from an international destination under an Aircalin flight number, with all itineraries able to be booked on the one ticket.

Motivating the New Caledonia Government decision, which majority owns both carriers, is both a need to make travel to the destination more seamless as travel rebounds, as well as help its visitor economy disperse tourism volumes to lesser known regions/islands of the territory.

These will likely include encouraging more travellers to visit Lifou in the Loyalty Islands Province, which will soon host the Intercontinental Lifou Wadra Bay resort when it opens in Sep 2023.

“This codeshare agreement is part of the company’s overall plan for the resumption of tourism activity with the intention to mobilise the whole sector for the development of tourist flows,” Aircalin CEO Didier Tappero said.

For Air Caledonie specifically, the agreement is being viewed as a stepping stone to one day providing services to the main international hub of Tontouta Airport with an adapted fleet, directly connected to Aircalin’s international flights, offering journeys either directly to the islands or the mainland, to destinations like Poe Beach in the South Province for example.

The agreement is expected to be active for domestic flights at some stage during Q1, 2023.

The news follows Aircalin increasing its number of flights between Noumea and Singapore from three to four times weekly from 31 Oct ( TD 05 Oct).