Anyone who knows me knows I love a good stopover. So much so, I’ve become a fan of working one into a flight route that is so often flown direct.
Now, I’m here to tell you why you should give it a go as well.
Flying to Los Angeles from Sydney is just a few hours longer than the flight time I was used to when flying to California from Auckland.
But, that extra couple of hours makes it more of a challenging route for someone like me who doesn’t like overnight flying.
While it doesn’t avoid the overnight flight situation, a stopover in Fiji is one way of breaking the flight up and an added bonus is you get to fly on what is becoming one of the biggest success stories in the aviation industry at the moment, Fiji Airways.
The Equipment
Fiji Airways operates a fleet of Airbus A350s on their flights from Sydney to Los Angeles via Nadi. The airline’s first A350 touched down in Nadi on November 23, 2019. Called the ‘Island of Viti Levu’, it went into commercial service on December 1, 2019, flying Nadi to Sydney.
The airline now has four of these aircraft and also operates six Boeing 737 Max aircraft and four Airbus A330s.
Up the front
While Fiji Airways A350 business class was already onboard when they received their aircraft, the airline added its own elements designed by Makereta Matemosi. The Masi that passengers see on the seats reflects aspects of the Fiji experience, such as people and nature.
As you would expect with a Pacific airline, the food onboard is fresh. The airline has made an effort to bring as much local flavour onboard as possible.
As well as vegan and vegetarian options, it has the usual chicken, beef and fish. As someone who can’t have dairy, the options available were among the best I’ve seen on an airline. There was even a dessert I could have! What a bonus.
The business class product includes a flatbed, although turbulence on the second leg of this flight made it hard to get to sleep. But, you can’t blame the airline for that!
The airline also has quite a substantial collection of movies and television shows onboard, too.
There’s a great collection of classics. I had a good Star Wars binge session with all of the movies in the series available on the IFE. The screens are also large and modern.
The flight
It’s just a short skip to Fiji from Sydney. Once on the ground, the modern Fiji Airways lounge at Nadi Airport is available for those who can get access. Otherwise, there’s a small food court available in the terminal.
There wasn’t much time on the ground before it was time to board the next flight to Los Angeles.
Fiji Airways operates a daily flight to Los Angeles from Nadi departing at 9:55pm local time, arriving just before 1pm Los Angeles time.
- Baggage allowance: three pieces up to 30kg
- Aircraft type: Airbus A350
- Flight time: 3h 55m + 10h 15m
Return business class fares can sell for as low as $9,400 according to searches on the Fiji Airways website.
Nadi Lounge
Access to the lounge is complimentary for Fiji Airways business class guests, Tabua Club and Tabua Club Plus members.
The Verdict
After my experience, I was not surprised at how well Fiji Airways performed at this year’s SkyTrax awards. It was named ‘Best Airline in Australia Pacific’ for the second year in a row.
It was also awarded ‘Best Airline Staff in Australia Pacific’ for the fourth consecutive year and improved its global ranking, moving up to 14th in the world (15th in 2023) beating Qantas and Air New Zealand.
The staff are incredibly welcoming and friendly. The cabin had more of a lounge feeling rather than rows of travelling passengers, with crew interacting with everyone throughout the flight.
Fiji Airways is an airline to watch in the coming years. Once more people fly on them, their value for money and service will become less of the hidden secret that it is now and they deserve all the success that is coming their way.
https://www.fijiairways.com/en-au/
