Solomon Airlines fights Qantas expansion in Honiara
Solomon Airlines has filed an objection to Qantas’ plan to increase flights between Brisbane and Solomons capital Honiara.
Qantas wants to increase frequencies from four to five services per week.
Qantas submitted its plan to the International Air Services Commission (IASC) for approval.
It wants to introduce the extra flight from late March.
Solomon Airlines CEO, Paul Abbot urged the request be turned down in the ‘national interest.’
He said there isn’t sufficient demand on the route to justify it and Solomon Airlines’ international services subsidise its domestic flights to nearly two dozen destinations.
Adding more flights on the route will lead to falling airfares which would impact domestic services.
“Solomon Airlines has respectfully requested that the application be rejected based on national interest for the future of domestic Solomon Island operations,” Abbot said.
“Income from our international operations subsidises the operation of domestic flights.”
“Without that income, these vital flights are not financially viable, yet for some three years now we have endured extreme foreign competition undermining our international airline income,” he added.
The airline says the Brisbane-Honiara route is actually declining, with less than 40,000 passengers in 2025.
This is down about 20% on pre pandemic levels.
“The market has not grown and in fact is in decline, and there is little likelihood that this situation will change, so there is no justification for yet another Qantas flight”.
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