End of the Line for Stillborn French Polynesian Carrier

Once planning on launching in "mid 2022", Tahitian carrier Fly Coralway has called it quits, citing a dearth of financing arrangements.

FLY CORALway had planned on launching routes between Tahiti, Samoa, Wallis, Futuna, Fiji, and New Caledonia. Its focus as a French Polynesian airline was intended to bring the region into the modern network of first-class air travel, reinforcing tourism options and stimulating the local economy. Larger competitors like Air Tahiti Nui and a host of foreign flag carriers cut an imposing figure on the market, but a few novel city pairs and a targeted focus on underserved communities were meant to be Coralway's silver bullet. Had they launched, they would have bolstered the Honolulu-Tahiti route for increased cargo service and a Samoan route to major internationals. The latter is an interesting tack, centered entirely on the Samoan diaspora.

The would-be carrier's website appears to have long ceased, last functional some time in 2021. Instead of a press release, the company's Facebook bore the bad news:

"I regret to announce that at the end of this year, 2023, it has been decided to end the aerial start-up project FLY CORALway," a December 31, 2023, post on the carrier's Facebook account reads. "If the conditions seemed all set before the Covid pandemic, our well-founded hopes of launching operations are no longer feasible due to lack of funding."

The failure appears permanent today, months after founder Louis Alphonse signaled his willingness to sell the company off to an interested buyer. Fly Coralway had obtained an Air Transport License from the French Polynesian government in the latter half of 2020, but global economics, and the travel hassles associated with lockdowns rendered the airline stillborn. The company missed its timing, unable to procure snazzy Airbus narrowbodies in time to capitalize on the region's post-COVID tourism boom.

FMI: www.flycoralway.com