Domestic airline Fiji Link is working towards achieving its five year strategic master plan.

With the recent inclusion of the second ATR 72-600 to its fleet, the Airline has been able to identify many new opportunities.

The latest ATR 72-600 is part of the Airlines strategic plan to increase its fleet size to twenty-five percent by 2017.

Receiving the new ATR in Toulouse, France last week, Fiji Link General Manager, Shaenaz Voss, says it has enabled them to find new opportunities and more jobs for locals.

“We’ve got a great progression plan in place now and that basically means that a lot more job opportunities for pilots coming out of the Flying school they get on to the twin otter aircraft, they do their training there, they move on to the ATR and from there to the jets.”

The additional aircraft will also support the company’s capacity in the Pacific islands’ region by 86.6%.

Voss says this will push the need to increase its technical crew- the pilots.

“On the ATR’s all of our first officers are local crew and they’re just gearing up. They’re currently training and some of them will obviously move up to captains and the others will be going up to jets.”

While 2014 has been challenging Voss says the airline hopes for a smooth flight next year.

“When you introduce a new aircraft it’s always difficult because you have lots of training to do so you don’t always have the full crew available because they’re out training and our training is done in Singapore at this time because that’s the only place-the closest place to us for simulators so yeah we’ve had some challenges for our on-time performances but come January and from then onwards we should not have any issues at all.”

The five-year master plan will not only grow the airlines network and provide employment for Fijians but it will help drive Fiji’s tourism and the economy.