For 75 years, Fiji Airways has been part of the story of generations of people in Fiji. For the Singh family, the airline has become part of their journey too, woven through more than three decades of their lives, careers and family milestones.
What began with two people finding their way into aviation has grown into a story shared by a family, built on hard work, sacrifice, family support and a love for the skies.
Together, their careers span close to 90 years across Fiji Air, Air Pacific and Fiji Airways, spanning two generations of one family and a lifetime shaped by a shared passion for aviation.
Sharmila’s journey with the airline
For Sharmila, it was the cabin crew members she saw visiting the accounting firm where she worked that first sparked her interest in aviation. She had hoped to become a teacher, but watching the crew come and go made her curious about a career with the airline.
In February 1992, she put on the Air Pacific uniform for the first time as Cabin Crew and is now a Purser.
“Wearing the uniform for the first time made me feel proud, nervous, excited. You walk taller, feel a sudden rush of responsibility, and realise that your dreams are finally real,” Sharmila said.
Her aviation career would eventually become a family journey spanning two generations.
As Sharmila and her husband built their careers, their growing family learned to live with the rhythm of airline life: rosters, early starts, travel and the occasional time apart. Years later, their two sons would find their own paths into aviation, continuing a family connection with the airline that had begun with their parents.
For Sharmila, seeing her sons eventually step into the same industry has become one of the most meaningful moments of her journey.
“Seeing my sons in uniform was one of the proudest moments of my life. It is more than seeing them dressed as pilots, it is seeing their dreams, hard work, and dedication come to life,” she said.
A boy who always looked to the sky
Growing up in Wailailai, Ba, Satpreet remembers looking up whenever an aircraft passed overhead.
“Any time an aircraft flies up in the sky, my head would automatically turn up to the skies. There was just that fascination. “What is it? How does it look?” Captain Satpreet Singh recalled.
His parents were teachers at Khalsa College, where the family lived in the teachers’ quarters among the sugarcane fields. His father and mother had migrated from Punjab, India, to Fiji in the late 1950s, and went on to become an important part of the development of the Khalsa College community.
That fascination became a dream. His first flight came as a child, on a holiday with his mother. It would be years before he boarded an aircraft again, and when he did, it was as a student pilot.
When he told his family he wanted to fly, money was tight, but they found ways to support him. His father gave whatever savings he could, while his mother surrendered her life insurance policy and took out a loan. His sister also took out a loan to help fund his flying school while his brother provided accommodation and logistical support in Kilbirnie, Wellington, New Zealand.
Satpreet also worked at the flying school, cleaning and refuelling aircraft, as well as cleaning the offices and lavatories. He also worked at a kitchen and bathroom showroom to help support himself. For Satpreet, every job was another step towards his dream of becoming a pilot.
“Whatever the odds are, you go for your dreams. You have to take that first step and go towards it. Your dream is not going to come to you, you have to go to it,” he said.
He joined Fiji Air in 1991, flying the DHC6 Twin Otter, BN2A Islander, Harbin Y-12 and Embraer EMB110 from Nausori, before joining Air Pacific in 1999 as a Boeing 737 First Officer.
He became a Captain in 2007 and has continued his flying career through the evolution of the airline and its fleet.
Today, 35 years into his commercial flying career,, Captain Satpreet Singh has logged more than 23,000 flying hours, mostly in jets and remains driven by the same passion.
“It’s the passion of flying, it’s the passion for Fiji Airways, it’s a passion for Fiji,” he said.
Finding their own wings
Neither son was ever pressured to follow their parents into aviation.
For Prashant, aviation had simply been part of life for as long as he could remember.
“We grew up surrounded by aviation because of our parents and their colleagues, so there was always a curiosity and a natural pull towards it,” he said.
His mother encouraged him to choose his own path.
“She simply told me to follow my heart and to do what made me happy. She never pressured me to follow the same path as her and dad. She just wanted me to be happy and successful in whatever I chose,” Prashant said.
After completing his flying studies, Prashant joined Fiji Airways in 2015 as a Second Officer, aged 19 and is now a First Officer.
Satvikrant joined Fiji Airways in 2018 at the age of 20 and is now a First Officer.
For both brothers, stepping into the flight deck was also a chance to experience something they had watched their parents do throughout their childhood.
Prashant remembers visiting his father in the cockpit as a child and asking about the aircraft’s switches and instruments.
“I remember the first time I took off and landed a Boeing 737. I was flying an aircraft that I had travelled on as a passenger with my parents. As a child, I used to visit my dad in the cockpit and ask him about all the switches and buttons. Before I knew it, I was flying the very same aircraft that I had once watched my dad fly,” he said.
