More Profits for Fiji Airways Staff
Fiji Airways was also buying five brand new Boeing 737 Max 8.
These significant changes will mean by the 2019, Fiji Airways will have one of the world’s youngest aircraft fleet.” Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum a Acting Prime Minister and Attorney-General
National airline Fiji Airways is expected to announce further profits for its staff next week. Acting Prime Minister and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum informed Parliament on this while giving an update on future expansion plans for the national carrier. He also said that the Government was very protective of the national carrier, meaning that the Government was aware that by opening up the skies and allowing bigger, foreign aircraft to fly to Fiji, it would eat into the income of our national carrier.
He said while the Government allows a liberalised approach to open sky, it was with restrictions. He gave an update on the leasing of four aircraft for four years which would assist the national carrier to increase its current flights.
Fiji Airways purchased three A330-200 series and one A330 300. These were purchased to replace the Boeing 747s and a 767 aircraft, which Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said were leased on astronomical monthly payments. Approximately US$750,000 (FJ$1.51 million) was paid monthly for the aircraft.
He said Fiji Airways was also buying five brand new Boeing 737 Max 8. “These significant changes will mean by the 2019, Fiji Airways will have one of the world’s youngest aircraft fleet,” he said. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum clarified that the aircraft which Fiji Airways bought were wholly owned by the national carrier.
He was asked this question, again, by SODELPA MP Viliame Gavoka.
New routes:
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the airline was quite keen to fly to Beijing. He said: “Currently we fly to the Southern part of China, flying directly to Hong Kong. The Chinese want to fly their aircraft into Fiji but they want to have onward rights and they want to have rights to pick up people along the way, too. “This will essentially, Madam Speaker, cannibalise Fiji Airways routes.
“You cannot have flights coming from Shanghai-Hong Kong-NadiAuckland or Shanghai-SingaporeNadi-Auckland. It would completely eat into our airline”.
Emirates, one of the leading airlines in the world, had also shown interest in flying to Nadi, but they wanted to fly from Dubai to Sydney to Nadi.
Emirates can afford to sell Sydney-Nadi tickets for as cheap (as it wanted) which in turn would force Fiji Airways to stop flying that route. And, in the event that Emirates stopped servicing that route, Fiji Airways would need to restart it. This, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said was not feasible.