Fiji Airways' Lovely A350 Business Class Experience

I flew Fiji Airlines from Brisbane to LAX on a 737 and a330 to LAX. They are the most hospitable and gracious as they come. Love them.

Do also AA Emerald (ExecPlat) have access to the Qantas lounge in LAX flying Fiji business class?

Would you be willing to try Aircalin? I don't really see that many trip reports if any on them.

Yes we did, flying to and from FT Oz Fest held in SYD in late May. We were similarly impressed.

Ben, do you know if lounge access on arrival is available to passengers with a connecting flight on AS? I booked this award in the opposite direction and will be flying home on AS on the same ticket. My connecting flights are in Y due to no domestic F availability if it matters. I also have OWE through AA Plat Pro status.

If you were allowed into the Qantas First lounge at LAX, I think it was by mistake! Oneworld Connect airlines don’t have F lounge access. The one exception is if you’re flying FJ on a QF flight number and have Platinum status or higher with Qantas.

Hi Ben,
Thank you for the great review on FJ.
Cheers,
Tan

I’ve only ever flown Fiji once in business, and a few times in economy, and I’m yet to take an on time flight. 5 years ago, I flew back on my birthday (so I could celebrate in 3 countries in one day), but FJ had other plans, cancelling my flight altogether. Have avoided them ever since, they’ve always been awful.

@Lucky taking this one soon (thanks to you). Which would you recommend between the three - Star Alliance Lounge, Oneworld lounge, or AA Flagship?

Lucky is a OW Emerald member. He got access based on that account. I think this is why Lucky pointed out in the article about luck if you are a One World Emerald member.

Thanks for sharing.
The picture of the heavily-spiced and somewhat smashed vegetable curry with black rice may not be appealing to a foreigner. Instead, the Fiji Business class could offer one of Fiji's popular national cuisines like Kokoda, Taro, Nama, Okra or others.

Are you aware that Qantas owns 46% of FJ with the government actually holding approximately 52%

Unrelated, but sounds like DL will be announcing new international routes out of LAX on 9/29 with the unveiling of the next phase of Delta Sky Way. Let the speculation begin.

I judge airlines on the ability to provide an edible breakfast and it would appear that the FJ offering heralds a 'tick' in that department. Cannot wait for the full review as it may alter the way I fly across the Pacific if QF do not up their F game.

I was also refused access to the QF F lounge in MEL due to FJ being a Oneworld connect member.

The FJ lounge in Nadi has one of the best F&B setups of any airline I’ve been to. Great airline.

Making use of Alaskas stopover program en route to Australia? Adds a bit of time compared to direct flights but less than routing through Asia plus can spend some time on the beach. I did jfk to Tokyo to Sydney and that was a very long day

I’d recommend flagship and now they’ve connect the terminals airside. I think it’s like a 5 min walk from TBIT

I’d recommend flagship and now they’ve connect the terminals airside. I think it’s like a 5 min walk from TBIT. Star alliance lounge has nice views of the terminal but food quality was kinda meh

I think John's point is that OW Emerald members (that's what QF Platinum is) aren't supposed to get access to QF First if they're flying on a OW Connect flight (like FJ) unless they're on a OW carrier ticket (such as a QF flight number). I don't know if they should be admitted (and it was a mistake by the staff not to admit the other posters who were denied access) or if Ben was admitted when he shouldn't have been.

What really caught my eye in this review was the statement that QF did not have Wifi on its long haul fleet. I'm astonished!

If I’m not mistaken, the CEO of Fuji Airways is Andre Viljoen. He was formally in a senior position at South African Airways (before the rot set in) and ran it very well. Pity he’s not back at SAA!

Exactly. Oneworld Emerald members do not get access to Oneworld First Class lounges when flying FJ. The one exception is that Qantas will allow its own Platinum/Platinum One members into their F lounge if they're booked on the QF flight number. If you're booked on the FJ flight number then no entry.

FJ looks great, but at least for OPM travel I think UA is sort of the obvious choice for US-Australia. Sure the food sucks but nonstops to SYD, MEL, and BNE with the option of a relaxed connection in SFO instead of a crazy one at LAX. Fast wifi and really quite good seats. The crews do run very senior but they've always been friendly and polite.

The coach product is not nearly as good. Also, while you have lots of lounge options at KAX, an Emerald member of one world via Alaska CANNOT access the Fiji lounge in Nadi. (One can with a business class tix, but not with "only" Emerald status. And it is specific to Alaska because I asked and was told if it was thru BA, then I would qualify.

The coach product is not nearly as good. Also, while you have lots of lounge options at KAX, an Emerald member of one world via Alaska CANNOT access the Fiji lounge in Nadi. (One can with a business class tix, but not with "only" Emerald status. And it is specific to Alaska because I asked and was told if it was thru BA, then I would qualify.

We much prefer the Air Tahiti Nui business class arrangement where we can sit next to each other and still have a window seat. If I was still only flying for work solo, I would prefer the single pod setup I guess, but for heavily tourist destinations like Tahiti, (or Hawaii, or Fiji) I think the paired seats are preferable. We even wish United would "downgrade" the 787 Tahiti cabin away from Polaris and back to the older style seats which we much preferred, having taken both arrangements to Tahiti.

On my recent flight, crepes were an option. Really delicious! Vastly better than the omelette.

Bear in mind that Fiji normally departs from the west gates at TBIT so it’s the 5 min walk from terminal 4 plus another 10 to 15 minutes.

Yesterday my wife and I flew Fiji Airways Business Class from LAX to Sydney via Nadi on their A350-900 aircraft. I have flown Business Class on a number of international airlines. Fiji airlines has a great Business Class product. The seats are very comfortable and private. I was able to easily sleep from LAX to Nadi. The food was very good and filling. The service provided by the flight attendants was outstanding. I am looking forward to our next flight on Fiji Airlines A350-900.

UA, AA, QF and DL are all about 35 to 40% more expensive direct vs Fiji at present - like a cartel.

The Specs on the interior of the A350 XWB 941, are exclusively that of FIJI AIRWAYS & never that of HONG KONG AIRLINES. There was a design team from FJ that travelled to Toulouse, to choose these specs, being specifically Fijian in theme, as a boutique airline of the South Pacific.