AIR PACIFIC EXPANDS WINGS TO TUVALU, REPORTS $U25 MILLION PROFIT.

SUVA June 2 Asia Pulse - Fiji's flag carrier Air Pacific is expanding its wings by introducing a new flight to Funafuti (Tuvalu) in the 2008/09 financial year, reports Fiji Live .

The airline is examining further international destinations for early introduction, Air Pacific Group chairman Nalin Patel said.

The Air Pacific Group announced this as the company reported an after tax profit of $25 million (US$16 million) for the financial year ending 31 March 2008, a major turnaround from an after tax profit of only $17,000 (US$11,000) the previous financial year.

Mr Patel said passenger traffic flows improved in the latter half of the financial year with growth experienced from North America, Australia and the greatly-expanded domestic and South Pacific operations of the group.

He said New Zealand remains a challenging market while Japan and Canada have failed to achieve recovery and continue to be unprofitable. Domestic routes, particularly Labasa and Suva-Nadi, experienced strong growth as activity from Pacific Sun stimulated increases to the total market.

Looking forward, bookings from the core markets - Australia and North America - were showing growth, New Zealand remains static, South Pacific services reflect steady growth but Japan remains a concern, he said. The core airline now services 19 destinations in 12 countries.

The airline carried a record of 994,000 passengers in the 2008 financial year. ...