0 First Commercial Flight for Air Pacific A330

Air Pacific Provides "Sneak Peek" of First New Airbus A330, 'Island of Taveuni

Air Pacific (soon to be Fiji Airways in June) operated an inaugural (pre-Fiji Airways) "sneak peek" commercial flight with its first new Airbus A330-220 and new branding to Auckland this morning (Tuesday 2 April), reflecting the commitment of Fiji's national carrier to one of its most important markets - New Zealand.

As Fiji's flying ambassador, Air Pacific flies tens of thousands of Kiwi holiday-makers and locally based Fijian nationals to the friendly Fiji islands every year.

"New Zealand is an essential part of our global network, and we are excited to be replacing our venerable B747s with new state-of-the art A330 aircraft that come equipped with the latest in passenger comfort and in-flight entertainment features," said Dave Pflieger, Air Pacific's Managing Director and CEO.

"With a history spanning more than 60 years, in June, Air Pacific will be returning to its 1951 roots with new 'Fiji Airways' branding as well as new service, new product, and new crew uniforms that are authentic, distinctive and true to our friendly Fijian culture and heritage," he said.

The airline is offering New Zealanders an early preview of just the plane at this point, since the remainder of the new branding and new service model will not be rolled out until June 2013.

The first aircraft, which has been designed exclusively for Fiji's national carrier, is named after one of Fiji's 333 beautiful islands, the Island of Taveuni, also known as 'The Garden Island' – a nod to the airline's heritage.

"Our new planes and stunning new branding is already a great source of pride among the Fijian community, in Fiji and here in Auckland. "Air Pacific punches well above its weight for a relatively small airline. It is one of only seven airlines to operate multiple international routes from New Zealand, and is the only airline that offers a daily business class service from New Zealand to Fiji and on to Los Angeles and Hong Kong."

"We already pride ourselves on our ability to deliver award-winning world-class service to our guests from New Zealand, Australia, the U.S. and beyond, and we think we will have a truly winning combination when we combine our superb people with fantastic new wide-body aircraft--the first wide-body planes our airline has ever purchased. As the only airline to offer a truly Fijian experience as soon as guests step on board, we believe our new aircraft will allow everyone to relax and start their vacation before they step foot in beautiful Fiji itself" added Pflieger.

As a full service airline that provides clients with complimentary beverages, snack meal, onboard entertainment and one piece of checked in luggage of up to 23kgs, Air Pacific's exceptional service is also evident in their daily Business Class product when guests fly from New Zealand to Fiji.

Fiji Airways will be operating daily connections from across 17 domestic New Zealand cities to feed into international flights for Auckland to Nadi. Further, a total of 13 flights a week from New Zealand to Fiji will take place in 2013 (including CHC-NAN, AKL-SUV & AKL-NAN).

 

Detail: First Commercial Flight for Air Pacific A330

0 Vacation in Style: How to Score a Private Jet Flight

Written by Laura Chapman

If you've ever dreamed about flying off on holiday aboard your own private jet, your dreams may be about to come true. It’s a fact: flying privately is no longer a privilege reserved for the extremely rich and famous. How is this possible? Surely it costs many thousands of pounds to hire a private jet? Wrong: A seat on a private jet can now cost little more than a seat on a commercial airline.

Private jets in Europe carry an average of just over two passengers per journey, despite the fact that the aircrafts are usually designed to seat between eight and 12 people. Furthermore, 40% of these jets fly completely empty on their return journeys in Europe, and a staggering 60% in the USA. An increasing number of budding entrepreneurs are tapping into this market and setting up companies that offer passengers huge discounts on private flying – through group bookings and through bidding for otherwise empty return legs.

Accessible to “everyday passengers”

One such company in the US is Social Flights. CEO, Jay Deragon, claims that his company makes flying private available to everyday passengers. The Beta-tested site offers its members within the US the option to purchase individual seats on private jets, as opposed to having to hire the entire plane.  The site also offers the charter of a whole plane at an affordable rate by pooling together with other members that are looking to fly to the same locations at the same times.

Social Flights is proving extremely popular; within a few months of its launch, the company already had over 8,400 members. Between them, they access a fleet of more than 500 private jets. Deragon explains that his company gives people the ability and freedom to organize their travel either on their own or with others.

