Micronesia Plans New Airline: Fly Micronesia

 By: Yu Suenaga

Recently the presidents of Palau, FSM and the Marshall Islands have agreed to start discussing a locally based airline called "Fly Micronesia". This airline aims to bring more tourists from Asia by creating a direct flight to Micronesia. It plans to have two outside hubs, one in Singapore and one in the Philippines. This will eliminate the need to go through US customs, generally in Guam. 

The three countries are in talks to lease or purchase two Bombardier Q400 (image below)  to start the airline. They are also in talks to partner up with Silk Air of Singapore and Fiji Airways to bring more routes to the airline. It is aimed for a May 2014 launch. 

Bombardier Q400

This investment has much promise. However, with the history of past airlines not finding success in the region (Air Nauru, Marshall Islands Air, Palau Micronesia Air), we must ask the question: Is this a practical investment?