AIR PACIFIC B747 MAINTENANCE UPDATE

Further to an announcement last week about one of its B747-400s having a required routine maintenance “C” check in Singapore, Air Pacific today clarified that because this maintenance work will result in some aircraft re-allocations during this time period, there will be some temporary impact on cargo capacity and air freight shipments on certain affected routes.

Specifically, from December 3-10, Air Pacific will only be operating B737 aircraft to/from Sydney; thus, cargo capacity and freight loads will be temporarily impacted while the B747 is not flying this route for a one week period (i.e. three round-trip flights from Nadi- Sydney will now be flown by B737s instead of B747s).

While cargo loads will be impacted for the 7-day period, Air Pacific noted that this aircraft re-allocation will ensure minimum disruptions to the travel plans of thousands of passengers during the peak Christmas holiday period.

The Air Pacific Freight Office has already communicated this information to freight agents and customers, and the airline has emphasised that with the introduction of new A330s next year, neither passengers nor freight operators should be impacted further by these required and recurring B747 maintenance inspections.

Air Pacific also stressed that with a cargo capacity of 14 tonnes and an ability to fit two LD3 containers side-by-side in its cargo hold, the new A330s are expected to enhance Air Pacific’s ability to carry more freight and grow Fiji exports in coming years.