Fiji Airways acting chief executive, Aubrey Swift.
Swift argues not enough demand for another carrier in trans-Pacific route
By RACHNA LAL
Additional Information: TRAVEL WEEKLY and CENTRE FOR AVIATION
Airline executives have given mixed responses to the prospects of another carrier entering the trans-Pacific route, a route which out national airline plays a big role in.
This was one of the topics discussing the outlook for the market during the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation Aviation Summit held in Sydney, Australia, earlier this month.
Fiji Airways acting chief executive, Aubrey Swift, argued there was not enough demand for another carrier to enter this trans-Pacific route.
Mr Swift said US carriers had “better opportunities” elsewhere than to operate on an “already-congested” route.
“My sense is that there are other fish to fry for the US carriers and merger activity has taken up a lot of their energy,” he said.
“I don’t think there is the demand. There are better opportunities and generally long-haul sectors are less profitable.”
The debate came as figures showed a near 11 per cent rise in traffic from Australia to the US in the year ending June.
The CAPA Australia-Pacific Aviation Summit was a pre-eminent aviation strategy summit for the region.
Heads from airlines and airports across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, plus a selection of leaders from airlines serving the region debated hot topics facing aviation at this year’s CAPA Summit.
United Airline says otherwise
United Airlines Japan and Asia Pacific sales managing director, Matt Miller, said there was “probably” enough room for another player.
This, he said, was despite four airlines flying direct to Australia, one operating to New Zealand and a further three offering a one-stop service from the US to Australasia.
Mr Miller predicted another carrier could make a go of the route, assuming it was done for the right reasons.
“Is there room? Probably, but it needs to be done intelligently, not because of egos,” he told the conference.
Fiji Airways opportunistic
Meanwhile, Mr Swift said Fiji Airways is “happy to be opportunistic about promoting the Australia-US trans-Pacific market”.
He said the carrier will look to “create stopover products” and “try to add value in that way”.
Mr Swift however added that it was wrong to suggest Air New Zealand has enjoyed a monopolistic position on the route since Qantas withdrew its Auckland to LA flights in May 2012.
He insisted consumers “have other options”.
United’s Boeing vs Fiji Airways’ Airbus
Mr Miller said the addition of fuel efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliners to its fleet would provide opportunities to operate “thin, long haul markets” that can’t sustain larger, less efficient aircraft.
United Airlines has seven Boeing 787s in its fleet and a total order of 65.
Meanwhile, Fiji Airways has this year added two Airbus A330’s to its existing fleet of Boeings and the arrival of the third Airbus A330 is expected in November.
Fiji Airways and its subsidiary Pacific Sun fly to 15 cities in 10 countries.
Destinations include Australia, New Zealand, USA, Hong Kong, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Vanuatu, and Solomon Islands.