Air_Pacific
Air Pacific
Air Pacific Limited, Fiji's international airline, is based in Nadi, Fiji Islands, operating international and domestic services around the Pacific and to North America and Japan.
History
The airline was established and started operations in 1951. It was founded by Australian aviator Harold Gatty. Prior to 1971 the company operated as Fiji Airways. Air Pacific began service to the USA in 1983. Except for 2001, the airline has been profitable for every year from 1995 to 2004. Over 500,000 passengers were carried in 2004. The airline was responsible for starting the first ever scheduled international services to the capital of Australia, Canberra. While the service operated twice weekly for a number of months it is now suspended.
Air Pacific acquired Sun Air, a domestic airline, in 2007. This formed the basis for Pacific Sun, Air Pacific's domestic and regional subsidiary.
Air Pacific is owned by the Fiji Government (51%), Qantas (46.32%). Air New Zealand and the governments of Kiribati, Tonga, Nauru and Samoa each hold minor stakes. It employs 771 people (at March 2007).
Destinations
As of April 2008, Air Pacific operates scheduled services to the following destinations:Fleet
The Air Pacific fleet includes the following aircraft (at March 2007):| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Tabua (Business) Class/Pacific Voyager) | Routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Britten-Norman Islander | 3 | 9 | Intra-Fijian routes | Operated by Pacific Sun |
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | 3 | 14 | Intra-Fijian routes | Operated by Pacific Sun |
| ATR42-500 | 2 | 44 | Intra-Fijian routes, Vanuatu, Tonga | Operated by Pacific Sun |
| Boeing 737-700 | 1 | 112 (12/100) | Pacific Islands, New Zealand, Australia, Honolulu | |
| Boeing 737-800 | 2 | 162 (8/154) | Vancouver/Honolulu, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands | |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 1 | 256 (18/238) | Tokyo, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland | Replacement Aircraft Boeing 787-9 |
| Boeing 747-400 | 2 | 458 (28/430) | Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland | Being Bought from Singapore Airlines When lease Expires In 2009. |
| Boeing 787-9 | (8 orders) | For delivery in 2011&2016 | ||
| TOTALS: | 14 (8 Orders) |
Air Pacific have recently expanded into the Fiji domestic market with the recent takeover of Sun Air. Rebranded as Pacific Sun, the takeover acquired 6 original Sun Air aircraft as well as the addition of 2 ATR42-500 purchased from Air Mauritius in mid 2006.
Controversies
Urination incident
Air Pacific was forced to apologise after a Fijian soldier urinated on a young female Japanese passenger on a flight from Japan to Fiji. Air Pacific cabin crew provided the woman a change of clothes from the duty free selection, as well as towels and disinfectant soap. The incident made major headlines in Japan. Since the incident, the Japan-Fiji route has performed poorly for Air-Pacific and the Fijian tourism industry has suffered as a consequence (low amount of Japanese tourists ).Pilot Exodus
There has been a mass exodus of local pilots from Air Pacific to airlines in the Middle East, Australia and also Asia. The pilots association has credited the pilot exodus to a gap in working conditions between locals and expatriates.
Profit
Air Pacific announced an after tax profit of FJ$25 million (US$17 million) for the financial year of 2007. The after tax profit for the previous financial year was only FJ$17,000 (US$11,500).
External links
References
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Tuesday October 07, 2008 at 20:09:59 PDT (GMT -0700)
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