Former CEO of Virgin Australia, Paul Scurrah is the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Fiji Airways, effective 1st November 2025.
Scurrah served as CEO of Pacific National, Australia’s largest private rail freight company, where he led a comprehensive transformation focused on operational excellence, safety innovation, and commercial sustainability.
Fiji Airways says his leadership oversaw investments in new technologies, rolling stock and strengthened customer partnerships, reinforcing its critical role in the national supply chain.
Scurrah previously held the position of CEO at Virgin Australia, the nation's second-largest airline, where he built strong momentum across operations, employee engagement, and customer satisfaction.
He was recognised for his strategic leadership, steering the airline through one of the most turbulent periods in modern aviation, the COVID-19 pandemic.
When international travel came to a halt, Scurrah led a rapid and complex restructuring that preserved core routes, safeguarded jobs, and positioned the airline for recovery.
His earlier career includes appointments at Queensland Rail and DP World Australia, where he spearheaded large-scale infrastructure upgrades, operational improvements, and strengthened stakeholder trust.
Scurrah also held executive roles in customer service, sales and distribution in the airline industry, including being a founding executive and investor in Rex Airlines, Australia’s largest independent regional airline.
Scurrah brings to the role more than two decades of executive experience across aviation, transport, logistics and tourism.
The Fiji Airways Board is confident that under his leadership, Fiji Airways will be guided through the dynamic challenges of global aviation and beyond, continuing to thrive and delivering on its promise to be the airline of choice in the region and internationally, while maintaining strong financial discipline, customer excellence, and national pride.
Board Chairman, Nalin Patel says they warmly welcome Scurrah to the Fiji Airways family and look forward to a successful journey ahead.
They also thank Andre Viljoen for a decade of exceptional leadership as Managing Director and CEO of Fiji Airways.
Patel says under Viljoen’s stewardship, the airline achieved significant growth, navigating unprecedented global challenges, emerging stronger and more resilient.
He says over the past 10 years, Viljoen led a transformation that elevated Fiji Airways to new global heights, including world-class recognition: Fiji Airways became the smallest airline ever, by fleet size, and the only in Oceania, to win the prestigious APEX World Class Airline 2026 Award, placing it among the Top 10 Airlines worldwide; SKYTRAX rating improved to 4 Stars, with the airline’s global ranking rising from 102nd in 2015 to 14th in 2024; Fiji Airways also won Best Airline in Australia/Pacific two years running and earned the APEX 5 Star Major Airline rating for three consecutive years; the airline’s fleet nearly doubled from 12 to 23 aircraft, including four new-generation Airbus A350s; annual revenue grew from FJ$815.3 million in 2015 to FJ$1.9 billion in 2024, led the development of the Fiji Airways Aviation Academy, a state-of-the-art training facility with four full-flight simulators, raising the standards of pilot training and supporting more Fijians to become captains; during the COVID pandemic, his ‘Future-Fit Ready Strategy’ ensured the airline’s survival; Fiji Airways operated 523 repatriation flights, moved 17,825 tonnes of freight, and was the first airline to resume services when borders reopened in Australia and New Zealand, and his leadership positioned Fiji Airways for record-breaking growth in 2023, with historic passenger numbers and financial performance.
Patel says to ensure continuity, Viljoen will remain on the Fiji Airways Board of Directors.
He says Viljoen’s new role at Air Mauritius does not create a conflict of interest, as the airline serves different regions.
