PNGBLOGS

FED UP AIR Niugini is bankrupt and the State Enterprises Minister knows it. He has been calling on  management reform for years and despite the revolving door at the top, they continue to fail. Worldwide the airline industry is destroyed. Highly profitable airlines around the world continue to file for bankruptcy protection and contract their operations out with thousands being terminated daily. These are the realities of all airlines worldwide yet the national airline of Papua New Guinea – owned by the government cannot understand this. Air Niugini is struggling to live as a dinosaur. Its business model has turned its back on the people of PNG to ensure the flag is flown overseas. Now that the international market has been taken away from them, they are seeking to get back to their forgotten customers. Air Niugini may have been successful in the economy of the 1980s.Look for countries who have 100 per cent ownership in their airlines. Have a look at some of the bailout packages requir

Affordable air travel – domestic and international – has been given as one of the reasons for the proposed merger of the country’s lea­ding airline Air Niugini with the nationally-owned Airlines PNG. Public Enterprises Minister and chairman of the Merger Implementation Committee Sir Mekere Morauta has followed his agenda of strengthening state and locally-owned companies by announcing last month that the government had endorsed an “in-principle” de­cision to combine the country’s flagship carrier with an airline company that only several years ago had offered shares in its business to the public. Sir Mekere’s rationale is mostly geared toward cost-saving measures which he stated clearly in a full page advertisement taken out in The National yesterday. Ma­king the air travel relatively inexpensive and spreading the service out to more destinations is a key point in the government’s plan. Not surprisingly, however, there have been concerns raised by Public Employees Association president

Affordable air travel – domestic and international – has been given as one of the reasons for the proposed merger of the country’s lea­ding airline Air Niugini with the nationally-owned Airlines PNG. Public Enterprises Minister and chairman of the Merger Implementation Committee Sir Mekere Morauta has followed his agenda of strengthening state and locally-owned companies by announcing last month that the government had endorsed an “in-principle” de­cision to combine the country’s flagship carrier with an airline company that only several years ago had offered shares in its business to the public. Sir Mekere’s rationale is mostly geared toward cost-saving measures which he stated clearly in a full page advertisement taken out in The National yesterday. Ma­king the air travel relatively inexpensive and spreading the service out to more destinations is a key point in the government’s plan. Not surprisingly, however, there have been concerns raised by Public Employees Association presid