Beach to Beach... The Only Way To Fly the Fiji Islands.

Ni Sa Bula!

Now in its 23st year of service, Turtle Airways was the first floatplane operation in Fiji. Our company provides a variety of air transportation services to Fiji's many islands-including scheduled and chartered flights, island resort transfers, scenic flight seeing trips, and Med-Evac emergency transport.

BACKGROUND

Turtle Airways was founded by Richard Evanson in 1979, partly to transport crew and material for the 1980 film, the "Blue Lagoon." The popular movie, starring Brooke Shields, was filmed on Evanson's privately-owned Turtle Island, an award-winning five-star resort located in the Yasawa Islands. The short, scenic and convenient flight to the island is just 30 minutes by air from Fiji's international airport in Nadi, compared to up to nine hours by boat. (Despite the similarity in names, Turtle Airways and Turtle Island are separate companies and serve different, although complementary, needs.)

In 1982, Evanson sold 75% of Turtle Airways to South Seas Cruises, in exchange for 25% of the cruise company. In 1998, however, South Seas Cruises was sold to Fullers, a large publicly-traded transport company based in New Zealand. This event gave Evanson, an American multimillionaire expatriate now known for his tourism and philanthropic activities in Fiji, an opportunity and incentive to resume total ownership of the Fiji-based airline. He repurchased Turtle Airways in July, 1998. Under Evanson's direction, future plans include expanding the fleet, adding air service in Fiji to other beach resorts, flying to new destinations not previously served by the airline, improving access to the Coral Coast, and reducing prices on some routes.

MARKET POSITIONING

Turtle Airways is the superior means of transportation for travelers in Fiji who want  a combination of:

• The speed of air transport.
• The convenience of easy access to island resorts: Turtle Airways' float planes land directly at beach resorts, at water's edge, instead of an airport some distance from the resort. This means less travel time, and more vacation time for visitors!
• Competitive pricing: more expensive than a boat, much less costly than a helicopter.
• Customized flight schedules: at Turtle Airways, travelers' schedules are Turtle Airways' schedules.
• Scenic flight seeing: travelers fly the scenic route along the way to their destinations.
• 20 years of reliable, safe and professional air service.

CURRENT SCOPE OF BUSINESS

Turtle Airways serves Fiji exclusively. Currently, the airline's fleet consists of six floatplanes. This includes a newly refurbished De Havilland Beaver, purchased by Turtle Airways in late 1998, and five Cessna 206's. All planes can accommodate a minimum of four passengers with 33 lbs. of luggage per person, plus a pilot. Service includes about 25 flights a day to the Yasawa and Mamanuca Islands. The company places the highest priority of safety, state-of -the-art maintenance and experienced, professional pilots.

SERVICE LOCATIONS  

Turtle Airways' transportation services in Fiji are available worldwide through travel agents, email and the internet. Regional sales representatives are located in the U.S.A., Australia, and Fiji.