Fiji Airways leaves network intact despite rising costs

By Andrew Curran.

Fiji’s Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation says majority state-owned Fiji Airways will not cut any flights because of fuel supply issues or rising costs.

“Fiji Airways has made a commitment that it will not give up on any routes, so it will continue to service all its routes,” the Fiji Sun reported Viliame Gavoka saying at a tourism conference in Suva yesterday, March 25.

Gavoka’s comments come as one of the dominant operators in the region, Air New Zealand, reduced flights to its South Pacific destinations over the coming months, citing rising fuel costs.

Gavoka said the Fijian Government anticipated tourism would contribute around 70% of its revenue in 2026, and Fiji Airways’ commitment to maintaining flights “is the kind of confidence we need.”

“It (Fiji Airways) will continue to service all its routes,” he said.

Fiji Airways flights critical to supporting tourism sector

Aside from its domestic network serviced by its Fiji Link branded aircraft, Fiji Airways flies to airports in New Zealand, Australia, the USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, as well as multiple South Pacific island nations.

Fiji Airways is critical to the country’s tourism sector, carrying approximately 70% of all international visitors. Fiji welcomed around 986,000 international arrivals last year and, prior to the current Gulf conflict, was on track to welcome even more this year.

While Australia remains Fiji’s biggest source of tourists and tourism revenue, the USA was growing in importance. Fiji Airways has invested heavily in North America and now has scheduled services to five North America cities, including Honolulu (HNL), Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), and Vancouver (YVZ).

To keep that inbound passenger traffic coming, Gavoka said “we need to show that we are handling this situation well.”

Earlier this month, when the Gulf conflict started, Fiji Airways CEO Paul Scurrah said the airline had no plans to cut routes or trim frequencies (although he didn’t rule out of fuel levy).

Like Gavoka, Scurrah acknowledged the need for maintaining the network, not only to support the tourism sector but also Fijians who rely on the domestic network.

At this week’s conference, Kameli Batiweti, a senior Fiji Airways executive, confirmed that the airline remained committed to supporting regional connectivity.

“Our role is to bring the world to the Pacific and take the Pacific to the world,” he said. “Tourism Fiji opens the door, and our job is to connect the dots.”

Air New Zealand, Jetstar trim flights

Meanwhile, Air New Zealand, which also has a strong presence across the South Pacific, has taken a different tack and already said it would cut around 5% of its flights over the coming months.

Unfortunately for Air New Zealand, it hit the headlines this week after a local newspaper reported it was cancelling four Auckland – Apia round-trips between now and early May. However, the report did not say that Air New Zealand operates around 10 weekly round-trips on the route.

“It's really, really tiny,” an Air New Zealand spokesperson said about the Apia reductions, while also acknowledging that all the airline's South Pacific destinations would see some flight cuts.

When the cuts were first announced, Air New Zealand's CEO said they would primarily be on domestic routes during off-peak periods.

The same spokesperson said Air New Zealand had a full list of cancelled flights but would not be releasing it publicly. Instead, it would contact affected passengers individually.

Like Air New Zealand, this week Jetstar also confirmed that it would cut some flights due to increasing costs.

The cuts primarily target Jetstar’s trans-Tasman and domestic flights in New Zealand and will take effect from May. All up, the airline intends to trim services by about 12%.

A Jetstar spokesperson said the cuts were due “to a rise in jet fuel prices as a result of the conflict in the Middle East and other rising costs.”

Photo: AI-Generated.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com