Air Travel to Pitcairn?
So I have been intrigued by the remoteness of Pitcairn Island.
It has a population of only 50. There is a real threat of extinction on the island since no one is prepared to settle there, in part due to the lack of links to civilization. As of 2019, the government has been operating the MV Silver Supporter as the island's only dedicated passenger/cargo vessel, providing adventure tourism holidays to Pitcairn every week. But the service is long and expensive NZ$5000 round trip.
Which got me to thinking - why not a Cessna Caravan on floats providing round trip air from Mangareva in French Polynesia?
Mangareva is part of Air Tahiti route network. From there to Pitcairn is 300 miles.
Let’s say you have to plan the standard IFR diversions etc but a 600 mile round trip should be well within Caravan range with a decent payload. Of course you could always build a jetty at Pitcairn and refuel but let’s assume that’s not there yet.. What Payload and what price ticket would you charge to operate a round trip flight From Mangareva to Pitcairn? If significantly less that NZ$5000 maybe you could encourage more tourism. That leads to economic development, which supports the island and maybe leads to growth or at least security for the Islanders.
Please weigh in.