Fiji Airways to start Wellington flights

Fiji Airways chief executive Stefan Pichler said yesterday the affected passengers were transferred on to alternative flights as soon as possible.

Fiji Airways will begin flights direct from Wellington to Nadi.

The new service will allow Wellingtonians to escape twice a week to the tropics from next June.

Fiji Airways managing director and chief executive Stefan Pichler said New Zealand was an "incredibly" important market for the airline and a testament to the company's strong performance here.

"This is one of the most significant new routes recently announced by Fiji Airways, and reflects the airline's strong performance both globally and in New Zealand."

The new service will run twice weekly, departing Wellington on Thursday and Sunday, from June 25 using a Boeing 737-800.

The new Wellington-Nadi route opens up an additional 328 weekly seats between New Zealand and Fiji, as well as providing Wellingtonians with an opportunity to fly to Apia, Los Angeles and on to other North American cities, via Nadi.

"We announced earlier this year in our five-year strategic plan that we were committed to increasing capacity between New Zealand and Fiji. The introduction of this new route reflects our commitment to the New Zealand market, and in growing our global network," said Pichler.

The airline also recently announced that it was doubling its capacity to Christchurch from next winter.

The Wellington schedule provided more opportunities for Kiwi holiday makers to book either short stays of either 3-4 nights, or longer stays of 7-10, he said.

The new Wellington-Nadi route opens up an additional 328 weekly seats as well as providing Wellingtonians with an opportunity to fly to Apia, Los Angeles and on to other North American cities, via Nadi.

Wellington Airport chief executive, Steve Sanderson said there had been a 20 per cent surge in Wellington residents travelling to Fiji and to the United States over the last two years.

"The new service to Fiji, which will add up to 34,000 seats to Wellington's market, really demonstrates the demand and growth in international traffic to and from Wellington," he said.

Fiji Airways operates up to 13 weekly services between Auckland and Fiji.

As part of Fiji Airways five year plan unveiled early this year it increased its fleet size by 25 per cent with the purchase and/or lease of four new aircraft, including one A330-200, two B737-800s and two ATR72-600s by 2017.

The additional aircraft will support the company's plans to increase the number of available seats across all markets by 35 per cent and an increase in passenger numbers by 39 per cent.

The airline had suffered losses earlier this decade but following restructuring, disposal of fuel hungry planes and new routes has turned that around reporting a record $F17 million operating profit for the first six months this year.

The announcement of Wellington by the Fijian carrier comes following introduction in September of Jetstar's Gold Coast services three times a week.