The Bismarck Range is a mountain range in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea . The range is named after the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck .
31-489: The highest point of the range and the country is Mount Wilhelm at 4,509 metres (14,793 ft). At over 3,400 metres (11,155 ft), the landscape is alpine with tundra , in spite of the tropical climate. The Ramu River has its source in the range. The Bismarck Forest Corridor, which bridges the provinces of Chimbu , Eastern Highlands , Jiwaka , and Madang , is located on the Bismarck Range. This corridor
62-568: A German newspaper correspondent, Hugo Zöller , climbed the Finisterre Range , south-east of Madang , and named the Bismarck Range after the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck , and the four highest peaks of the range after him and his children: Ottoberg, Herbertberg, Marienberg and Wilhelmberg. Ottoberg seemed to Zöller to be the highest of the range, but it was later discovered to be only 3,540 metres (11,600 ft) and
93-461: A country without an extensive road network. The airline was established using DC-3 and Fokker F27 aircraft. In 1975 when PNG gained independence, pilots from the two airlines operating for the government were from Ansett Australia and Trans Australia Airlines. The majority of these pilots elected to return to these companies and continue their careers in Australia. This left a huge shortage in
124-520: A domestic network from Port Moresby to 12 major airports while its subsidiary company, Link PNG, operates routes to minor airports. It also operates international services in Asia , Oceania , and Australia on a weekly basis. Its main base is Port Moresby International Airport , which is located in 7 Mile, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Niugini is the Tok Pisin word for New Guinea . The airline
155-450: A further two A220-100s and three A220-300s to be leased. The Airbus A220s will replace Air Niugini's Fokker 70s and Fokker 100s. A SkyUp Airlines Boeing 737 was acquired under a wet lease in 2023. Air Niugini operates to 23 domestic destinations and eight international destinations in six countries across Asia and Oceania as of May 2023: Air Niugini has codeshare agreements with the following airlines: As of August 2023 ,
186-766: A lease of a Boeing 707 from Qantas to commence a weekly service to Manila and Hong Kong . In 1976, the government bought out the Qantas and TAA holdings and in 1980 acquired the Ansett shares to make the airline wholly government owned. The fleet of F-27s was phased out in the early 1980s with the introduction of the newly developed de Havilland Canada Dash 7 four-engine turbo-prop. In 1979, Air Niugini opened routes to Honolulu and to Singapore via Jakarta . That same year, new facilities were opened at Jacksons Airport and new Sales Offices opened in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Europe and
217-594: A student from Muaina High School (Muaina High school Mt Wilhelm Expedition) died at Piunde-foot of Mount Wilhelm. He was later found to be an asthmatic patient. Another, local Papua New Guinean, from Tari in the Southern Highlands Province, died in 2007 a few meters south of the Christopher Donnan plaque. Local sources revealed that the deceased was unaware of the warning and was wearing only his sporting suit, T-shirt and Dunlop shoes. He
248-542: A wet lease arrangement with Viva Macau before taking up a lease with Icelandair for a Boeing 767-300ER and a Boeing 757-200W. The 757 was returned in March 2011 and replaced with two additional 767-300ER aircraft. On 18 April 2008, flights commenced on the Sydney-Port Moresby route initially using leased Embraer 190 aircraft leased from SkyAirWorld of Australia. On 15 October 2014, Air Niugini announced
279-512: A wholly owned subsidiary airline company, Link PNG, which commenced operations on 1 November 2014 to coincide with Air Niugini's 41 years of operation. Link PNG principally services routes to provincial and district centres which were being operated by the Air Niugini Dash-8-Q200 and Q300 aircraft. 7 Fokker-70 aircraft were acquired (October 2015) from KLM and were transferred during Oct-Dec 2015. In June 2018, people rioting in
310-475: Is an intact montane forest composed of Papua New Guinea oak and beech forest . The forest is a critical habitat for endangered species such as the Goodfellow's tree-kangaroo , giant rats, and many species of birds of paradise. This Papua New Guinea –related geography article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mount Wilhelm Mount Wilhelm ( German : Wilhelmsberg )
