The Fiji Airways Aviation Academy is achieving annual cost savings of $22.7 million. One of the academy’s key benefits is its capacity to provide all necessary training internally. This training includes initial and recurrent type ratings, remedial training, and license conversions.
Minister for Civil Aviation Viliame Gavoka discussed this in Parliament when questioned about the academy’s expansion strategy. He highlighted that by handling training internally, Fiji Airways has successfully avoided significant fees that would otherwise have been paid to external training providers.
Gavoka emphasized that investing in internal training helps ensure that the company’s financial resources stay within Fiji Airways, thereby enhancing its financial stability. He noted that in the past, pilots were required to travel to international training locations like Singapore, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Brisbane, Seattle, and Bangkok, which resulted in not only training fees but also considerable expenses for accommodation and living costs.
With the establishment of the academy, such travel costs have been completely eliminated, allowing pilots to complete all necessary training in Fiji and alleviating the financial strain associated with traveling overseas.