malmacdowall
Member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2009
- Posts
- 394
TR Fiji with Mrs Mac and the Jnr Burgers.
Were up before sparrows fart, its 3 degrees and its time to seek out some fun in the sun. It's 3:30 am and were off to the airport with Mrs Mac, Master Mac 14, and the junior burgers 12 &11..... It's FIJI time.....
Having had enough of the MEL winter, we decided to seek out some warmth. Mrs Macs criteria - A beach, sun and a Spa..... So having looked at Port Douglas or Cairns, we decided that those same Aussie Dollars could buy us airfares to a Pacific Island. A recommendation from a friend and a preference for DJ flights, led me to Fiji.... I found that the flexible fares were cheaper than the sale fares and snapped them up for all 4 legs.
So 4 weeks later, we take off from MEL to BNE on the 6am DJ303. We arrived early and arrived at check in. Mrs Mac commented on the length of the queue as we walked to the vacant Premium Check in desk... The junior burgers clearly impressed with their first taste of GOLD treatment.
A quick check in saw us off to the lounge for some breaky for the 20 mins before the flight..... " is all this for free dad?" clearly impressing the 14yo.... We sat by the windows on the tall red chairs and enjoyed The Lounge hospitality. I sat looking out towards gate 2 and saw the new BSI aircraft... A quick check of the boarding pass confirmed that would be our aircraft.
A great start to the holiday as it is my first trip on the BSI.
Quickly finishing off the cappuccino we bid farewell to the lounge angels and headed round to priority queue at screening... (which they had left the side barrier open and was full of general population...)
A quick glance at the explosives guy confirmed I would be selected for the complimentary vacuuming .....
Around at gate 2 boarding had started and the queues were long again.... In my best DYKWIA moment I called " follow me kids, we boards from the priority lane"... Nice work dad.....
DJ303.
The new interior of the aircraft provides a very different feel. The upwards sloping luggage lockers certainly create the feeling of openness and space.
The seats in Y were good but the lack of IFE is a drawback.
Knee shot in Y
Looking back from the forward galley
Also the lower lumbar support in the seat is non existent. The support is not so much of an issue but the fact that you get pushed in the back every time the PAX behind you puts a paper in and out of the pocket is a pain.
The complementary Flexible fare complimentary breakfast Included an orange juice, a carrot cake muffin and a muesli bar.... Plus a tea or coffee...
A smooth flight to BNE and a bus transition to the international terminal was pretty painless.
The luggage had been checked through to NAN and we had already been issued a BP for the next leg. We fell into the trap of using the airport Currency Exchange and instead of the current rate of $1Aud to FJ$1.80 we got FJ$1.51.... no wonder they don't charge a commission... They are al ready robbing you blind.
Transiting customs and a quick stop at Duty Free (Tanquery No 10.... ) we were off to wait for our next flight
DJ 175 9:45 BNE to NAN...
This was an older Pacific Blue aircraft again with no IFE. But the upgrade to row 3 was a nice touch.
The flight was pretty smooth 3:15 flight with the complimentary Flexible lunch consisting of the ham and cheese wrap, juice or soft drink and Lindt dark choc with orange. At the start of the flight the hostess announced that the service was a trial and that they would be graded by on flight assessors.
This flight would turn out for the worst for them IMHO. The initial drinks service took in excess of 1hr and then the front galley started serving the meals but then realized that the rear hadn't completed thebdrinks service or prepared the Flexible meals trolley.... Another 40 mins later and the flexible meals were handed out followed eventually by the main food service.... For some PAX who chose the hot meal options. There was barely enough time to gulp down the meal before the frantic cleanup as we began descending. Seriously .... Can the addition of hot meals really add that much time, considering that this was a 3hr 15min flight (compare this to the virgin service on MEL to SYD....)
We arrived at NAN on time and were greater by Fijian singers and quickly passed through customs, gathered our bags, joined the shorter "goods to declare" queue and declared the packet of biscuits and was promptly waived through.
