While post-pandemic air travel is still at record heights, not every airline has been able to reap in the benefits when it comes to profits.
After a federal judge blocked JetBlue Airways (JBLU) ’ plan to acquire Spirit (SAVE) for $3.6 billion, several investment analysts swirled potential bankruptcy rumors for the budget airline. JetBlue is on much more solid ground but still reported a string of unprofitable quarters and now has to figure out a new way to get out of losses that it blamed on the rising cost of fuel and the Pratt & Whitney plane engine recall. Earlier this year, it announced plans to fully pull out of unprofitable markets such as Kansas City and Newburgh as well as Quito and Lima internationally.
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While its flagship country is home to just under a million people, Fiji Airways has just released an earnings report showing that its profits grew by nearly 67% from 2022 to 2023. Last year, the airline serving 27 destinations brought in a record FJ$1.77 billion ($778 million USD) and ran 26,586 flights carrying 2.1 million passengers.
This is how much Fiji Airways brought in during prior years
In 2022, revenue was FJ$1.06 billion ($466 million USD) while operating profit was at FJ$370.6 million ($163 million USD). The majority of this comes from key Fiji Airways markets like Australia and New Zealand but the airline also runs a number of North American routes to San Francisco and Los Angeles — a flight to the capital of Nadi from the latter takes just under 11 hours.
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“We simply couldn’t have done it without our trade partners,” Fiji Airways’ Chief Marketing And Sales Officer Akuila Batiwetiwe told local news outlet KarryOn. “Coming out of Covid, we went out to the trade and said Fiji needed help. They did not step back; the success was due to wholesalers and travel agents, and we believe we all grew together.”
In 2019, Fiji Airways brought in FJ$61.2 million in profit ($26.92 million USD) and then reporting total losses of FJ$836.6 million ($368.1 million USD) in the years between 2020 and 2022. During that time, the island nation also embarked on a promotional campaign in order to bring more people to the country.
When borders reopened, Fiji was often the first international destination for Australians and New Zealanders looking to travel.
When announcing the results, the head of the airline said that Fiji Airways had made great strides to soar after the challenges of covid and get back to profit but needed to continue the momentum for several years in order to make up for what was lost during the pandemic — as such, the promotional campaign for traveling to Fiji from faraway countries continued.
“I am extremely proud of the commitment and determination shown by the entire team to help achieve today’s historic results,” Fiji Airways CEO André Viljoen said of the earnings. “Given the difficult times that the company and the nation has come through during the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching these milestones in such a short time is testament of the grit and tenacity of the Fiji Airways Vuvale (family).”
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