Air Niugini CEO Mr Wasantha Kumarasiri said the program will create unprecedented opportunities for travel within Papua New Guinea, as well as from Papua New Guinea to destinations in Australia, Asia and the Pacific.

“It will also put us in closer contact with our loyal customers”, he said.

“A very unique feature of our Frequent Flyer Program is that we will have family membership available. That means that frequent flyer points can be accumulated and shared by family members.” Mr Kumarasiri said.

“Our plans for the Program are well underway. I can tell you now that the name of the Program will be Destinations : Air Niugini’s Frequent Flyer Program. We have already developed our logo and marketing strategy and are ready to start recruiting foundation members in August. We are also ready to launch a major advertising campaign for Destinations ”, he said.

Air Niugini will initially offer membership free of charge along with an offer for foundation members to earn double points between August and December 31, 2009.

Mr Kumarasiri also confirmed that former General Manager and Marketing Manager of EMTV, Glenn Armstrong has been appointed to oversee the frequent flyer program. Glenn joins Air Niugini with significant experience in marketing and is a graduate of the Sydney University. With Glenn joining the company, Air Niugini expects this program and several other programs to be successful.

Mr Kumarasiri was also pleased to announce that Ms Cathi Taukuro has been appointed to oversee the IT aspects of the program. Cathi is based in the Air Niugini Brisbane Office and will report to Betty Seta in the Port Moresby IT Department.

“Our new loyalty program is set to create amazing opportunities for people to travel. We have been impressed with progress so far. This is going to be an exciting chapter in the history of Air Niugini and air travel in Papua New Guinea” Mr Kumarasiri said.