Fiji Airways has announced that it will be launching flights to Canada, marking the carrier’s third route to continental North America.
Continue reading: Fiji Airways Launching Vancouver Flights
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Air Pacific served YVR via HNL using its 737-800. So now the rebranded Fiji Airways resumes the route.
Why YVR, vs SEA, I suspect it has to do with links to Commonwealth and fact that YVR has a large Indian diaspora and a huge chunk of the Fijian population has Indian descent.
I think Air Pacific flew to YVR once upon a time (via HNL) so it's sort of technically a relaunch. In addition to potentially not trying to go head to head with TN in SEA, I am also wondering if they are trying to capture connections in NAN to Australia, NZ and the South Pacific as I wouldn't think the VFR Fijian market in YVR or the Canada to Fiji vacation market are of sufficient size?
Good news hopefully it is a direct flight ✈️ not like before had to stop over in Honolulu go thru customs.
When do the tickets go on sale? Any guesses when I can book with my Alaska miles?
There is a much larger population of former Fiji residents who have immigrated to the greater Vancouver area. It's a no brainer.
Why surprised it goes to YVR? That's the second largest airport in the country and the Western Hub for most flights over the Atlantic. I for one am super excited and unsurprised about a great route to hit Australia and Fiji! SEA nowhere near that ranking in it's country
This will be full of Australian skiers in the northern winter, and probably still full of Australians in the northern summer. Lower yielding than the direct routes but I’m sure it will help fill the planes.
with direct flights so expensive, this will be full of Aussies I'd imagine, similar to some of their US flights
How is award availability? I couldn't find a single seat in any class so far using Alaska miles.
Fiji is a very popular destination for Canadians who then continue on to NZ and Australia.
Canadian Pacific serverd Nadi for many years until they merged with Air Canada.
In 80s they flew a 747 daily -from Sydney to Vancouver via Nadi & Honolulu. I flew on it in March 86 and it was totally full!
They also flew a DC10 from Auckland via Nadi and Honolulu to Vancouver in 90s. I flew Auckland - Nadi on it,with a Qantas issued ticket for an Air NZ code share flight on a Canadian aircraft to Fiji!!!
In a press release in Adelaide this week, where they have just resumed service, Fiji airways stated they were particularly targeting Australian passengers outside Sydney ofering transfer in Fiji rather than crowded Sydney. Flights were being retimed to make for quick and easy connection.
They also said they were planning on making Nadi a popular transfer point to direct services to points other than LAX with Seattle a possibility
Rumours also of Nadi - Cairns service to start soon and Nadi -Perth!
Bingo ! Thank you Aniljak. You are today's winner.
It should also be remembered that SEA has been on QF's radar for quite a while. The proposed BNE-ORD-BNE was due to start at the very start of COVID .. and subsequently shelved. The decision to serve ORD was a tight-fought contest between ORD and SEA.
To put this in context, QF has a 46% shareholding in Fiji Airways and I am sure that QF certainly still holds designs on SEA, but at more than 2 services a week. As Aniljak correctly points out, YVR is a proven leisure market which Fiji Airways can enter with a relatively light initial schedule and build out as required.
SEA on the other hand is a different market, which has a considerable business demand, which would require more than a 2x a week service. I can't recall any direct services out of SEA to NAN in the past 40 odd years, so demand would be a guesstimate by everyone, at this stage - purely because SEA inhabitants currently have to fly SEA-LAX/SFO or SEA-HNL and change aircraft to NAN.
Fiji Airways is a well run, conservative carrier who over recent years have began building an excellent reputation for service. Their new fleet of A350's and A330's are not inexhaustable and new aircraft are not cheap, but they are managing to add new routes to their network.
US gateways are easier for French travelers who use them en route to French Polynesia, and for that matter Tahitians who are French citizens. Canada is the North American country of choice for those parts of the world that have to meet stringent US visa requirements, even for tourists.
My recollection was it was all DC10-30 service on the South Pacific services with arrivals timed to arrive Into and out of HNL as a scissor Hub from YYZ YYC and YVR. The AKL would most of the time run via NAN but in the later years ran nonstop. They occasionally stopped in Nuku’alofa IIRC. The SYD service had to stop in NAN unless it was operated by one of the wardair 742’s from HNL-Syd but still often did stop in nan.
