What to expect - Fiji Airways in J

[coyote25]

Hi everyone,

Using QFF points I’m managed to book 2 J awards MEL-NAN-LAX for a trip with my niece as a 18th birthday trip I’ll got planned for her late November 2024.

The flights are FJ934 MEL-NAN on an A330-200 leaving 13:35.

Then after a 2 hour 25 minute transit at Nadi Airport we go onto FJ810 NAN-LAX on an A350-900 leaving 21:40.

Not having used FJ before I’d appreciate any insights AFFers can provide on the likely experiences including:

- Flying on A330-200 what it’s like and best seats for 2 J PAX (noting not every seat has direct aisle access)?

- What’s the FJ Lounge like in NAN?

- Will there be any issues transiting in NAN?

- Flying on FJ A350-900 what to expect and best J seats (I’ll probably pick two windows seats any downside seats)?

This will be my nieces first long haul international flight so I want to make it a good one.

I understand what to expect at the MEL QF J Lounge LOL

After spending a few days in LAX the plan is to visit Ecuador for a visit to the Quito and then the Amazon before moving onto the highlight - a 10 day boat tour of the Galápagos Islands (my niece loves nature).

Appreciate any insights and assistance.

 

[Michael.B]

- What’s the FJ Lounge like in NAN?

The lounge itself it great and plenty of room. The food is okay and could be better but it’s lounge food so it’s not the worst.

- Will there be any issues transiting in NAN?

Only thing I can think of is you’ll need to go through security as you’re staying in the airport. Get to that queue quick as there’s only 1 security lane (unless it’s changed since last year).

- Flying on FJ A350-900 what to expect and best J seats (I’ll probably pick two windows seats any downside seats)?

Seats are great and go completely flat. Plenty of room and screen is decent. You can lower the isle arm rest too if it’s annoying so you don’t feel boxed in.

This will be my nieces first long haul international flight so I want to make it a good one.

You picked a good first long haul carrier for her. She’ll never want to fly economy long haul haha.

 

[MELso]

A nice present indeed! I've got YVR-NAN-MEL booked in just over a month in J (and MEL-NAN-SFO in Y three months later).

The A332s offer 2-2-2 angled seats but it's a short daytime flight and a step up from the recliners on the 737 Max.

Based on reviews I've seen, the FJ lounge in NAN looks good. It's also accessible by Priority Pass (which I'll be relying on in April)

The A350s have Super Diamond seats, a fairly standard contemporary J product. I've gone for 15K myself, being a window seat midway back.

With respect to transiting in NAN, a tip that I've seen is that, if the security line for transiting passengers is long, it may be quicker to actually enter Fiji (no Visa/ESTA-type document required) and then reclear security through normal means.

 

[coyote25]

With respect to transiting in NAN, a tip that I've seen is that, if the security line for transiting passengers is long, it may be quicker to actually enter Fiji (no Visa/ESTA-type document required) and then reclear security through normal means.

Thanks for the tip for transiting.

Please let me know how your FJ flights go in particular the transit experience and the A350 experience.

 

[MELso]

Fiji Airways Economy Review A350-900 LAX-NAD | blorg - this was where I read the transit tip...

 

[p--and--t]

Following along. I have YVR-NAN-BNE booked (with 3 day transit) in May.

 

[MELso]

I flew back YVR-NAN-MEL today, and the NAN transit situation was a schmozzle with the queue literally out the door to the gates as both the LAX and YVR flights arrive more or less at the same time. I entered Fiji although the person at immigration wasn't thrilled at my doing so. Having said that, it didn't present a problem subsequently, although I did have a fright when I got a 'deny boarding' when it came time to board. It turns out an engineer was trying to fix my seat which had packed it in (they got it working again, but it packed it in again about an hour before landing in MEL).

Was pretty happy with the FJ J product on the A350. When it worked, the Super Diamond seat was more comfortable than either the UA Polaris seat I had flying from SYD to IAH and the AA 77W seat (which I flew from MIA to LAX). Weirdly, the IFE defaults to Mandarin - several people had Chinese text on the screen - probably reflecting the planes' origins with Hong Kong Airlines. The food was also pretty good, although the wine list was lacking. The amenity kit was par for the course, although there were no PJs on offer (I used my Polaris PJs). Service was exceptionally good though - the staff seemed to have a knack of knowing just what I wanted. Lounges both in YVR and NAN were packed athough both had a decent spread of food.

(As an aside, flying into MEL, we had excitement of the wrong sort as we did a go around - watching through the A350's camera, the plane was at quite an angle approaching the runway and touching down but hey, the pilots made the right call and got us down safely which was the main thing.)

 

[coyote25]

I flew back YVR-NAN-MEL today, and the NAN transit situation was a schmozzle with the queue literally out the door to the gates as both the LAX and YVR flights arrive more or less at the same time. I entered Fiji although the person at immigration wasn't thrilled at my doing so. Having said that, it didn't present a problem subsequently, although I did have a fright when I got a 'deny boarding' when it came time to board. It turns out an engineer was trying to fix my seat which had packed it in (they got it working again, but it packed it in again about an hour before landing in MEL).

Was pretty happy with the FJ J product on the A350. When it worked, the Super Diamond seat was more comfortable than either the UA Polaris seat I had flying from SYD to IAH and the AA 77W seat (which I flew from MIA to LAX). Weirdly, the IFE defaults to Mandarin - several people had Chinese text on the screen - probably reflecting the planes' origins with Hong Kong Airlines. The food was also pretty good, although the wine list was lacking. The amenity kit was par for the course, although there were no PJs on offer (I used my Polaris PJs). Service was exceptionally good though - the staff seemed to have a knack of knowing just what I wanted. Lounges both in YVR and NAN were packed athough both had a decent spread of food.

(As an aside, flying into MEL, we had excitement of the wrong sort as we did a go around - watching through the A350's camera, the plane was at quite an angle approaching the runway and touching down but hey, the pilots made the right call and got us down safely which was the main thing.)

Thank you very much for posting your experience it helps greatly in setting expectations.

 

[masco131]

I flew back YVR-NAN-MEL today, and the NAN transit situation was a schmozzle with the queue literally out the door to the gates as both the LAX and YVR flights arrive more or less at the same time. I entered Fiji although the person at immigration wasn't thrilled at my doing so. Having said that, it didn't present a problem subsequently, although I did have a fright when I got a 'deny boarding' when it came time to board. It turns out an engineer was trying to fix my seat which had packed it in (they got it working again, but it packed it in again about an hour before landing in MEL).

Was pretty happy with the FJ J product on the A350. When it worked, the Super Diamond seat was more comfortable than either the UA Polaris seat I had flying from SYD to IAH and the AA 77W seat (which I flew from MIA to LAX). Weirdly, the IFE defaults to Mandarin - several people had Chinese text on the screen - probably reflecting the planes' origins with Hong Kong Airlines. The food was also pretty good, although the wine list was lacking. The amenity kit was par for the course, although there were no PJs on offer (I used my Polaris PJs). Service was exceptionally good though - the staff seemed to have a knack of knowing just what I wanted. Lounges both in YVR and NAN were packed athough both had a decent spread of food.

(As an aside, flying into MEL, we had excitement of the wrong sort as we did a go around - watching through the A350's camera, the plane was at quite an angle approaching the runway and touching down but hey, the pilots made the right call and got us down safely which was the main thing.)

haha thank you for this. Came at the right time. I am flying J SYD-NAN in 2 days in the A350