Chief executive John Campbell said the flights were running at an operational loss because a half-full flight bore the cost of a full flight.
“This year will be difficult for the tourism industry and Air Pacific,” said Campbell.
“I think we are covering the market really well but our load is very low. It is 50 per ent,” he said. “It is very unsatisfactory. The costs are continuing on at 100 percent and it is not a good match at the moment.”
Campbell said they had to manage their operation to make sure it was cost effective. “We try not to waste money but at the same time ensure our customers do have scheduled flights on the day and pretty much the time they originally planned.”
He said the airline had adjusted the size of aircraft on some flights to cater for the downturn in booking. “We are putting on 737 instead of 747 or 767 to adjust the size on some flights.”
Campbell said visitor arrival for last month was down 30 percent over January figures but he expected to see some improvement from April. “The early signs in sales activity is quite positive. There is tremendous sales activity in key markets.”
Campbell said a lot of special packages were on sale and had started to produce bookings. “Unfortunately, it will still be a bit below where we ideally would have liked it,” he said.