We had arranged a private mini van transfer with TTF (only costing F$60 extra) compared to our 5 Pax transfers on the shuttle bus that left at a similar time. Our transfer to the Naviti Resort took just over 2hrs compared to about 4hrs on the transfer coach that stops at many resorts on the way
Were up before sparrows fart, its 3 degrees and its time to seek out some fun in the sun. It's 3:30 am and were off to the airport with Mrs Mac, Master Mac 14, and the junior burgers 12 &11..... It's FIJI time.....
Having had enough of the MEL winter, we decided to seek out some warmth. Mrs Macs criteria - A beach, sun and a Spa..... So having looked at Port Douglas or Cairns, we decided that those same Aussie Dollars could buy us airfares to a Pacific Island. A recommendation from a friend and a preference for DJ flights, led me to Fiji.... I found that the flexible fares were cheaper than the sale fares and snapped them up for all 4 legs.
So 4 weeks later, we take off from MEL to BNE on the 6am DJ303. We arrived early and arrived at check in. Mrs Mac commented on the length of the queue as we walked to the vacant Premium Check in desk... The junior burgers clearly impressed with their first taste of GOLD treatment.
A quick check in saw us off to the lounge for some breaky for the 20 mins before the flight..... " is all this for free dad?" clearly impressing the 14yo.... We sat by the windows on the tall red chairs and enjoyed The Lounge hospitality. I sat looking out towards gate 2 and saw the new BSI aircraft... A quick check of the boarding pass confirmed that would be our aircraft.
A great start to the holiday as it is my first trip on the BSI.
Quickly finishing off the cappuccino we bid farewell to the lounge angels and headed round to priority queue at screening... (which they had left the side barrier open and was full of general population...)
A quick glance at the explosives guy confirmed I would be selected for the complimentary vacuuming .....
Around at gate 2 boarding had started and the queues were long again.... In my best DYKWIA moment I called " follow me kids, we boards from the priority lane"... Nice work dad.....
DJ303.
The new interior of the aircraft provides a very different feel. The upwards sloping luggage lockers certainly create the feeling of openness and space.
The seats in Y were good but the lack of IFE is a drawback.
Knee shot in Y
Looking back from the forward galley
Also the lower lumbar support in the seat is non existent. The support is not so much of an issue but the fact that you get pushed in the back every time the PAX behind you puts a paper in and out of the pocket is a pain.
The complementary Flexible fare complimentary breakfast Included an orange juice, a carrot cake muffin and a muesli bar.... Plus a tea or coffee...
A smooth flight to BNE and a bus transition to the international terminal was pretty painless.
The luggage had been checked through to NAN and we had already been issued a BP for the next leg. We fell into the trap of using the airport Currency Exchange and instead of the current rate of $1Aud to FJ$1.80 we got FJ$1.51.... no wonder they don't charge a commission... They are al ready robbing you blind.
Transiting customs and a quick stop at Duty Free (Tanquery No 10.... ) we were off to wait for our next flight
DJ 175 9:45 BNE to NAN...
This was an older Pacific Blue aircraft again with no IFE. But the upgrade to row 3 was a nice touch.
The flight was pretty smooth 3:15 flight with the complimentary Flexible lunch consisting of the ham and cheese wrap, juice or soft drink and Lindt dark choc with orange. At the start of the flight the hostess announced that the service was a trial and that they would be graded by on flight assessors.
This flight would turn out for the worst for them IMHO. The initial drinks service took in excess of 1hr and then the front galley started serving the meals but then realized that the rear hadn't completed thebdrinks service or prepared the Flexible meals trolley.... Another 40 mins later and the flexible meals were handed out followed eventually by the main food service.... For some PAX who chose the hot meal options. There was barely enough time to gulp down the meal before the frantic cleanup as we began descending. Seriously .... Can the addition of hot meals really add that much time, considering that this was a 3hr 15min flight (compare this to the virgin service on MEL to SYD....)
We arrived at NAN on time and were greater by Fijian singers and quickly passed through customs, gathered our bags, joined the shorter "goods to declare" queue and declared the packet of biscuits and was promptly waived through.
We had arranged a private mini van transfer with TTF (only costing F$60 extra) compared to our 5 Pax transfers on the shuttle bus that left at a similar time. Our transfer to the Naviti Resort took just over 2hrs compared to about 4hrs on the transfer coach that stops at many resorts on the way
