Palau Micronesia Air to take to the skies in April

Palau Micronesia Air has confirmed it is to take to the skies in April with the the new regional airline serving Palau, Micronesia, and other countries.

"We have an operational contract with the world renowned airline, Air New Zealand, who will provide the flight crews and aircraft maintenance support necessary for Palau Micronesia Air to become a reality in the Micronesian skies," said Alan Seid, President of the new airline. "This is a significant event in the history of the Republic of Palau and also for the respective governments and states of the Federated States of Micronesia" he continued.

"For the first time in Micronesia's history, we, as a people, in both the public and private sectors, have invested our own funds into creating our own airline. The Airline will focus upon our social, economic and cultural needs while also being a viable business enterprise impacting today and perhaps most importantly, an investment in our children's future," Seid said.

James Bradfield, Chief Executive Officer of the airline added, "We had originally planned for the December start-up but ran into a few hurdles that could not be overcome due to prior operational commitments of Air New Zealand. We did our best to leap those hurdles but have come to the conclusion that an April start is now the appropriate launch date."

The new service from Koror, Republic of Palau, reaches out to Yap, Guam, Saipan, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae as well as Japan and the Philippines. "We've put a lot of thought and research into the needs and traffic patterns within the region as well as destinations with significant traffic to and from Micronesian points and feel we can provide unique new routings and services to significantly contribute to the betterment of the total air transportation needs of the people in this region" Bradfield explained.

"We are committed to making Palau Micronesia Air a economic growth engine that serves both the return for our investors while being a way of bringing the people of the region closer together as a community and also introducing our wonderfully unique cultures and the natural beauty of our region to the rest of the world" Seid said.

"Since advertising for staff for the new airline there has been a very enthusiastic response from across the region. Now that our start date has been determined we will be contacting these people and beginning the process of selecting, employing and training staff" said Mr. Bradfield.