As a kid this was a frequent run of mine as I grew up in NZ and my dads family was in YVR
Wonder if Fiji would make a pit-stop to Rarotonga (RAR) on the way to NAN, now that NZ has canceled their LAX-RAR sevice?
Ben, it'd be great to see an article about Fiji Air not issuing any J award inventory for the past 6-8 months. At least with AA awards. What's behind it and if that's the new normal.
I've been trying to ferret out -- if it's temporary to recoup covid lost funds with buy-up upgrades, or a more 'permanent' policy decision to no longer release J award inventory to One World partners.
The usual forums have been fairly quiet on it. No one seems to know what's going on. Several airlines aren't releasing J awards this summer but they're available in 2023. Not Fiji Air though.
Fiji Airways chose YVR because there are about 90k FIJIANS LIVE in British Columbia
There is a significantly large Fijian Indian expat community located in ,YVR and the route was previously served by CP Air..Air New Zealand (via HNL) plus a previous service by FJ using Narrow body aircraft via HNL. all well supported.
There's an ethnic Fijian community of around 80,000 in Canada. They're partly catering to that market.
This isn't their first service to Vancouver. They operated for a few years in the late 1990s/early 2000s (when their name was Air Pacific) using the Boeing 737-800 with a stop in Honolulu.
Canadian Pacific/CP Air served Nadi for several decades starting in 1949 until at least the 1980s as a stop on their route to Australia.
They will still get AS feed. They fly SEA-YVR many times per day. It's a short hop & worth the views. Too bad no 350. Still have to go to LAX for that.
Really like your articles actually. However, small niggle, in aviation we use the 24hr clock. No am/pm .
Bula Ben, I'm delighted that you wrote about your experience with Fiji Airways as I am from Fiji. Truly appreciate the time you spent on this as I love Fiji Airways!
I would question the comparison between Seattle and Vancouver. Despite their proximity to one another, they are totally different markets.
Seattle is clearly the wealthier and stronger business market, flush with iconic technology and other corporate giants.
Vancouver is the stronger leisure market, with more inbound tourism and VFR-related traffic, thanks to so many new immigrants. (VFR = visiting friends and relatives.)
I would also question the notion that Vancouver is an affluent market. Maybe it is, in terms of wealthy inbound tourists from Europe and Asia going on cruises and exploring real estate investment opportunities...
...but, as an outbound market, it really isn't. In fact Canada as a whole is known as a low-yield market compared with the US and other developed countries.
In terms of average income, Vancouver is roughly the same as Omaha, but with sky-high real estate prices thanks in large part to foreign investment (this is from a Bloomberg piece from a few years ago focused on the Vancouver real estate market).
There are rather few corporate HQs compared with Seattle, and they're focused on mining/resources, which employ few high management types or knowledge professionals. There are some tech workers/startups, but it's a faint echo of Seattle.
Ken did you ever fly that route? I did. To get to Sydney from Canada, YVR to HON to NAN to SYD. The NAN flight left Fiji at 3 a.m. to arrive at the designated Australian arrival window. Flying has come a long way since the 80s!
Yvr is the oviouse choice, working in the airline industry ,seatle much smaller airport with 1 runway the delays of just landing n taking off is horrible.
It's a not a surprise at all actually. Largish Fijian population or defendants around Vancouver, easier access through customs - USA is such a nightmare, Aussies coming to BC to ski (which is by far the best skiing in North America) in the winter.
Not a surprise at all... YVR is much more of an international airport than SEA.... Much easier transit connections, either international or US Transborder... This feeds into the Canadian market, the US market is well served through SFO and LAX...so much for being a so called aviation expert... do your homework
Remember though, CP Air coupled with Quantas, had to stop somewhere in the 80s and 90s... they could not get from Vancouver to Australia otherwise...
There was an actual TRANSIT mode stop in HNL, where passengers got off the plane in a sterile transit area in HNL to change planes, without going through US Customs...... during that time
Americans, except for the military, are incapable of understanding a 24 hour clock....
MATE you need to learn how to spell the name of one of the oldest airlines in the world
Fed UP Guest
July 7, 2022, 7:11 am
Remember though, CP Air coupled with Quantas, had to stop somewhere in the 80s
Try QANTAS
Hi, do you know what lounge access Fiji Airways Business Class passengers get at Vancouver.