Air Rarotonga
Airline based in Rarotonga, Cook Islands
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Air Rarotonga is an airline based in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. It is the flag carrier of the country [citation needed], known by its slogan 'the Airline of the Cook Islands'[citation needed]. It operates inter-island and regional scheduled services throughout the Cook Islands and to Tahiti. It also operates chartered flights to French Polynesia, Niue, Samoa, Kiribati and Tonga.[4] Its headquarters and hub is at Rarotonga International Airport.[5]
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| |||||||
| Founded | 1978 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | Rarotonga International Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Aitutaki Airport, Faaʼa International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 7 | ||||||
| Destinations | 9 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Rarotonga, Cook Islands | ||||||
| Key people | Sir Ewan Smith | ||||||
| Website | airraro | ||||||
History
The airline was established in February 1978 and started operations in July 1978 with a Cessna 337 aircraft. The company is owned by three private investors. More than 120,000 passengers travel between its island destinations each year.
Destinations
The following is a list of destinations Air Rarotonga flies to as part of its scheduled services, as of October 2018[update].[6]
| Hub |
| City | Country | IATA | ICAO | Airport | Refs and Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aitutaki |  Cook Islands | AIT | NCAI | Aitutaki Airport | [6] |
| Atiu | Cook Islands | AIU | NCAT | Enua Airport | [6] |
| Mangaia | Cook Islands | MGS | NCMG | Mangaia Airport | [6] |
| Manihiki | Cook Islands | MHX | NCMH | Manihiki Island Airport | [6] |
| Mauke | Cook Islands | MUK | NCMK | Mauke Airport | [6] |
| Mitiaro | Cook Islands | MOI | NCMR | Mitiaro Airport | [6] |
| Penrhyn Island | Cook Islands | PYE | NCPY | Tongareva Airport | [6] |
| Pukapuka | Cook Islands | PZK | NCPK | Pukapuka Island Airport | [6] |
| Tahiti |  French Polynesia | PPT | NTAA | Faa'a International Airport | [6] |
| Rarotonga | Cook Islands | RAR | NCRG | Rarotonga International Airport | [6] |
Since August 2022, Air Rarotonga operates international flights to Tahiti using their own aircraft as well as code shared flights operated by Air Tahiti. Air Rarotonga also code shares with Air New Zealand for flights between Rarotonga and Aitutaki, with Air Rarotonga being the operator. The Airline also maintains Interline Agreements with Air Tahiti Nui, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines.
The airline offers scenic flights over Rarotonga and air charter services to neighbouring Pacific Island countries including Tahiti, Niue, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and Kiribati. The airline operates air ambulance evacuations from all island airports in the Cook Islands and on to Auckland when required.[7]
Fleet
As of May 2026, the Air Rarotonga fleet includes the following aircraft.[8]
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers (Economy) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saab 340B+ | 2 | 1[9] | 34 |
| Embraer EMB-110P1 Bandeirante | 2 | 0 | 15 |
| Cessna Citation II | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Cessna 172 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 6 | 1 |
The airline added its first jet, the Cessna Citation II, to their fleet in February 2017.[10]
