Fiji Airways is dropping its newest and longest route to the United States, under two years after launching the service.
Continue reading: Fiji Airways Drops Nadi To Dallas Flights, Blames Changing Demand Patterns
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
ben did you see royal jordanian is going daily at DFW? a tale of two airlines https://x.com/ishriona/status/2047867234089832767?s=61
It was an odd route. LAX/SFO makes sense. Their a350 is nice. NAN needs work; lounge there is fine; reliability, timeliness is an issue.
Fiji is growing as a transit hub for Australians travelling to North America, and Australian tourism to the US is down.
As an American who traveled to Fiji this past winter for 2 weeks, I'd have to say I was "underwhelmed". Yes, some of the nature is beautiful, but nothing that stands out as compared to visiting Bahamas, Guam, Hawaii or other tropical Isle. Actually, the beaches themselves were worse and rocky. Service at hotels are okay, but I often felt they go way overboard with their approach and also the "Bula" a hundred times a day gets a bit tiring. Plus always asking for tips is a big turn off. I also got into a heated argument with a total ass of a Fiji Airways employee at the airport it was by far the worst airline experiences I have ever had with a ground crew. Once on the airline itself, the plane itself felt dated and service was so so. So, not surprised if they are struggling with visitors. I had just flown from Japan which was an amazing experience as always and Fiji was a huge downgrade from that experience. Have no desire to ever visit Fiji again.
The guy thinks Guam has more to offer than Fiji.
Guess he stayed his entire stay in a crappy downtown NADI airport motel....
Think NAN is a very unique airport. As an avgeek, I just love being able to see my aircraft before boarding or after exiting without any glass barrier in between.
And as a destination, I would love going back to Fiji again.
But Fiji Airways is a massive letdown. The service is mediocre and the soft product is pretty average.
Spouse and I flew this DFW - NAN flight on Fiji air in February 2025. This was shortly after the route was initiated. We flew business and used AA miles. Access to the DFW Flagship lounge was approved just a week or so before our flight and was very much enjoyed.
The aircraft was a bit dated but acceptable. The service was very attentive and friendly. Food was good but not outstanding. All in all a great use of AA miles. We were not expecting an SQ-style experience and so were not disappointed.
We stayed at the Intercontinental for ten days and loved it. The property was good to very good overall. An arguably world-class beach was right on the property and adjacent to the very nice and well-maintained hotel swimming pool.
The staff at the Intercontinental was very friendly and attentive. The food was good and plentiful. Yes, everyone said the "Bula" greeting constantly. But it was so obviously sincerely welcoming that it never struck us as annoying.
There were many Australians there. We talked to quite a few who were the typically friendly folks that we have met around the world. I asked several why fly from Sydney, for example, to Fiji instead of the Gold Coast or northern Queensland. There are thousands of miles of gorgeous beaches in Oz. The usual answer was "It's a great value for the money here in Fiji".
We didn't go off the Intercontinental property much so can't comment about the rest of Fiji except to say that the drive from NAN to the resort was through definitely "second world" areas. The Fiji people were great but do not expect too much regarding infrastructure.
We flew onward from Fiji to Oz. Fiji makes a great intermediate stop enroute to Australia or New Zealand if you have enough time.
@Minos
Not quite. The "guy" flew business class each way and stayed at Raiwasa on Taveuni Island, Intercontinental Fiji, and Hilton Nadi. Didn't say Guam had "more" to offer, just said Fiji was basically just another tropical isle with beaches (worse beaches actually, more rocky once you get in) , palm trees, mountains and hills etc Plus with worse service overall (sometimes kind of "weird" service) . If you feel differently, to each his own.
Are they traveling to Dallas though? If they are connectin on AA from DFW then there are far superior one-stop options from Australia
Load factor? That's a Tim-Dunn-favorite!
But, to the rest of us, it's.. NAN.. of our business.
A disappointment to this DFW-based traveler. They always had rock-bottom fares to the South Pacific, and were a viable one-stop competitor to Qantas.
I guess I'll have to transit to LAX now.
We love the IC as well, and like you mention if you don’t expect SQ services levels, FJ is pretty good.
We ventured off the resort during both our trips to Fiji. Once to do zip lining at the Sleeping Giant and once to visit the adjacent Navo island for cave exploration and snorkeling.
