Commercial aviation is a fiercely competitive arena where airlines use market power, reputation, aircraft and network planning in different ways to generate profitable income. Away from that ruthless game are routes that need to be serviced where making a profit is impossible, and that’s where governments often step in with subsidies to ensure vital connections are kept open.
The Australia-North Pacific Connector
The Republic of Nauru is an island state in the Central Pacific, approximately 2000 miles northeast of Brisbane, Australia. With a total area of just 8.1 square miles, it is the third smallest country in the world, bigger only than Vatican City and Monaco and covering less land than the 12.1 square miles occupied by Brisbane Airport (BNE).
Photo: Gareth Ruhe / Nauru Airlines
Nauru International Airport (INU) has one 7,000-foot asphalt runway and is the home port of Nauru Airlines, the nation’s flag carrier that operates flights to other Pacific Islands and Australia. The airline has a fleet of seven Boeing 737s, which includes four 737-300s, one 737-700 and two 737-800s, of which two 737-300 and one 737-800 have been converted to cargo aircraft.
Photo: Nauru Airlines
This week, Nauru Airlines was in the news because it has been awarded a new agreement with the Australian Government offering targeted support for the Australia-North Pacific Connector route. Nauru Airlines commenced the route in October 2022 to connect northern and central Pacific countries to key destinations in Australia, Asia and Fiji.
This is a (coconut) milk run on a Boeing 737
The Australia-North Pacific Connector is a weekly service that departs Brisbane Airport and heads for Palau, an island country of more than 500 islands in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the Western Pacific. Along the way, the Nauru Airlines 737 stops in Nauru, Tarawa, Majuro and Pohnpei.
Map: Nauru Airlines
The airline started regular island hopper services more than 12 years ago, connecting Brisbane to Nauru and Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. The route was paused during the pandemic, and when it recommenced in October 2022, it was named the Australia-North Pacific Connector under Australia’s Pacific Flights program.
Photo: Nauru Airlines
In December 2023, Nauru Airlines extended the service to Palau. Nauru Airlines CEO Brett Gebers said Micronesia and the central and northern Pacific are Nauru Airlines’s home, and the airline has been connecting the islands and people of the Pacific with Australia for more than 53 years.
“Air services that connect Pacific Islands countries with an important partner like Australia are crucial to the region’s economic development. They deliver far more than visitors and tourists, also enabling trade and new business and commercial opportunities. We are grateful that the Australian Government recognises this and is partnering with us to support these essential flights.”
Passing the Palau baton to Qantas
In May this year, Nauru Airlines established and launched a new weekly route between Brisbane and Palau International Airport (ROR), also known as the Roman Tmetuchl International Airport. The airline established the Palau Paradise Express service at the request of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to open a direct link between the two countries.

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Nauru Airlines Boeing 737 Ticket To Paradise from Brisbane Airport
Brisbane Airport is now the gateway to the Pacific with the launch of Nauru Airlines nonstop flights to Palau, its 14th destination in the region.
Gebers said that the successful introduction of the Palau Paradise Express was done in record time thanks to the support of partners and suppliers. Following the completion of the initial contract, Nauru Airlines will cease operating this service in November. He added:
“We are delighted that national carrier Qantas will now take over operating the route next month, and we look forward to working with Qantas to manage a seamless transition with minimal disruption to passengers.”
The Palau Paradise Express and the Australia-North Pacific Connector services are enabled by the Australia-Pacific Partnerships for Aviation (P4A) program. This is an Australian Government initiative to partner with Pacific countries to create a safer, more resilient and sustainable aviation sector, improve people-to-people links and support economic growth.