Air Niugini perseveres its obligations: Sir Frederick

AIR Niugini continues to persevere in its obligations to the country despite the challenging economic environment, says board chairman Sir Frederick Reiher.
Sir Frederick, pictured, attributed this to the operations of its subsidiary Link PNG on being successful and in support of national development.
“Our capacity to maintain services, by both Air Niugini and Link PNG, is really challenged in tough economic times, especially at the end of the construction phase of our first LNG project and the general downturn in the mining and construction sectors,” Sir Frederick said.
Sir Frederick said the airlines capacity to maintain services had been greatly strengthened by the outstanding success of Link PNG.
“We established Link PNG two years ago to meet the specific needs of communities is remote and distant areas,” he said.
“Thanks to excellent management, dedicated flight crews, and a tremendous response from passengers, Link PNG is already one of the great successes in the Air Niugini story.”
The State-owned airline was obligated to service all centres, providing services to 25 domestic destinations.
“As the national flag carrier, we are obligated to support national development – and that means providing affordable air services to every province and as many centres as possible. Unlike others, we cannot pick and choose.”