Raising Company Portfolios is on the Agenda for Faiz Khan
Fiji Airports acting chief executive officer Faiz Khan joined the business with the sole purpose of making a difference, for the better.
Today, the company’s success speaks volumes of the hard yards put in by Mr Khan and his team at Fiji Airports.
One must have a good intent from the outset, he pointed out.
“In delivering upon our purpose, we improve the lives of our fellow Fijians.”
Mr Khan is credited for being instrumental in the success of two of the most successful recent business stories – Fiji Airports and Fiji Pine Group of Companies.
Bonus payouts, refurbished and new image of Nadi International Airport that earned a Skytrax rating of the Sixth Most Improved Airport in the World, are among milestone achievements under his leadership at Fiji Airports.
He attributed the success to the performance and co-operation of all employees.
As for Fiji Airports, 2019 has been another successful year.
Below are excerpts of an interview with Mr Khan:
How was 2019 generally for Fiji Airports?
We continue to improve on the services we provide to our tourists arriving into Fiji from around the globe.
Our work helps contribute to the overall impact that tourism makes on the Fijian economy on which many Fijians are reliant on. We also continue to improve the lives of Fijians living in remote areas of Fiji by maintaining airport facilities, where, in many instances, only one flight operates per week.
Our work helps grow trade in these geographically isolated places in Fiji and helps better connect our people to one another.
What are some of the highlights for the year?
Winning the Supreme Award in the prestigious Prime Minister’s International Business Awards was a pleasant surprise.
It really lifted the spirits of our colleagues to new heights.
(Mr Khan also won the Excellence in Business Leadership Award)
How has the Skytrax rating lifted the image of the airport?
Skytrax recognition for sixth Most Improved Airport in the World is a global recognition.
It does not only lift the image of Nadi Airport but the nation as a whole.
This was an award based on passenger and critique review that we did not specifically apply for.
So it is great for the whole team to get independently recognised in the global arena.
What are some of the standout areas that visitors most comment about?
Ever month we obtain data from our passengers through wifi and other platforms.
In the most recent survey available in October 2019, we received 52,317 positive comments out of 52,497 feedbacks. That is 99.66 per cent positive feedback.
However our team is wired towards taking the 0.0034 per cent negative comments and working on them to continuously improve.
How has revenue increased since the airport facilities were redone?
When you have a world class facility, people’s propensity to spend at our world class retail outlets also increases.
Revenue has increased by more than two times.
However due to cost efficiencies that we continue to rigorously drive, our profitability has increased by more than 10 times.
What are some of the major works carried out during the year and their budgets?
The Nadi Airport Master Planning was completed and is well into its implementation.
We will see around $3 billion in investments in the next 15 to 20 years under the Master Planning.
The projects team has successfully completed that most recent complicated parts of the runway upgrade at Nausori Airport during the ‘no-jet’ period.
The runway opened for jets on December 1, 2019. Other upgrade and expansion works are forecasted to complete by mid-2021.
We have upgraded a number of runways in outer-island airports. Bureta and Lakeba are complete. Users have commented that they have never seen these runways in such a great state.
We will be doing Kadavu and Labasa runways next year.
What plans have you for the coming year in terms of expansions or new facilities?
The delivery of Nadi Airport Master planning is going to be more challenging that the many projects we have delivered thus far.
Any Master Planning builds capacity for the long term future.
The future will be challenging due to the various complicated staging of works having to be carried out in limited spaces and the financial commitments required.
Can you tell us abit about your staff performance for 2019?
We have a great team here at Fiji Airports.
As leaders we are inspired to come to work because of our colleagues who are continuously growing, overcoming many challenges delivering upon the highest service standards for our passengers experience and improving the lives of our Fijian people.
What is it that gets you to achieve success with what you do?
I think you need to be inspired by the challenges and the opportunities you are given to make a difference.
When one is in a position of relative significance, one can do little things that will have a big impact. Understanding this makes CEOs and leaders within an organisation drive positive changes, and even transformations.
The Nadi Airport Master Planning was completed and is well into its implementation. We will see around $3 billion in investments in the next 15 to 20 years under the Master Planning.
Faiz Khan Fiji Airports acting chief executive officer