Fiji Airways: Dramatic fuel price spike is 'a real challenge' and 'means making some hard decisions'

Fiji Airways chief network, revenue & alliances officer Russell Shaw, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific, stated (28-Jul-2026) "When you get a fuel price spike as dramatic as what we've experienced this year, you get hit on a multitude of fronts. Your cash cow routes that usually do really well suddenly aren't performing as well, and then that really exposes some of the other routes in your network". Mr Shaw continued: "Depending on what airline you are, fuel could be 25% to 50% of your cost base, and when you see that double over the course of 30 days, it's a world of hurt. And you certainly don't have the mechanisms to pass the entirety of that increase on to your customer base". He concluded: "It's a real challenge, and it means you have to make some hard decisions", citing Fiji Airways' decision to suspend service to Dallas from Sep-2026 as an example.