Silver anniversary for Air Pacific

Press, 7 September 1976, Page 32

Silver anniversary for Air Pacific

Air Pacific, the Fijibased South Pacific regional airline, celebrated its 25th Anniversary last week with a series of functions at its various destination points, . including Suva and Aucki land. I The airline, founded in i 1951 as Fiji Airways by the noted American flier, Harold Gatty, now flies four services a week between New Zealand and Fiji, via Tonga, using two British BAC One-Eleven jets. Since introducing a jet service to Auckland in May 1974. Air Pacific has had Air New Zealand as

general sales agent in New Zealand. However, last month the Company appointed Pacific Passenger Services, a new Auckland based company. as sales agents handling all the airline’s sales and all reservation work in New Zealand. With a fleet of two BAC One-Elevens, two Hawker Siddley 7485, and landers, Air Pacific now covers a network stretching from Brisbane to Western Samoa, and from Tarawa (Gilbert Islands) in the north to Auckland in the south. The airline has already hinted that it hopes soon to step up its

Auckland services by another two flights a week. Many of Air Pacific air crew are New Zealanders, two Britten-Norman Triand in the mid 1950’5, when the company was still Fiji Airways, Ltd, the well-known float-plane pilot, Captain S. P. Ladd, of Rotorua, was a member of the operational staff. Today, the Fiji Govern-

ment-owned Air Pacific has a staff of more than 500, including more than 40 pilots and 35 engineers. Recently, Air Pacific moved strongly behind the Fiji travel industry’s campaign to encourage tourists. especially New Zealanders, to travel via Suva to the islands of eastern Fiji, rather than to continue visiting the more

traditional island-in-the-sun resorts of western Fiji. Last week Fiji's Minister of Finance, Mr C, A. Stinson, who is actingehairman of Air Pacific, said that as Fiji had a major interest in South Pacific tourism the Fiji Government saw "a very positive future role” for Air Pacific.