Air Niugini striving to reduce costs, better its service

AIR Niugini will continue to reduce costs while ensuring it remains the airline of choice in PNG, State Enterprises Minister Sasindran Muthuvel says.
Commending the Air Niugini board and management for recording a profit of K500,000 last year compared to a K133 million loss in the previous year, he said there was still a lot of work to be done.
“It is a credit to the board and management of Air Niugini that they have achieved such a remarkable turnaround in such a short period of time,” Muthuvel said.
“They have taken a very structured approach to bringing their operating cost base down and returning the airline to a sustainable business model. This has been done while maintaining the highest level of safe operation and customer experience.” The airline plans to replace the Fokker jet fleet with the wide-bodied 767s.
“This is an extremely important decision for the airline as it will set the business up for success over the next 10 to 20 years,” he said. “This decision cannot be rushed and Air Niugini is ensuring that the highest level of diligence is applied to this process.”
In response to preparedness for the coronavirus, Muthuvel said Air Niugini had taken the lead with protecting customers and staff.
“It is a difficult task as their operation is subject to the laws and restrictions of all countries they operate.”