Aircalin plans scheduled flight launch to Singapore on 1 July 2022

 Report, Image by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Image of Aircalin A330 in Narita in 2018. Aircalin still flies to Narita and the new flight to Changi from July 2022 is the "complementary alternative" to the route to Japan: Researcher's Picture

On 12 April 2022, the national airline of New Caledonia, Aircalin, announces its intention to launch its first long-haul scheduled flight to Singapore Changi Airport from New Caledonia's capital Noumea with its Airbus A330-900 aircraft.

Initially, Aircalin plans to operate twice-weekly flights to Singapore. Depending on the market demand, it will later increase its flight frequency to thrice a week. At the meantime, the specific flight schedules for the new routes are not available.

According to French media Air Journal's report, Aircalin may release the confirmed flight frequency online and start selling the air tickets at the end of May 2022 or the beginning of June 2022.

Aircalin explains that the Noumea-Changi route is the complementary alternative route to its Noumea-Narita route. As airlines departing from Japan are not allowed to overfly Siberia due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, flights from and to Changi Airport will allow a reduction in travel time to Asia from Noumea by two to three hours to 8 hours 30 minutes.

Once Aircalin starts operating on the Noumea-Changi route three times week, there will be daily flights to Asia from Noumea including four flights a week to Narita from Noumea. These flights can be adjusted according to the seasons and demand of the different travel markets.

After the planned launch of the Noumea-Changi-Noumea flights, Aircalin is considering extension of the Changi-Noumea route to Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, thus enabling European and Singaporean passengers an option to travel to Noumea and Papeete in a single trip. One of its flights from Singapore is said to continue onwards to Papeete via Noumea on Friday and takeoff from Papeete to Singapore via Noumea on Sunday.

Didier Tappero, CEO of Aircalin, said, “We are very happy and proud to add Singapore to our network. Opening a route is always a highlight in the life of an airline, especially since we are emerging from an unprecedented crisis and we are now in a position to react and bring projects to fruition. structuring. We can't wait to operate our first flight”. 

Lim Ching Kiat, Managing Director of Air Platform Development at Changi Airport Group (CAG), added, “We are delighted with the launch of Aircalin's Noumea-Singapore route at Changi Airport. With more than 650 weekly flights to more than 30 cities in Southeast Asia and Europe, Changi is a very convenient access point for travelers wishing to visit New Caledonia. CAG looks forward to working closely with Aircalin to help promote New Caledonia as the newest vacation destination for Singapore residents.”

The new Noumea-Changi route comes after Aircalin's flight resumptions to Sydney and Brisbane and on 8 May 2022 to Auckland. It no longer flies to Osaka Kansai.

Aircalin is not the only New Caledonian airline to have started a flight to Singapore. In early March 2022, New Caledonia's domestic airline Air Caledonie operated a technical flight to Seletar, Singapore's second international airport, from Noumea via Denpasar.