Pasifika Air Grounded for Good
Proposed airline ‘Pasifika Air’ that was meant to fly direct from Wellington and Christchurch to Rarotonga will not happen, says the airline owner Mike Pero.
“We got to a stage about a week ago where there were just too many obstacles coming up out in front of us,” said Pero, who is a Cook Islander.
“Despite my best intentions, it just isn’t meant to be for Pasifika Air.”
Mr Pero said there were multiple reasons as to why the airline didn’t fly.
One of them was the Cook Islands government’s lack of enthusiasm for the airline which he said was “quite hurtful” and “the most disappointing” reason why Pasifika Air didn’t succeed.
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown said it was always going to be a tough challenge to get into the airline business during this time.
He said he admired Mr Pero’s enthusiasm, nous and passion particularly for the Cook Islands, and for that he was to be commended.”
Mr Pero, a New Zealand-based multimillionaire, said: “My original intention was to help reignite horticulture with the growers and help with tourism by bringing a new market, being the South Islanders and Wellingtonians.
“In New Zealand, there was a huge willingness for the airlines to succeed, to the extent New Zealand airports were prepared to invest millions of dollars in the way of credits to help get this venture off the ground.
“Yet in the Cook Islands, I felt there was not the same willingness. Not the same willingness to work with us and it was a huge blow.”
Former Airline Pilot Mr Pero said New Zealand airports offered him an average of two years of free landing fees but the Cook Islands only offered the airline one month.
“We weren’t asking them for money or an investment. I know they (the government) has no money, but it doesn’t cost them anything for a plane to land.
“We’re just talking about a break from fees just to get us started. We’re not asking for them to come in and load our plane or anything like that.
“We’re just asking to land on the runway and whether there are one or 10 planes landing a day it doesn’t make any difference.”
Mr Pero said once Pasifika Air was up and running in a year or so, the airport would have been set up to receive millions of continuous revenues in landing fees.