Fiji is to Australia what Mexico is to the USA: a cheap place for vacations. Nadi is their Cancun. All restaurant menus in Fiji show prices in Australian dollars. That tells you who is vacationing there. That said, just like Mexico, Fiji is a poor country and outside the resorts the scenery can be bleak. The InterContinental is nice but but surrounded by locals hawking services and products, riding horses an washing them on the beach, definitely not world class.
Quick plug for Fiji. We recently completed our second visit. If you’re into diving or snorkeling, it’s unbeatable with absolutely stunning reefs. Beaches aren’t everywhere, but there are some real gems. The strong Fijian culture is another big highlight and the people are super friendly.
The hawking by the locals has definitely reduced, and on our most recent trip we got to know some of them quite well - lovely and kind people!
Of all the beaches we have visited in the world, Natadola has been the best.
Plus when we travel, we love staying at the nice resorts but also exploring the country to give our kids a better world view, than just OC.
Next time we are in Fiji, I plan to go fishing with one of the locals we met.
I am impacted by this NAN-DFW route cancellation. Had secured J for Feb 2027 via BA Avios. Interested to see what Fiji remediation will be, other than offering a 100% redeposit at no cost.
I think this sort of route has to be available for some time as people slowly learn about it and take advantage. Apart from the hub status, though, I doubt Texas itself is providing a lot of Fiji-bound travelers...
I think you’ll find that Bali, and more specifically Kuta/Seminyak, is our Cancun. Fiji is where you host your medical conference, or take your kids or elderly parents. Do please continue to lecture people on stuff you don’t know anything about, though!
I cant speak to beaches but I am an avid scuba diver and underwater photographer and Fiji is way better than any place in the Caribbean and certainly far far better than the Bahamas. To be honest, if you are just going to hang at a resort or a beach then from the US, especially the east coast, the Bahamas ans Caribbean make sense. If you're going to dive or snorkel or experience tje South Pacific then Fiji makes sense. I hope and pray Fiji never becomes the Bahamas or as developed as most of the Caribbean, which is why their reefs are dead and dying.
Ditto, I used Qantas miles for which I have no use except overpriced award tickets on AA and BA
@Ben, what I found kind of amazing is that the email showing the cancellation indicated I'd be offered an alternative routing by May 18!
One of the best things that happened to me this year was trudging through the snow and -34 degree weather to work in January, and hearing my boss tell me, "Do you think you could do a last-minute work trip to Fiji for two weeks?"
I live in Canada, but deliberately chose to connect in Dallas instead of Vancouver en route to Nadi because YVR-NAN flights in January were operated by the inferior Fiji Airways A330, whereas my DFW-NAN flight was operated by the A350, which has a nicer J class.
Since Fiji Airways has decided to increase frequency on the Vancouver flight and allocate more frequent A350 on the YVR route, the fact that DFW-NAN will be canceled is actually good news for me.
I was booked on BNE>NAN>DFW next Feb. So far they have rerouted me to LAX, but no offer to continue on to DFW with AA.
Update: Just got my new itinerary. DFW to NAN is replaced with LAX to NAN. Will call tomorrow to plead my case, but as of now it appears getting to LAX from DFW is my problem.
@MandN
To each his own. There are many who also think Guam and Hawaii and the Bahamas are overdone. As for rocky beaches....well Guam and Hawaii have those in abundance too. I'm amazed at people who think that literally every island has to bounded by white sand.
There’s no point running an A350 that’s only half-full, especially if a lot of those pax are OneWorld points redemptions. Commercial reality dictates that if the seats don’t sell for cash, the plug gets pulled.
My sister & I are flying MIA-DFW-NAN-CHC next week. A nicer connection for us to avoid the dreaded MIA-LAX A-321 flight.
What about the 84 people from Fiji who live in Dallas? It’s like no one even considered them in this decision!
Beware the scam I encountered at a large souvenir store in Fiji. At the upstairs cash register, she rang up my items and tapped my credit card and told me the card machine wasn't working so let's switch registers. We went to the downstairs cash register and repeated and she said everything went through ok. The upstairs and downstairs had different shop names but both transactions posted on my credit card bill. No way to prove what happened.
Likewise, same story for me. Rerouted NAN-LAX in J, and there it ends. No onward connection to DFW on AA despite all being Oneworld. I would opt for NAN-SFO, if that works instead.
What is the outcome? I’ve got rerouted NAN-LAX too - unhelpful call centre Fijians unwilling to connect me to DFW with AA