A message from Air Niugini’s managing director

As we approach the end of the year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, our valued customers, for your patronage, to reflect on 2019 and to look ahead to 2020.

As you know, the year’s end always brings with it a tremendous sense of accomplishment, as well as a time to reflect on what can be done to continuously improve on areas that need attention and support.

Despite the challenges facing the economy, volcanic eruptions, political change, and continuous domestic airport runway works underaken by the Civil Aviation Development Investment Program,

Air Niugini has made significant progress this year, aligning most of its activities and operations with the four core pillars of the airline’s Higher Altitudes transformation program.

Our engineering team successfully completed a full service on a

Dash 8 aircraft belonging to Solomon Airlines in September, the first time Air Niugini has undertaken such a check for a customer airline. We have some of the best talent in the engineering space that I’ve seen in my 40 years in the aviation industry, and the success of this project further cements Air Niugini’s plan to become a key player in regional aircraft servicing.

We commenced a new nonstop service to Nadi, Fiji, on September 5 and have improved our Cairns/ Port Moresby schedule to give business travellers from North Queensland the opportunity to make a same-day return trip to Port Moresby.

The new schedule further develops air and trade links between North Queensland and Papua New Guinea and allows for seamless connections between Cairns and other Air Niugini destinations across Asia and the Pacific, via our Port Moresby hub.

From late October we also added twice-weekly wide-body Boeing 767 services from Cairns to Hong Kong, via Port Moresby, creating enormous opportunities for increased freight shipments and trade between North Queensland, PNG and the markets of Asia.

On the domestic front, we have increased flight frequencies to Goroka, Lae, Madang, Wewak, Vanimo, Manus, Kavieng, Hoskins and Rabaul to provide more seats during the peak festive period.

While the National Airport Corporation’s runway upgrade works continue at Mount Hagen, Tari, Mendi and Wapenamanda airports, our flights to these areas continue to be suspended – except for a sixtimes daily Dash 8 turboprop service between Mount Hagen and Port Moresby operated by our wholly owned subsidiary company, Link PNG.

To commemorate PNG’s 44th year of independence in September, Air Niugini offered a revolutionary ‘ flash sale’ of PGK44 per domestic sector (plus taxes), giving over 10,000 mainly Papua New Guineans the opportunity to travel.

Before I conclude, I would like to particularly welcome participants and tourists visiting the National Kenu and Kundu Festival in Alotau, Milne Bay, from November 1–3. I am sure you will enjoy the rich variety of cultural performances.

A very merry Christmas and a prosperous 2020 to you and your families. Alan Milne Managing Director