Nauru and the Marshall Islands aim for Honolulu air service between the two destinations
BY GIFF JOHNSON
Marshall Islands Correspondent
MAJURO, Marshall Islands — The Marshall Islands government and Nauru Airlines signed an agreement in mid-July “to facilitate the commencement and development of regular passenger and freight air services between Majuro and Honolulu.”
The agreement puts into black and white a proposal that has been discussed for years — alternative passenger and air cargo service linking Majuro with Honolulu.
Currently, United Airlines Island Hopper service, which links Honolulu to Guam via Majuro, Kwajalein, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Chuuk, is the only regular air service to Honolulu.
An air service MOU from Majuro to Honolulu was signed by Nauru Transportation Minister Asterio Appi (left), and Marshalls Islands Transportation Minister Hilton T. Kendall. Photo courtesy of Air Naaru
At recent meetings between Marshall Islands and Nauru officials held in Brisbane, Australia, the possibility of a new hotel for Majuro was also discussed.
Nauru Airlines said it is willing “to commence and develop those (air) services, subject to the establishment of a mutually agreed support and implementation framework,” according to the Memorandum of Understanding.
The agreement was signed by Asterio Appi, Nauru minister of transportation and minister of Nauru Air Corp. and Hilton T. Kendall, minister of transportation for the Marshall Islands on July 15 in Brisbane. In a release about the development, the Nauru government called it a “historic step forward for Pacific economic cooperation.”
The release also said that the “Government of Naoero (Nauru) and the Government of the Republic of Marshall Islands today announced the signing of a landmark MOU to strengthen trade, drive investment, and unlock a new era of commercial partnership between the two nations.”
In the agreement, the Marshall Islands government agreed “to financial support for the route’s development phase.”
The Marshall Islands and Nauru are targeting March 2027 for the launch of Majuro-Honolulu air service.
“The structure being discussed is a code-share arrangement with AMI/RMI being responsible for a certain number of seats above the baseline capacity to make break-even,” Robert Muller, board chairman of Air Marshall Islands, said, “The aircraft being planned to be deployed is Nauru Air Corporation’s latest addition to their fleet — a Boeing 738-800.”
Muller noted that the agreement signed in Brisbane “is non-binding at this juncture and is only intended to reflect the commitment of both governments and their national airlines to work towards the shared goal of establishing a MAJ-HNL connection potentially on a code-share basis by March 2027.”
He also said, “The other key takeaway from the meeting is the parties also agreed to explore a joint investment in a hotel development that will be linked directly to the airline services. This emanated from a discussion with Nauru Airlines about their recent plans to construct a 50-room hotel near their international airport in Yaren, Nauru. The hotel will be built to high-end standards and be managed by a global hotel chain. The same approach could also be applied in Majuro near the international airport.” mbj
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