341-584: Is surpassed by Puncak Jaya , 4,884 m (16,024 ft), and several other peaks in Indonesian Papua. Mount Wilhelm may be considered the highest mountain in Oceania (including Australia and New Zealand ) according to present political boundaries of nation states, while Puncak Jaya contends for the same title based on physical geography. A Seven Summits list thus sometimes includes Mount Wilhelm. Mount Wilhelm received its name in 1888 when
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#1732771817661372-624: Is the highest mountain in Papua New Guinea at 4,509 metres (14,793 ft). It is part of the Bismarck Range and the peak is the point where three provinces, Chimbu , Jiwaka and Madang , meet. The peak is also known as Enduwa Kombuglu , or Kombugl'o Dimbin , in the local Kuman language . The mountain is on the island of New Guinea , which incorporates Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian provinces of Papua . It
403-522: Is usually started during the night; the ascent and subsequent descent can take anywhere from nine to 24 hours. Reaching the peak at dawn allows a better chance of clear weather. The other route from Ambullua is a much more challenging four-day hike. Air Niugini Air Niugini Limited is the flag carrier of Papua New Guinea , based in Air Niugini House on the site of Port Moresby International Airport , Port Moresby . It operates
434-552: The IMF and the Australian Government, to privatise the national carrier. The PNG government has voiced concerns that privatisation would jeopardise domestic routes that provide a vital service to regional people and encourage economic development, but which fail to realise a profit. From September 2004, Fokker 100s have been introduced to start to replace the aging Fokker F28 aircraft that are used on domestic routes,
465-565: The Second World War in the early hours of May 22, 1944, an American F-7A (a converted B-24 Liberator ) named "Under Exposed" crashed into the mountain while it was flying too low. The aircraft left from Nadzab airbase, close to Lae , and had been assigned for a reconnaissance mission to photograph Padaidori Island in Dutch New Guinea . Around 0400 the plane crashed into Wilhelm at about 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) above
496-524: The 1990s, with unrest in Bougainville and a volcanic eruption in Rabaul destabilising the company's busiest domestic services. The Asian currency crisis also made an impact, with Air Niugini posting financial losses during this decade. The government of Papua New Guinea responded by cutting jobs from the airline, suppressing wages, as well as opening offices in Asia and Europe in an attempt at having
527-632: The Air Niugini fleet consists of the following aircraft: The Link PNG fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of September 2022): Aircraft that have limited info: On the morning of 28 September 2018, Flight PX 73 (operated by Boeing 737-800 P2-PXE) landed 150 yards (140 m) short of the runway into a lagoon off Chuuk International Airport in Weno , Chuuk of the Federated States of Micronesia . There were 47 people on board
558-723: The United States. Air Niugini operated their Boeing 707 from Auckland to Hong Kong via Port Moresby in a tripartite agreement with Air New Zealand and Cathay Pacific . This service ran from 1981 to 1985. In 1984, the airline replaced the two Boeing 707 aircraft with an Airbus A300 on lease from TAA. This was replaced several years later with two Airbus A310s as the carrier expanded to offer flights principally between Australian Eastern capital cities and destinations in Asia such as Singapore and Manila via their hub Port Moresby . The airline endured considerable hardships in
589-718: The airline run profitably. The reforms bore fruit by 2003, with the airline posting a profit of US$ 15.8 million for that year. A Boeing 767 was acquired in August 2002, replacing the Airbus aircraft, and was used to offer expanded international services. Combined with aggressive pricing, this made it the most competitively priced airline on many of its routes. A sharing agreement still exists with Qantas in which that airline buys "blocks" of seats on Air Niugini's flights between Port Moresby and Australia . The financial turnaround seems to have stymied pressure from various sectors, including
620-519: The daily Cairns service, and the twice a week service to Honiara in the Solomon Islands . In March 2006, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Don Polye announced an open air policy, which would allow other airlines to fly international routes into and from Papua New Guinea. The policy will take effect in 2007. In December 2007, Air Niugini returned its leased Boeing 767 aircraft to its owners, Air New Zealand . The airline briefly entered
