National carrier, Solomon Airlines has agreed to work together with both Air Niugini and Air Vanuatu to jointly develop and promote partnership in aviation services.

The three airlines will enter into a tri-partite codeshare arrangement on the Port Moresby/Honiara/Port Vila route, which is expected to commence in June 2015.

The new agreement will see Air Vanuatu and Solomon Airlines utilising an Air Niugini Fokker 100 aircraft on the route, with the new codeshare forming the basis for further cooperation for promoting aviation collaboration among Melanesia Spearhead Group (MSG) carriers.

In order to benefit to the Melanesian region, the three airlines have signed an initial agreement in Honiara, agreeing to work in unison to assist and promote better understanding, partnership and ideas of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

The MSG is an intergovernmental organisation made up of the four Melanesian states of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia. The group manages trade agreements and supports economic development within its membership.

Air Niugini is the national airline of Papua New Guinea, and operates a domestic network from Port Moresby and Lae, as well as international services in Asia, Oceania and Australia. Air Vanuatu is Vanuatu’s flag carrier, and operates to Australia, New Zealand and points in the South Pacific.