Airline hails decision, says competition vital

PNG Air says it is happy with the decision by the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) to deny the purchase of nasfund shares from the company.
Chief executive Anthony Pereira told The National during the airline’s independence celebration on Tuesday that the decision by the watchdog was important to maintain competition.
“Competition is very important and especially in PNG where two airlines can serve the country,” he said.
“If you think about the destinations and if you think about the widespread areas where air travel is needed and the demand that it will and not considering the Covid-19, it’s a growing country and you need air travel.
“As such, people need to get assurance that they can fly at a reasonable price on time and that they can be happy to arrive and depart again at their destination so that they can do their business, leisure and visit their families.
“The decision has no winner, the only winner is the consumer and it’s not PNG Air or Link PNG.
“The biggest winner is the consumer and you can only get fairness in the market place when there is competition,” he said.
Pereira said with the decision by the ICCC, the company’s outlook now was to implement its strategic plan moving forward.
“In other words, there is no change for us, we have already planned what we are going to do,” he said.
“Up to the end of this year, it’s going to be survival like all airlines around the world.
“And from 2021, hopefully, we will start doing our strategic plan. We have done it already but we need to act upon it to make sure that we grow successfully.”