 Pichler New Fiji Airways managing director/chief executive Stefan Pichler will seek to extend the airline’s partnership with Qantas.This would be as part of a drive to introduce a more commercial mindset in the business, he told Travel Today in Australia. Mr Pichler says the carrier has been too politically motivated and, as with other airlines, has been run more like a public service than a commercial entity. Speaking to Travel Today in Sydney, Mr Pichler also said the carrier needs to create a brand that consumers can identify with. He stressed the need for the destination to move away from a price-driven positioning. “We need to develop the brand and make sure people understand what Fiji Airways stands for,” he said. “If you close your eyes and think of a Big Mac, you know what you get. You think about IKEA you know you assemble furniture by yourself, so it’s very clear. “With Virgin, you know what you get but with Fiji Airways you don’t. It was a smart decision to rebrand the company, now we have to do the homework.” Mr Pichler, who joined Fiji Airways after turning round the fortunes of Jazerra Airways, said Fiji needed to create a “high-end niche positioning” in a similar vein to New Zealand or Dubai. “You don’t want to compete on beaches, sun and sea as everyone has that,” he said. “If you compete on beaches, sun and sea you compete on discounts. “There are a lot of things to do in Fiji. There is culture, the people, heritage, surfing. You have to position the product and base it on tailor-made holidays. “Images are not changed overnight but it is a realistic five-year goal.” Qantas talks Talks with Qantas have already started over extending its interline and codeshare partnership. Mr Pichler says there is a “willingness” at Qantas to explore further opportunities. Mr Pichler declined to comment on the tension between the carrier and Qantas, which owns 46 per cent of Fiji Airways. He said Qantas’s shareholding was largely irrelevant to commercial agreements.“We have an interline and codeshare agreement and we both make pretty good money out of it,” he said. “Right now on a commercial level the co-operation between Qantas and ourselves is on good terms. That is what is important.” Changing mindsets The airline has been run too much like a public service, Mr Pichler continued, with not enough focus on commercial opportunities. “We will try to change the mindset and run it as a commercial entity,” he said. “I am a businessman. There is an understanding from the board that they want to run this as a commercial entity.They will let me get on with my job, so I won’t have any interference, and they understand that.” Strong management team Mr Pichler added that the airline has been run by consultants rather than by a strong management team. “That will change,” he said. “I believe in management who are accountable so we have to change that. Consultants are destructive I think, with the exception of where they have areas of expertise. “They stay a couple of months, drop you a PowerPoint presentation on your desk and disappear. There is no added value for the company.” Mr Pichler said he wanted to employ more Fijians at the carrier. Meanwhile, the airline said it was on track to receive its third Airbus A330 in early November which will see the retirement of its ageing Boeing 747 later in the month. – Travel Weekly |       Fiji Airways more like "a Bainimarama private airliner" |
