It's normally the US that stands accused of neo-colonialism. But not to be outdone, France has decided it too can play the game and the focus of its efforts is the tiny Pacific island of Fiji.
The island's government, a major recipient of overseas aid from the European Union, has been forced to suspend the order of three B737-700s by Air Pacific, which is 80 per cent owned by Fiji, after Paris intervened in the proposed deal for the second time in six months.
The latest episode occurred on a state visit by Fiji's Prime Minister Rabuka to France. The details of discussions have not been disclosed, but after a meeting with French officials Rabuka 'suspended' Air Pacific's B737 order and summoned the carrier's flight operations and engineering directors to join him in France.
Previously, when Air Pacific placed its order with Boeing last year, ambassadors from the European Union, the UK and France met with Rabuka to seek his assurances that Airbus had competed on equal terms with Boeing. Later they jointly denied trying to pressure Air Pacific into ordering A320s.
That time Air Pacific stuck by its order and publicly explained why it chose the B737-700. Reasons included commonality with the carrier's other Boeing aircraft and the Boeing maintenance capabilities of nearby Qantas and Air New Zealand. As a launch customer for the B737-700 in the South Pacific, the carrier was also offered a good price.
An Air Pacific switch to Airbus could have ripple effects throughout the South Pacific, where a number of island carriers operate B737s and cooperate on line maintenance and joint training.
Source: Airline Business
