A route shakeup for the rebranded Fiji Airways is on the cards, Air Pacific boss David Pflieger has revealed.
The carrier announced yesterday that it would revert to its former name, abandoned in 1970, in an effort to identify more closely with Fiji.
“People just don’t associate Air Pacific with Fiji,” Pflieger told Travel Today. “42 years is a long time to give a brand a chance.”
With the growing importance of the internet, it was more important than ever to have Fiji in the airline’s name.
“Air Pacific just wasn’t showing up in online searches for Fiji,” he said, adding the decision was a “no brainer”.
The immediate plan for the airline is to consolidate its recent recovery which saw its revenue climb F$40 million ($21.9 million) in 2010/11. But expansion is next on the agenda.
“Once we are in a sustainably profitable position sure we’ll add more planes and more places,” Pflieger said. “We will do more things that we should be doing as Fiji’s national carrier”.
He confirmed that the airline would not revert to the old Fiji Airways livery under the new name. The new livery will be revealed in October, with marketing plans for the new brand to be revealed over the coming months.
Two of the carrier’s three new liveried A330-200 aircraft will be delivered in March and May, but are not expected to take to the skies until June. The final aircraft will be delivered in November.
The new additions to the fleet mark the carrier’s first purchase of new aircraft in its 65 year history, having flown or leased older ones until now.
“That has given us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to design our new planes in a way that will embody the beauty and the spirit of this great country and its people,” Pflieger said.
