PNG’s national airline, Air Niugini, has announced extra services to and from Australia in a bid to catch some of that growing South Pacific travel demand.
The announcement comes after an adjustment in the carrier’s code share arrangement with Qantas, which created an opportunity to add flights between Cairns, Brisbane and Sydney to Papua New Guinea.
Effective 30 October, Air Niugini will fly double daily to Brisbane. One of those daily services will be operated by the carrier’s wide body Boeing 767 aircraft, and the other by Qantas’ Boeing 737.
Sydneysiders will have an extra choice per week, with a third weekly services added from Sydney, while two flights per day will operate to and from Cairns on Air Niugini’s Fokker 70 jet.
According to the airline’s Chief Executive, Simon Foo, the airline will also place its ‘PX’ code on Qantas flights from Brisbane and Sydney to Melbourne and Perth, giving the airline’s passengers access to seamless domestic connections.
“Passengers [will be able] to make seamless connections to these cities and to have access to a wider choice of through fares and tickets than is currently available.”
Simon Foo, Air Niugini Chief Executive
The extra services are subject to regulatory approval and will serve as an extension to the airline’s arrangement with Qantas, which has been in place since 2002.
Meanwhile, in June Jin Air announced travellers from Cairns were also set to benefit from its new services to and from Korea.
