On The Wind...

Mysterious Case of N349CL: Tonga’s Royals, a US Jet, and the Bank of Utah Shell

When Tonga’s King Tupou VI headed to Fiji this month he didn’t fly commercial like the rest of us. 

Instead he and Queen Nanasipau’u Tuku’aho arrived aboard luxury high-speed business jet—a Cessna 700 Citation Longitude, tail number N349CL. Not only was it American-registered, it was also free of charge. The royals didn’t pay a cent.

King of Tonga hitching a ride to Fiji. Photo Fiji Government

Their trip had ceremonial weight: a kind of state visit, but more crucially, they were there for the chiefly installation of Tevita Uluilakeba Mara, 65, in Fiji’s Lau Islands—formerly part of Tonga’s sphere of influence.Mara, an army colonel, had fled to Tonga after falling out with Voreqe Bainimarama regime. He lived there in exile for 13 years.

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Tonga and Fiji are connected by daily commercial flights of just under two hours, but the king and queen resorted to the unusual private yet. And it's something of a curiosity. In March last year Fiji home affairs minister Pio Tikoduadua said N349CL would be based in Fiji for use by Pacific leaders. He said the plane was owned by the US government and “was simply an exchange made based on bilateral ties”.

“We have development partners and that includes the United States, countries like Australia, probably more regularly, they make available to us assets that they have, they own, or they influence, for our use to assist in governance in different areas of national and regional leadership. So, this is the case in point. It is not an issue of concern. We have development partners who, every once in a while, come and help us on matters and they assign to us some of their national assets to help us do what we want to do.”

This was said when then President Joe Biden was exercising his “Pacific Pivot,” a geopolitical courtship dance designed to outflank Beijing, which Tikoduadua said included aid for transportation.

“There is a jet that’s out there in Nausori. It belongs to the US Government and it’s an asset of the US Government and it is available not only to Fiji but to Pacific leaders.”

At the time a US embassy spokesperson said the plane was contracted to facilitate travel for official purposes in Fiji and throughout the Pacific region.

“The plane is funded by the US government and managed through a State Department contract. The plane will enable travel for Fijian leaders and leaders from other Pacific nations when commercial routes are not viable or in emergency situations. The plane is part of the United States’ commitment to deepening engagement with Pacific Island countries by expediting in-person linkages between US officials and our Pacific partners and between Pacific partners themselves.”

But there is something odd about N349CL: there is no evidence the US Government owns it.