New method of transport

For European flights Victor offers a similar service. The company, run by successful entrepreneur Clive Jackson, offers members of the public almost half a million possible routes. It covers flights between almost a thousand European airports and has access to 200 aircraft. Jackson claims that, as the site grows in popularity, he is able to add increasing numbers of routes to customers. Victor now has over 2,100 members and is growing fast as people get used to the idea of this new and attractive method of transport. It’s easy to see why companies like Victor and Social Flights are becoming so popular. A seat on a flight from Luton to Malaga, for example, is currently being offered for £1,532 through Victor, as opposed to costing around £10,000 if you were to fly solo. It is still considerably more than an economy seat with a more conventional airline, agreed. However, the huge cut in costs makes private jet flying a lot more accessible for people that otherwise would not be able to afford it.

Revolutionizing the travel industry

This new mode of transport is being tipped to revolutionize the travel industry, and it is the power of social media, crowd collaboration and travel technology that is driving it. Both of the above companies depend on interaction and active participation from their members in order to succeed, and both use innovations in travel technology through sites that enable new services. The overall cost of a seat on board a private jet from Victor, for example, depends on how many other people want to fly with you. This therefore encourages the site’s community of members to encourage each other to fly; the more contact you make with other members, the more chance you have of finding other people that will share the cost of the jet with you.

Members can publish posts offering their desired point to point trip or book themselves onto an existing flight and then call on their social network to help fill that plane. In some cases, this activity can see the cost of each seat on the jet fall to below that of many commercial airlines.

So, next time you think about booking that holiday abroad, and you shudder at the thought of airport check-in queues and cramped seats, have a little browse on some of these sites. As more and more companies tap into this trend, these deals are sure to become even more accessible for the masses. Who knows; next time you have your summer holiday you could be enjoying all same luxuries as the rich and famous on board your own private jet.

Detail: Vacation in Style: How to Score a Private Jet Flight

0 After tourism, flight cancellation takes toll on film shootings in Manali

SHIMLA/ MANALI: It’s not just the tourism industry which has suffered the brunt of suspension of flights to Himachal, but according to sources with Bollywood film units, big banner movies having big stars are cancelling their shooting plans in Manali, which is reachable only after 10 hours exhausting road journey from Chandigarh airport.

Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai during a shooting in Manali

According to sources, no flight has been operated to any of the three airports of Himachal since September which has caused losses to the tune of over Rs 15 crore only to tourism sector. As it takes minimum of 10 hours to reach Manali from Chandigarh airportand 14 hours from Delhi airport, many filmmakers are opting out Manali from their shooting venue.

With snowcapped mountains, Manali provides a perfect backdrop for shooting between December and April. Dozens of small and big budget film units, commercials and music video album makers used to throng Manali during this season. But, except for one commercial and one film shooting unit, nobody has confirmed their arrival in Manali for shooting in next two months as it is not possible for all filmmakers to arrange for chartered aircraft.

 

Manoj Kumar, chairman of Himalayan Film Productions, who has worked as line producer for films like Maa Tujhe Salam, Diljale, Ishq, Jaal, Barsat and 1971, said indefinite cancellation of flights to Himachal is adversely impacting the shootings here. “Big stars do not have this much time to spend on travelling. They want comfort. Hiring charter plane for whole shooting unit is not that cheaper,” he said.

Aishwarya Rai in Manali

It is possible that the beauty of Himachal could be missing from movies in coming years. Manoj added that films are the best way of promoting tourism and he has noticed a big difference in last two decades ever since he is bringing shooting units to Himachal and other northern states of the country. “Shooting of 3 idiots at Pangong lake doubled the tourism in Ladakh. Similarly, outer world got to know about Manali after watching it on screen. Maintaining a distance by shooting units just because of transportation hurdles is not good sign for Manali and entire state,” he said.

Dozens of meetings, even more request letters regarding continuation of flights have been sent to various departments and ministers by tourism entrepreneurs and hoteliers that have ended up with nostalgic replies from government. In a new development, a group of hoteliers from Manali visited Himachal chief minister and repeated their request to restart the flights to Himachal and also improve the infrastructure here. At present the hotel occupancy rate in Manali is below 20 per cent and similar is the condition of Dharamshala, Dalhousie and Shimla.

Detail: After tourism, flight cancellation takes toll on film shootings in Manali