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Founded | January 2009 | ||||||
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Hubs | Bonriki International Airport | ||||||
Fleet size | 2 | ||||||
Headquarters | Tarawa, Kiribati | ||||||
Key people | Jeff Jong, Shiu-Fung Jong (managing directors) | ||||||
Website | www.coralsunaviation.com |
Coral Sun Airways is one, and the younger, of the two Kiribati airlines (next to flag carrier Air Kiribati), established in January 2009. The airline operates domestic service to all 17 airports in the Gilbert Islands. In 2015 it purchased one new, larger aircraft, capable of flying to the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands. Currently, there is no domestic nor international service to these remote archipelagos to the east of the Gilbert Islands, having 41 and 8,809 inhabitants, respectively, except for one weekly flight on Fiji Airways between Honolulu and Kiritimati (Christmas) Island among the Line Islands.
In January 2015, Coral Sun Airways announced their intentions to provide charter services between Kiribati and Western Samoa. The service will operate by way of a stop at Funafuti Airport in Tuvalu and so provide for a connection from Tuvalu to both Western Samoa and to Kiribati direct. Other routes being evaluated include New Caledonia, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Fiji and the Northern Cook Islands.
The Aircraft will be a Beechcraft King Air 200 which is a pressurized aircraft with a configuration of up to 8 passenger seats, and was purchased by Coral Sun Airways in 2014. The King Air is a multi engine turbo prop which cruises at jet levels and has been one of the most popular aircraft of all time. It is the primary aircraft used by Australia's Royal Flying Doctor Service. The King Air also comes equipped with facilities to convert the aircraft into Aeromedical Evacuation configuration.