Air Niugini reaffirms its commitment to Asia-Pacific

By NATHAN WOTI
AIR Niugini remains firm in its commitment to be the leading airline in the Asia-Pacific region, says acting chief executive officer Gary Seddon.
Seddon told the PNG-Asia Investment Conference in Hong Kong that the national airline was guided by its values of safety, excellence, and customer satisfaction.
He looked forward to its investments in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A220 jet to “not only enhance its services but also contribute to the economic growth and connectivity of PNG”.
“Air Niugini will be announcing international destinations from Lae’s Nadzab Tomodachi International airport in the coming weeks, to Southeast Asia and Queensland,” he said.
Air Niugini considered direct flights to Guangdong (China) back in 2017 shortly after air service arrangements were signed between the PNG and China governments.
However, aircraft equipment, timing and resources made the proposition difficult to launch without substantial government subsidies.
Air Niugini relaunched plans to establish direct services to mainland China.
This will be supported by the company’s recent aircraft purchase announcements.
A direct service to mainland China, through Shanghai would complement the airline’s existing service through Hong Kong, while protecting its existing traffic, to some degree.
“Guangzhou, in mainland China, has been identified as a potential market opportunity for mainland China operations,” Seddon said.
“The airport is the third busiest airport in China and 11th in the world in 2019 with 73 million passengers – thanks to the large presence of major Chinese carriers, most international network carriers, and also an important logistics operation for FedEx.”