Solomon Airlines General Manager Development Planning, Mr. Colin Sigamanu, has brushed aside claims that the increase rate of offloads in Brisbane is caused by the size of the plane.
Mr Sigamanu said that the current problem of offloads in their traditional Brisbane -Honiara route is expected.He also stated in an interview that such teething problems often experienced by airlines will gradually decrease as people get used to the new schedules.
"The plane we bought is new to this part of the world and we have just started operation only three weeks ago. It will take time, about two to three months before we could see improvements."
The rate of offloads in Brisbane has frustrated a lot of passengers who have to travel to Honiara without their luggage. Mr. Sigamanu said the current offloads in Brisbane is because of fuel rationing in Honiara, stating the plane has to fly in with full tanks from Brisbane. He said until the next fuel tanker is due in Honiara, Solomon Airlines will to reduce baggage weight for international passengers traveling to Honiara from Brisbane and other international ports.
Manager Administration, Mr. Wilson Ne'e, said the offloads will go away naturally as passengers get used to their schedules. He said the current problem is because of passengers' mentality. "Passenger needs to get used to our seven days a week schedules. Passengers are used to our Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday services. It's on these days too that we are experiencing problems," said Ne'e.