A big THANKS to Peter White for this post on his recent travel on Real Tonga's MA60... I must admit, I am jealous and would love to try it out for myself!
In
January 2014 I had the chance of flying return on RealTonga's Xian MA60 from
Tongatapu to Vava'u so wanted to take some time to share my experience.
The
MA60 has had – in my opinion - unfair negative publicity (mainly politically
motivated), below is my point of view.
I
have deliberately withheld from posting this for several months as I think was
only fair to wait for the (inaccurate and scaremongering) media coverage of
this plane to pass over.
Even though I am a born and bred New Zealander, I
have for the better part of the last 10 years been a staunch supporter of Tonga
and its people, including the MA60 fiasco last year.
I
am very well-travelled, spending a lot of work and leisure time in Europe,
North America, Australia and the pacific including Fiji, Cook Islands and
Tonga.
Having
travelled to Tonga from New Zealand 9 times in the last decade I can assure you
that Tonga is a place I would be proud to call home and if people would just
lose their prejudices they too would see it is an amazing and hugely
untapped country. The gifting of the MA60 should be nothing but good news
for the Kingdom.
Aside
of my love of Tonga I have a strong passion for all things Aviation. I
have been involved in aviation and had a pilot’s license for over 12
years.
During
my visits to Tonga I have flown on the following aircraft:
- Yarbin Y-12 - Airlines Tonga
- Embraer 120 - Airlines Tonga
- Convair 580 - Chathams Pacific
- Metroliner - Chathams Pacific
- Britten Norman Islander - Chathams Pacific
- Xian MA-60 - RealTonga
I
do not want to make this article about the history of aviation in Tonga, but
will concede that Chathams Pacific set the bar high. They are the only
Airline in Tonga's history that was profitable (albeit hard work) and left the
market without going out of business.
They
left Tonga a year ago, forced out some say, when RealTonga, owned by Tevita
Palu (Palu Aviation – among other businesses), was started and set to operate
the MA60.
You
are all aware of the media frenzy around the MA60 and RealTonga. I just want to
say don’t believe everything you are told.
Our Trip
My
group of 5 booked in July to travel to Vava'u from Auckland in January 2014.
Our Air New Zealand flight was scheduled to arrive at 11:40 on Saturday 4th,
so we booked a 14:00 RealTonga flight to Vava'u.
Via
e-mail in September we learnt that our chances of making our connection to
Vava'u looked dashed. We were told that our departure time to Vava'u had
been bought forward to 12 noon. How could we make a 20 min connection!
If
this happened we would be spending the weekend in Nuku’alofa as this was the
last fight for the weekend as airports are closed on Sundays.
After
some polite and prompt correspondence with RealTonga staff I was advised to not
panic and the flights will be rescheduled to meet the international arrivals
and they will contact me in due course.
Early
December I received an e-mail advising our flight time has been moved (back?)
to 14:00 Our connection was looking safe!
The Trip
We
flew an uneventful Air New Zealand A320 service from Auckland landing on time
at Fua'amotu International Airport. The flight was full and the service
was excellent.
After
clearing customs and getting our bags we took at $5 taxi ride to the domestic
terminal.
With
many locals travelling for the holidays the terminal was busy (by Tongan
standards) but the staff were efficient and we were served in 10 minutes.
Our checked in baggage for the group was overweight by 30KGs. Old
memories of Airlines Tonga and offloaded bags came rushing back. I was
pleasantly surprised when the check-in agent advised, "that's fine, and it
should get up on this flight". So we paid the excess baggage charges and
went plane hunting.
Unlike
the international terminal, plane spotting here (for the few that are around)
can be awkward.
The
best I could do of our plane was this desperation shot thru a wire fence:
.jpg) |
| Our plane to Vava'u. RealTonga Xian MA60 A3-RTL |
Time
raced by and before we knew it we heard our boarding call at 13:40.
After
talking to the powers to be, I was lucky enough to be allowed to fly “up front”
in the observers’ seat!
As
we boarded the aircraft I was pleased to see even at 6'3" I did not really
have to bend down while walking down the aisle.
I
have to admit that I did have some preconceptions about the aircraft and was
very impressed to have these corrected when I saw how modern and spacious the
cabin was. The seating was 2 – 2 and the cabin fit out was well made and
robust, reminding me a lot of an ATR-72 or a Q300 in both look and build
quality.
I
was taken to the cockpit where I was introduced to Sam the Captain and Chris,
the first officer.
I was given
an extremely professional and detailed safety briefing and then asked to stay
seated until in the cruise.
Start-up
of the Garrett (American) APU and Pratt & Whitney Canada Turboprop engines
was straight forward and the subsequent pre taxi, run-up and pre-take off
checks were completed efficiently and by the book. After a few minutes,
at 14:10 we were airborne out of runway 11, on route to Vava’u.
Once
we reached the cruise I was invited to leave my seat and given a detailed
overview of the aircraft. Again, this cockpit feels that of any western
airliner. Everything was in English. Everything was modern. Everything
was serviceable. Someone coming from a similar sized twin would have no
problem transitioning to this aircraft.
Yes,
there is no glass cockpit or EFIS (Which the MA600 does have) but it has
reliable, tried and tested (Rockwell)Collins avionics. What else do you need
for Island hopping?
