Summary
- Fiji Airways will launch a brand new service between Fiji and Recent Caledonia, improving regional connectivity within the South Pacific.
- The brand new service will probably be operated twice weekly using a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, with connections to over 100 destinations around the globe.
- Fiji Airways is the biggest foreign exchange earner for Fiji and is committed to sustainability, using Sustainable Aviation Fuel on its latest A350 delivery flight.
Air connectivity within the South Pacific is important on so many levels, be it for essential services, medical or business reasons or keeping near family and friends. When the pandemic struck, many island nations shut the door on inbound travel, but with borders reopened, most connections, old and latest, at the moment are back in operation.
This week, Fiji Airways announced a brand new service between Fiji and Recent Caledonia will start on November 30, opening the best way for inter-island flights and onward connections for Recent Caledonians on the Fiji Airlines network. Recent Caledonia is a French overseas collectivity within the southwest Pacific Ocean about 1,210 kilometers (750 miles) east of Australia. It’s an archipelago of greater than 140 islands, with the capital, Noumea, situated on the predominant island of Grand Terre.
Improving regional connectivity with the MAX 8
Fiji’s national carrier, Fiji Airways will operate a twice-weekly service on Monday and Thursday from Nadi International Airport (NAN) to Noumea’s La Tontouta International Airport (NOU). The service will probably be operated with a Boeing 737 MAX 8 configured in a two-class layout of 170 seats, with eight in business class and 162 within the economy cabin.
Photo: airimages.tw / Fiji Airways
In response to Fiji Airways’ website, flight FJ291 will depart Nadi International at 12:15 and arrive in Noumea at 13:20 after a 2:05-hour trip. It is going to depart NOU as FJ290 at 14:20 and have a rather shorter trip home to reach at NAN at 17:15. Fiji Airways has five Boeing 737 MAX 8s, and Managing Director and CEO Andre Viljoen told Easy Flying it’s waiting on a sixth to exchange the one Boeing 737-800 within the fleet.
The primary flight on the route will occur on Thursday, November 30 and can move to the twice-weekly schedule on December 7. Fiji Airways has an existing Air Services Agreement that enables it to supply services in French territories, so starting the brand new route is throughout the terms of that agreement. Viljoen added:
“Based on this agreement we were in a position to negotiate with our counterparts in Recent Caledonia and choose a date for the commencement of services between Nadi and Noumea. We at Fiji Airways are very excited concerning the prospects of this latest route.
“Moreover, due to our codeshare partners we are able to connect Recent Caledonians to greater than 100 destinations around the globe. At Fiji Airways we now have consistently strived to expand our regional services because we see ourselves connecting not only Fiji – however the Pacific to the remaining of the world.”
An expanding international network
With the addition of the Noumea services, Fiji Airways will fly on to 26 destinations, including as far afield as Vancouver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore. It also has significant markets and multiple destinations across Australia and Recent Zealand. Noumea is the airline’s third latest promote it has added since borders reopened in December 2021.
Photo: Michael Doran I Easy Flying
On those long-haul routes, Fiji Airways uses its 4 Airbus A350-900 XWB aircraft, with the newest two arriving to much pomp and ceremony in August. The ultimate A350 to enter the fleet, DQ-FAN, is currently flying a combination of medium and long-haul services on routes including Vancouver (YVR), Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), Melbourne (MEL) and Sydney (SYD).
Slightly-known fact is that Fiji Airways brings in 70% of all visitor arrivals into Fiji and is the nation’s largest foreign exchange earner. It also has ambitious sustainability plans, and on the ultimate leg of its delivery flight, the Island of Vatulele (DQ-FAN) flew 5,300 miles from Singapore to Fiji using a mix of Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
Have you ever flown on the Fiji Airways’ A350 yet? Tell us within the comments.