FIJI Airways has the capacity to carry 2.8 million passengers.
Presenting the national airline’s 2023 annual report before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Fiji Airways Group chairman Nalin Patel said their highest number was 2.2 million which was recorded the same year.
“In terms of Fiji Airways in (the 2023) period, it earned approximately $99million in cargo revenue,” Mr Patel said.
“Fiji Airways carried 2.2 million passengers, up from 1.4 million in 2022 and 1.7 million in 2019.
“That was a record year in terms of the number of passengers we had carried.
“Fiji Airways grew the seat factors by 47 per cent to 2.8 million.
“In other words, the capacity in the seats that we have got has the capacity to carry 2.8 million passengers and we had carried 2.2 million, so there is a capacity to carry more passengers.”
Mr Patel said that in 2023, the airline operated 26,586 international, regional and domestic routes representing a 40 per cent growth from 2022.
“Fiji Airways added two additional state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900s to our fleet, taking our total to 21 aircraft at that stage.
“Fiji Airways added Canberra and Noumea to its network, expanding our international destinations to 26 locations.
“Fiji Airways also commenced the phase two construction of the Fiji Airways Aviation Academy costing approximately $130million, with $49million of it spent in 2023.”