Coup in Fiji Costs Air Pacific Millions Dollars

Coup in Fiji costs Air Pacific millions dollars

WELLINGTON, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — Fiji’s latest coup has cost its international carrier Air Pacific 70 million Fiji dollars (44.9 million U.S. dollars), the airlines said in its annual report released on Monday.

Airline CEO John Campbell said their revenue was affected by fuel costs, high airport fees and expensive bird strikes, but the December 2006 coup was a heavy cost and continued military rule would remain a “significant current barrier to improved profitability.”

Tourist arrival numbers were lower and the airline had to discount airfares in a bid to attract visitors, he added.

Its Fiji-Japan route was performing poorly and was struggling.

Adding to Air Pacific woes were bird-strikes at Nadi International Airport.

Campbell said it had added 14.6 million Fiji dollars (9.3 million U.S. dollars) expenses and disruptions to flights. Air Pacific links Fiji with Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Korea aswell as Pacific neighbors.

The Fiji government owns 51 percent of the airline with Qantas holding a 46.32 percent share. Air New Zealand owns 1.9 percent ofAir Pacific.

(c) 2008 Xinhua News Agency – CEIS. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.