The aircraft
is equipped with weather radar, full auto pilot (excluding auto throttle) and
aside from traditional NDB, VOR, DME, Cat II ILS it equipped for RNAV/RNP
approaches. Good news when Airports like Vava’u only have non-precision NDB
navigation aids.
While
in the cruise we discussed in depth the training undertaken by all RealTonga
crew. It reassuring to know the detail and requirements the instructors put the
crew through.
We
also discussed the “list of rumours” that I had collected from the internet
about RealTonga and the MA60. One of my all-time favourite rumours was
when the MA60 is going to Vava’u it does not have enough fuel to return to
Tongatapu if unable to land in Vava’u due to weather so would need to ditch on
the sea. As I suspected (and any sane man would think!) this was a
lie. Sam detailed the fuel loading with me. We had enough fuel at
the current burn rate for 3 missed approaches in Vava’u then a return flight to
Tongatapu still with the reserves left.
All
the myths and rumours we discussed had similar endings!
It
turns out that Sam has thousands of hours flying aircraft like the ATR and 737
and Sam came down from the Marshall Islands well experienced after flying
Dornier’s and other turboprop twins.
The
flight rocked on by and soon we were at the top of descent, approaching
Vava’u. I took my seat again and let the pilots brief for the approach
and landing. As we descended through 5000 we went visual for runway 08.
Even
with a brisk crosswind the approach and roll out was perfect, but the oleos on
the landing gear will always (in my opinion) make for a hard landing.
Beta/reverse thrust was engaged and we came to a stop in about 700
meters. Well before the displaced threshold of Runway 26 – great STOL
performance.
After
taxi and shutdown we spoke for a while, said my thanks and went and enjoyed my
holiday!
Vava’u – Kingdom of Tonga
If
you have never been… Go! Vava’u is amazing! Natural and unspoilt is
a little know haven!
 |
| Army Island |
 |
| Neiafu |
 |
| Dinner time! |
 |
| Paradise! |
 |
| Nuku Island, Vava’u. |
Home Time
Anyway,
Cyclone Ian later, it was time to head back to Tongatapu. Flights had
been disrupted in the wake of Cyclone Ian, but when it came to us leaving our
flight was only an hour late.
This
time was I flying “in the back”.
Check
in was fine and then our plane arrived
And
off we went
Leg
room was reasonable, the same space at Air New Zealand’s ATR fleet. My
knees never touched the seat in front of me.
It
has all the “mod cons” you would expect and the truth is, if you were not an aviation geek it looks, feels and smells like any normal western airliner.
Take off was impressive – even for 100% load
factor. Lined up full length runway 08 and would have been airborne in
less than 1200 meters (Runway 08 has about 1700 meters usable for take-off).
My view on
the flight to Tongatapu:
An
uneventful 50 minutes later we were on the ground in Tongatapu.
A great
holiday in Vava’u and a fantastic and positive experience with RealTonga and
the MA60.
So a few
questions I ask myself:
Would I
fly RealTonga and the MA60 again? Yes, absolutely. The air crew were nothing short of
professional. Their procedures and checks and briefings, not to mention
their airmanship was first class.
Would I recommend (or let) my family and
friends fly on RealTonga and the MA60? Yes.
Can
RealTonga last as an Airline in Tonga? I hope so. I have nothing but praise for Tevita, Tele
and their team. I know not everyone shares my experiences. At the
end of the day the locals don’t mind a flight delay, but a tourist does. Keep
the operation tight over the holiday season and they can do well.
Communication is key. Talk to the customer.
Do we
need to be afraid of the MA60? Not at all. While the plane is not going win any
technology or beauty prizes it is well engineered and all key systems
(Instruments, APU, Engines, Prop etc.) are western and the same we find on any
normal turbo prop aircraft this size. It is designed to be safe, rugged
and practical. This is what it is.
But what about the rumours it is not certified
in NZ/AUS/UK/USA? It is because there are none in operation
there.
But why has NZ Issued a travel advisory for Tonga?
I don’t know! New Zealand has not issued any travel advisories against any of
the other 20 countries which fly the MA60. If it was the plane would they not
ALL have travel advisories?
Ok then, what about its “track record”; I hear
that it has an issue with (insert issue here)?
If people did some research and did not believe everything that they hear or
read you will see that the bulk of the incidents are pilot error.
Most of the airlines that have MA60 incidents have had incidents in other
aircraft types and some are even banned from European airspace! It is the
operator you need to worry about, Not the plane - it is built like a tank!
An example of this is LionAir and their 737s. Do we
stop flying the 737 because of the unusually high incident rate they have? No.
It is not the aircraft.
Look at accidents from other popular aircraft:
Final Words
If you want to go to Vava’u. Go. Don’t get the bad press
about the plane stop you.
If I had the choice of flying on a 40+ year old Convair or
Metro or a brand new MA60, give me the latter any day.
Remember island time. Things do happen a bit slower in the
islands. Relax and enjoy the ride.
Thank you to
Tele, Sam and Chris for making this all happen!
Thanks for
reading,
Cheers
Peter White
Auckland
New Zealand
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