651-404: The distant Wilhelmberg was much taller. It was not until August 1938 when Leigh Vial , a government patrol officer, and two Niu Ginians, his "Mangi mastas", "Namba Wan Bare Kuakawa" (Kugl'kane) and "Gend" ("Mondia Nigle"), made the first recorded ascent. It was noted by Vial that even though the mountain was close to the equator , snow existed on top of the mountain during his ascent. During
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#1732771817661682-442: The history of the airline with a leased Boeing 720 from 6 February 1976 to 2 February 1977. This was later replaced with a Boeing 707 purchased from Qantas. During the late 1970s, internal services were performed by a combination of Fokker F28 jet and Fokker F27 turbo-prop aircraft. By the end of 1975 Air Niugini leased Boeing 727-200 type aircraft from Ansett and TAA to serve routes to Brisbane . The airline also acquired
713-469: The international routes - then operated by Qantas - once again the senior pilots were called upon to convert from basic turboprop aircraft (F27) to B707-338C 4-engine jet aircraft. Considerable alarm was expressed that these "jungle pilots" could not possibly operate large jet aircraft hitherto flown by Qantas flight crews. Again with excellent training and support from Qantas, the PX crews converted successfully to
744-476: The pilot strength (over 95%) and consequently replacements were recruited from both Australia and New Zealand. These pilots had little or no experience in airline operations and few if any skills or experience operating in the extremely hostile environs of PNG. Nonetheless, they were trained by the outgoing pilots from Ansett and TAA and with the first class training behind them continued to provide safe and reliable services to all of PNG. When Air Niugini took over
775-417: The point where he was last seen. In August 1995 an Israeli backpacker died after he sprained his ankle and stayed behind while his group continued. He subsequently wandered off the track and fell into a ravine in the pre-dawn darkness. His body was found about a week later. On July 30, 2005, 58-year-old Bob Martin, a marketing manager at Air Niugini , suffered a heart attack and died near the summit. In 2001,
806-670: The town of Mendi following disputed election results destroyed a Link PNG Dash-8 at the town's airport. On 14 June 2019, Air Niugini announced it would take over the Cairns-Hong Kong route that Cathay Pacific was abandoning. They would fly via Port Moresby hoping to have considerable income derived from transporting live seafood to Asian markets. In July 2023 Air Niugini announced the order of two Boeing 787-8 as replacements for their pair of aging 767-300ER . The airline ordered six Airbus A220-100s in November 2023, with
837-463: The twin lakes. All of the crew were killed, and most of the wreckage landed in the highest lake although some can still be seen. The only remains at the site are from the plane, as all of the bodies have been recovered. A number of people have died trying to climb the mountain. An Australian Army Sergeant, Christopher Donnan, died in December 1971 when he fell down a steep slope. There is a plaque at
868-446: The venerable B707 and from there took over all the check and training on those two aircraft and continued thereafter to the various replacement aircraft being primarily A300-B4, A310-300, B757 and B767. There were two crashes internally on the domestic operation with the total loss of one F28 aircraft and one DHC7, both due to pilot error. No deaths or injuries occurred in either crash. International services commenced very early on in
899-512: The village of Ambullua in Western Highlands province. The Keglsugl route involves climbing up and through a mountain rain forest and then along an alpine grassland glacial valley to the twin lakes of Piunde and Aunde. At Piunde there are two huts, one being an old Australian National University monitoring station and the other an 'A-Frame' hut. Though not a technical climb, various sections can be treacherous in wet weather. The climb
930-540: Was covered by debris and fallen rock fragments, forming a talus at the base of the southern tip of the Christopher Donnan section. Mount Wilhelm is the most accessible mountain to climb in Papua New Guinea. Climbers have a choice of two different routes to the top. The most common route starts from the village of Keglsugl at the end of the road from Kundiawa in Simbu province . A harder hike and climb starts from
961-439: Was established in November 1973 as the national airline of Papua New Guinea with the government holding 60% of the shares, with the rest divided between Australian airline companies Ansett (16%), Qantas (12%) and Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) (12%). It started as an exclusively domestic carrier, but soon expanded to offer international services. In founding the airline, the government aimed to encourage regional development in