“It honestly felt like a dream, except this time the dream had become real.”
Family at home, colleagues in the sky
For the Singhs, working together has created a unique relationship between family and profession.
At home, they are parents and sons. At work, they are Captain, Purser and First Officers, with the same professional responsibilities as any other crew.
For Prashant, the transition between family life and the workplace can feel almost like switching personalities.
“I see him as a father when we dress up at home and catch the same taxi to work, but when we enter the cockpit, I can see we switch personalities all of a sudden. He’s a Captain,” he said.
Sharmila feels the same.
“When we go to work, we are very professional. When I fly with my family, he is not a husband to me, my kids are not my children at that time,” she said.
Yet those professional boundaries make the moments they share in the air even more special.
Satpreet describes flying alongside his sons as a feeling that is difficult to put into words.
“Literally, in the aircraft as a pilot at 40,000 feet and as a father, I am on top of the world,” he said.
The family has flown together in different combinations over the years, including flights where Satpreet was in the flight deck, Sharmila was working in the cabin and one of the sons was part of the operating crew.
There is still one milestone they hope to achieve.
The four have yet to be on the same aircraft together as operating crew, which would be a remarkable milestone for the family and a rare milestone for any airline family.
For Satvikrant, the opportunity would represent years of work, dedication and the support of his entire family coming together.
“It would be one of the proudest days, where you realise all your hard work, your dedication, including your mum and dad’s sacrifices and your brother’s sacrifice, all kind of meets together. It would mean the world to us,” Satvikrant said.
Staying grounded
Away from the aircraft, the family has found its own ways to stay connected.
Fishing has become one of their favourite ways to spend time together, giving them a chance to step away from the demands of aviation and simply be a family.
“These are the little moments that remind me that before my boys are pilots, and my husband is a pilot, we are a family,” Sharmila said.
For Satpreet, those moments also reflect a lesson passed down from his own father.
“Though you fly in the air, keep one foot on the ground. You never let your head and attitude fly,” he recalled.
That same sense of humility continues to guide the family.
Satvikrant describes discipline as one of the most important lessons he has taken from his parents.
“Motivation will come and go, but discipline will make sure that you stay and do your objective. If you build your discipline properly, you’ll still achieve your goals,” he said.
Prashant has carried the same lesson into his own career.
“As a pilot, I would say stay grounded. We may fly thousands of feet, but we must always remember to keep one foot on the ground. Study and work hard, stay disciplined, respect your colleagues and, most importantly, hold safety of aircraft, passengers and colleagues in the highest regard,” he said.
A family connected to 75 years of Fiji Airways
Together, the four Singhs represent close to 90 years of aviation careers across Fiji Air, Air Pacific and Fiji Airways.
Their careers have spanned significant changes in the airline’s history, from the Air Pacific years to the return of the Fiji Airways name in 2013 and the arrival of today’s modern fleet.
For Sharmila, the evolution of the airline has also been deeply personal.
“It was sad to see Air Pacific and its livery go, but it was exciting to welcome the original name, Fiji Airways. It depicted where the airline came from. It was a proud moment for all of us,” she said.
Today, she sees the airline as much more than a workplace.
“For me, 75 years of history makes me feel proud and connected to the airline. From where it began to now becoming a world class airline, Fiji Airways has continued to represent the spirit, culture and hospitality of Fiji,” Sharmila said.
“It feels like a symbol of home, bringing people together and sharing the warmth and beauty that Fiji has to offer with the world.”
For Satpreet, the pride comes from being part of an airline that has connected generations of Fijians and carried the country’s flag around the world.
“Connecting people from different countries and different nationalities, for an airline which has operated for 75 years, it is something I am very passionate and proud about. It speaks volumes about the strength of our leadership and safety culture, and I’ll keep carrying its flag until I retire,” he said.
And for the next generation of the Singh family, the story is still unfolding.
“Growing up, we never thought of this ever happening. Nonetheless, we wouldn’t have it any other way now. Everyone at home enjoys what they do at work, and we all understand each other’s responsibilities and duties,” Prashant said.
For a family whose lives have become so closely connected to aviation, the story has been about more than careers. It has been about shared sacrifices, family milestones and the memories created along the way.
Their lives have unfolded alongside Fiji Airways, through changing aircraft, evolving roles and generations of change. For more than three decades, the Singh family has been part of the airline’s journey, and in many ways, the airline has become part of theirs.
As Fiji Airways celebrates 75 years, the Singh family’s story is one of dreams that took flight, a family brought together by the skies, and the pride of carrying Fiji with them wherever they fly.
