Reaching new heights with Air Niugini

Air Niugini Limited in join partnership with BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) are the first to launch a 100% PNG made online payment solution on Wednesday, 17th November 2021.

Since 1973, Air Niugini has been a part of making memorable journeys, from the first plane trip experience to reuniting families, holidays, business or back-to-school.

Air Niugini has grown over the years. Serving 23 ports in PNG and International routes to Australia, Asia and the Pacific, it continues to evolve in alignment with global airline standards, invest in technology to meet the growing needs of its diverse customer base.

“Convenience and security have revolutionised the way people choose to travel. As the national airline of PNG, it is paramount to ensure our services are benchmarked by global standards and safety; we integrate the appropriate technology for the ease of doing business and provide a seamless customer experience from planning travel to ensuring we reach our destinations,” said Air Niugini’s Chief Executive Officer Bruce Alabaster during the launch today.

“The airline has been at the forefront of innovative technology and was an early adopter and influencer of e-Commerce in the Papua New Guinea market providing customers an online option to book and pay for tickets.”

“Air Niugini is the first customer to sign up to BSP’s Internet Payment Gateway, a homegrown IPG solution developed in Papua New Guinea for BSP by Platform Pacific, a subsidiary of BSP. This local solution provides Air Niugini with a cost effective online payment solution that meets global standards, and reduces dependency on offshore service providers.”

Mr Alabaster added that, “IPG provides our customers with a seamless online ticket purchase experience and enables us to manage our business with ease. Having our IPG solution developed locally is itself is an astounding achievement, and reflects how well we have embraced advancements in Information Technology. Over the years, BSP and Air Niugini have collaborated on a number of innovative payment solutions such as IPG and Airline Ticket Payment via mobile banking. These strategic partnerships are aimed at enhancing customer experience and improving business efficiency”.

BSP Group General Manager for Retail, Daniel Faunt added that for some years now BSP has offered businesses e-commerce capability with an IPG, but the internet gateways have been delivered by international IPG operators. BSP made a decision earlier this year to commit capital and resources to build its own IPG in PNG which coincided with the exit from the IPG market of one of the larger global IPG providers. The successful delivery of BSP’s IPG which meets all security standards and scheme card certification requirements is a credit to the development team and another example of BSP’s digital capabilities.

“Papua New Guineans are rapidly adapting to digital banking solutions and more businesses are investing in e-Commerce as they see the gains efficiency and additional sales opportunities it brings. We are proud to welcome Air Niugini to the BSP e-Commerce ecosystem of service providers who are driving the adoption of online payments in PNG,” added BSP Group General Manager Digital Nuni Kulu.

“With the internet becoming widely available today, there has been an extremely rapid growth in global e-Commerce.  Air Niugini has taken the right step to keep up with this global trend. BSP’s online payment gateway will enable Air Niugini to offer its customers a fast and secure way of doing payments, without having to be physically present,” Kulu said.

Travelers and customers wishing to purchase tickets can now simply log onto Air Niugini’s website https://www.airniugini.com.pg/ and shop online anytime of the day.

Mr Faunt also added that Air Niugini uses BSP Mobile Banking for ticket payment.