Air Pacific's Pacific Sun announces fleet replacement & renewal

Nadi, Fiji - Domestic and regional airline Pacific Sun learned at 12:48am this morning that documents had been signed with an aircraft leasing company in the United States allowing Fiji’s domestic airline to obtain two DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 series aircraft which will in turn allow it to start renewing its fleet and restoring its domestic flight schedule back to pre-January 2011 levels.

In a note to both teams, Mr. Dave Pflieger, Managing Director CEO of Air Pacific and a Board member of Pacific Sun thanked key employees at Pacific Sun and Air Pacific for the herculean efforts that had been required to get this task accomplished. Mr. Pflieger also reiterated how pleased the Board was at having finally obtained these more capable and more modern 300 Series Twin Otters to replace two DHC-6 Twin Otter 100 series since they were a key part of the Company’s turnaround plan—a plan that strongly featured fleet replacement and renewal initiatives.

With final documentation completed, Pacific Sun’s replacement 300 Series Twin Otter took off from Fort Lauderdale to begin its 8500 nautical mile journey to Nadi, Fiji where it is expected to enter service by 1 June 2011. “It has taken our teams at Pacific Sun and Air Pacific six months of hard work and perseverance to overcome a number of significant challenges and see this day, so we are thrilled to complete this deal and get the first of our two replacement aircraft in the air,” said Pacific Sun General Manager Mrs Shaenaz Voss.

“Once this aircraft begins serving our domestic routes in early June, Pacific Sun expects to be able to restore reliability to its network schedule and we plan to revert to three daily flights from Nadi and Suva to our key tourist destinations of Savusavu, Taveuni and Kadavu. We are expecting our second replacement 300 Series Twin Otter to join the fleet in late June—something our customers throughout Fiji will welcome. ”

Mr. Pflieger added that “the fact that we had two great teams working almost aroundthe- clock for months to secure these replacement aircraft demonstrates the kind of commitment Pacific Sun and Air Pacific have to our hometown stakeholders and partners in government, business, public aviation agencies, local resorts, the travel industry, and local communities.” “While Shaenaz may be new to her Pacific Sun role, she is not new to the airline industry, and I know she is already doing what it takes to make sure Fiji’s domestic airline not only delivers reliable on-time performance, but also ensures its passengers get the very best in customer service and timely communications.”

Source: Air Pacific