Fiji Airways is bringing in the latest in technology as a solution to inter-island air travel in Fiji through its partnership with American “future of efficient air travel” company Odys’ Aviation.
The Odys’ Aviation’s hybrid VTOL aircraft using ‘Laila’ aircraft is expected to commence early next year with Fiji being the first country in the Pacific to have these aircraft.
Fiji Airways’ chief executive officer Andre Viljoen said this move was part of the airline’s “nine game changer strategy” and was set to revolutionise travel to Fiji’s maritime and outer islands.
“This is a hybrid VTOL aircraft, that does vertical take-off and vertical landing,” Mr Viljoen said during his presentation at the two-day Fiji Tourism Convention 2024 that ended in Denarau yesterday.
“Why is this exciting for us? We can see a lot of islands in Fiji today that don’t have an airport runway.
“There are two versions, the little one is the cargo version and operates like a drone.
“You can carry up to 100kilos, and these aircrafts have a 400-mile range.
“We can see this doing a lot of deliveries of cargos to all islands in Fiji remotely.
“And then we have the bigger one and that is a nine-seater passenger aircraft, where we have two pilots — a captain and a first officer, and we also see that as a huge plus for us.
“This literally can take off and land at a hotel because it has a vertical take-off and vertical landing. We are very excited to be the launch partner with Odys’ Aviation,” Mr Viljoen said.
