right direction

A move in the right direction

THE move to Nadi was the final step in the progression of Air Pacific from being Fiji’s domestic airline. The airline’s new $lB million hangar facility at Nadi International Airport is an integral part of that move and is probably the most strategically important decision the air line has ever taken.

A commitment to spend $lB million at a time when the future was so uncertain at the height of the Gulf war and in thhe middle of the worldwide recession dem onstrated Air Pacific’s commitment to being a catalyst for the country’s devel opment. The project had its doomsayers; the people who felt it was a “white elephant”. But the airline was prepared to stand by its conviction.

“We could have opted for a facility that only catered to the ATR and Boeing 737 aircraft but instead we looked to the future and built a hangar which was capable of maintaining the latest tech nology wide-bodied aircraft, including the Boeing 747-400,” says a report in the company’s annual report for 1992-1993.

“The hangar will provide a means of containing future costs by maintaining our own aircraft here in Fiji.” However, the benefits which will finally accrue from the location of such a facility in Fiji are wider reaching and provide Fiji with a new skill base and a resource which will generate additional employment opportunities as well as saving on foreign exchange.

Additionally, Fiji will be able to offer these new skills and resources to other airlines, primarily from within the re gion, but not necessarily restricted to regional airlines. The major advantage Air Pacific has is the ability to offer engineering services and facilities that conform to international standards at rates well below those charged in neigh bouring countries. □