Fiji Link Explained

Airline:Fiji Link
Iata:FJ
Icao:FJA
Callsign:LINK FIJI
Founded:
Hubs:Nadi International Airport
Secondary Hubs:Nausori International Airport
Fleet Size:7
Destinations:13 (see below)
Parent:Fiji Airways
Headquarters:Nadi International Airport
Nadi, Fiji
Key People:Shaenaz Voss (Executive General Manager)

Fiji Link is the trade name for Fiji Airlines Limited, which is a Fijian domestic airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of the international carrier Fiji Airways. It is headquartered at the Fiji Link office in the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji (CAAFI) compound at Nadi International Airport in Nadi.[1] It operates scheduled services to 11 destinations within the Fijian Islands as well as regionally within the Pacific Islands. The company slogan is Best value under the Sun.

History

Don Collingwood, a pilot and businessman, founded what became Pacific Sun in 1980, under the name Sunflower Airlines, which later changed to Sun Air. It began with a single Britten Norman BN2 Islander aircraft, flying the Nadi-Taveuni route. Other than the BN2 Islanders which remained the backbone of the fleet, the airline operated a wide range of piston and turboprop aircraft including the Beechcraft Baron, Beechcraft Queen Air, de Havilland Heron, Short 330, and de Havilland Canada DHC-6. By January 2007 before official handover to Air Pacific, its fleet had grown to 12 aircraft, and the company employed nearly 140 staff.[2]

On 31 January 2007, Sun Air was sold and handed over to current parent company Fiji Airways, formerly Air Pacific, which had to fight off a legal challenge against the handover by the now-defunct rival domestic carrier at the time, Air Fiji.[3] Air Pacific then established the domestic airline as Fiji Airlines Limited, trading as Pacific Sun. The airline began operations with eight aircraft, including the introduction of two ATR 42–500 aircraft purchased used from Air Mauritius, along with three existing BN2 Islanders and three DHC-6s. However, the fleet was cut back to just four between December 2010 and June 2011 due to economic cost cutting, resulting in the withdrawal of the BN2 Islander fleet as well as one DHC-6.[4] Two additional leased DHC-6s were added to the fleet during June 2011 to increase the Pacific Sun fleet to six aircraft.[5]

On 26 November 2013, parent Fiji Airways announced Pacific Sun was to be rebranded as ‘Fiji Link’. Operations as Fiji Link commenced in June 2014.[6]

News

In late November 2010, Pacific Sun announced that due to current economical reasons, they were withdrawing their BN2 Islander fleet from service. This meant downsizing the Pacific Sun fleet from eight aircraft to just five.

In early December 2010, Pacific Sun announced the redundancy of 85 out of 210 employees. This included staff from administrative, support and operations areas as well as 15 pilots. Pacific Sun's general manager, Jim Samson, explained that continuing operating losses had resulted in management having to make some tough decisions.

"Pacific Sun has lost, on average, $6 million per year over the last three years. Continued losses are unsustainable. Regrettably as a result, we have no alternative but to restructure the airline in order to ensure its viability and success going forward," he said.

Air Pacific chief executive officer and Pacific Sun board member David Pflieger said since Air Pacific's takeover in 2007, Pacific Sun had accumulated $18.5 million in losses. Air Pacific had loaned $44 million to purchase Sun Air's certificate and operations and two ATR-42 aircraft.[7]

In November 2013, Fiji Airways held a competition to rename Pacific Sun. On 13 November, the competition closed with the most votes going to Fiji Link. On 26 November, Fiji Airways released the new name. The new livery was also announced. Operations as Fiji Link commenced in June 2014.[8]

Destinations

As of August 2022, Fiji Link operates scheduled services to the following 11 domestic destinations and two international destinations.[9]

Country / territoryCityAirportNotes
FijiCiciaCicia Airport
KadavuKadavu Airport
KoroKoro Airport
LabasaLabasa Airport
LakebaLakeba Airport
LaucalaLaucala Airport
Malolo LailaiMalolo Lailai Airport
Mana IslandMana Island Airport
NadiNadi International Airport
RotumaRotuma Airport
SavusavuSavusavu Airport
SuvaNausori International Airport
TaveuniMatei Airport
Vanua BalavuVanuabalavu Airport
YasawaYasawa Island Airport
TongaNeiafuVava'u International Airport
TuvaluFunafutiFunafuti International Airport

Fleet

The Fiji Link fleet consists (as of February 2020) of the following aircraft listed in the table below.[10]

AircraftIn fleetOrdersPassengersNotes
JYTotal
ATR 42-6001 - - 4848
ATR 72-6002 - 46468
de Havilland Canada DHC-64 - - 1919Registrations:DQ-FJQ, DQ-FJR, DQ-FJS, DQ-FLA[11]
Total70

External links

Notes and References

  1. "Contact Us." Fiji Airlines Limited. Retrieved on 3 October 2009. "Fiji Airlines Limited, trading as Pacific Sun, was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Pacific Limited currently having its main base at the Pacific Sun office, CAAFI Compound, Nadi Airport, Fiji Islands." and "Head Office Pacific Sun PO Box 9270 Nadi International Airport Fiji Islands"
  2. http://www.fijitv.com.fj/index.cfm?go=tv.resources&cmd=forumview&cbegin=0&uid=fijionenews&cid=11925/{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Fiji Television
  3. http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=56250/{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Fiji Times
  4. http://www.airpacific.com/About-Us/News/Article-ID/40c9c0e0-1418-4b52-9978-58e0f52042e5 Air Pacific
  5. http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=173522 Fiji Times
  6. http://www.fijiairways.com/experience-fiji/fiji-blog/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-the-pacific-sun-fiji-link-rebrand/ Fijiairways.com
  7. http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=161908 Fiji Times
  8. http://www.fijiairways.com/about-fiji-airways/2013-media-centre/%E2%80%98fiji-link%E2%80%99-to-take-to-the-skies-in-2014/ Fijiairways.com
  9. 1191617596359004160. Airlineroute. Fiji Airways' slightly revised route map in Fiji Times, Nov/Dec 2019 edition, combined with fleet guide . 5 November 2019.
  10. Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One). Airliner World. October 2019. 13.
  11. https://www.twinotterworld.com/ Twin Otter World