Fiji Airways has revealed more details about its structure and planned flight operations, following the Fijian Government's agreement, in principle, to designate the start-up as the island's second international airline.
Local accountant Neil Underhill has been named chairman. To comply with majority local shareholding rules, Underhill has a 2% direct stake in the carrier and holds a further 58% through recently registered Airline Investments Fiji.
The remaining 40% is held by Singapore-based ground handling company Aviation Services, whose executive director Chris Tan has been made chief executive of Fiji. The Fijian Government has stipulated that the carrier must have paid-up capital of F$10 million ($5 million), all of which will come from an as-yet unidentified offshore investor.
The concept of a second Fijian carrier was originally promoted in 1997 by Alan Lindrea, who has since disappeared, leaving a trail of bad debts. Lindrea has nothing to do with the newly named Fiji Airways, stresses chief operating officer Pravin Jumabhoy.
The carrier's head office will be in Fiji, but the operations office will remain in Singapore. It is planning to operate a 311-seat Boeing 747-300 combi, dry-leased from Singapore Airlines (SIA), thrice-weekly from Singapore to London via Mumbay, starting in November.
A second SIA-leased Airbus A310 will operate thrice-weekly between Singapore and Fiji via Port Moresby. The airline will use the Sabre computer reservation system and is negotiating interline deals. It is aiming for 130,000-150,000 passengers in the first year of operation, with up to 20% of revenue coming from cargo.
Source: Flight International
