Fiji Airways

We were booked to fly on October 15 at 6.30am to Fiji. When we arrived to check in at Sydney airport at 5.00am we learned the flight was cancelled and a replacement could not be arranged for 12 hours. The excuse given was bad weather in Sydney the night before. We were to leave on the 19th October and had paid extra to book seats etc and when we arrive to check in at 07.30 for our 09.00 flight we were told the flight was oversold and that there were no seats available. About 8 other passengers were told the same thing. The Fiji representative refused to meet us and sent messages via the check in staff who are not employees of the airline. Virgin Australia came to our rescue.

Was very disappointed from the start. Was sent a text at 2.20pm stating flight changed to 5.45 the next morning. As I was on my way from Brisbane to Melbourne to catch this flight I had to find somewhere to stay for the night. The flight was then delayed again till 6.30am. The service is nothing great. But sitting watching a movie in a small screen above the seats 3 row in front is disappointing. On the trip back my seat did not recline. On the upside the food was beautiful. I will not be travelling with Fifi Airways again.

Economy from BNE-NAN then Biz NAN-LAX. Fly with Fiji alot and are very rarely disappointed. Both flights were good and the tidy up with the lounge in NAN has improved it as well. Flew home Biz with Qantas and their food was nowhere near as good as Fiji's. We have never had a problem with any of the cabin staff. Will be using them again in February and look forward to it.

Sydney - Nadi outbound Aug 14 return Sept 14. Very happy with both flights. Departed on time and both arrived slightly early. Outbound was A330 inbound 737. Both planes clean and efficient. Service was fine friendly but not in-your-face (others may see this as distant). Food was fine - pasta with chicken coleslaw and a cake I was happy with it. A330 is the new plane with in-seat screens for entertainment and a 2-4-2 config. Entertainment selection was fine - a few movies and TV shows and decent range of music. Kids' programs unavailable on our flight (unfortunately). 737 has overhead screens with single film offering (not suitable for under 10s). Price comparable to Virgin's no-frills offering service was far better.

We flew SYD-NADI 21 Aug 2014 on B737/800. Check in was efficient. As we were running late after a hold up going though security we had to rush through duty free and find our way to the gate. All the way to the end. We had to run as they announcing gate close time in 5 mins. We made it with another couple who just flown in from London via Dubai. We left promptly at 6.30am. Breakfast was slow in being served but it was tasty and hot. Coffee was good too but was slow in coming. Crew were nice and offered all the passengers Fiji beer prior to our arrival at Nadi. Entertainment is from drop down screens for movies. Music channels have a good selection. Our luggage was off in quickly and we were out of arrivals in about 30 mins to wait for party from NZ.

I flew from Auckland to Nadi on FJ410 and back a week later on FJ411 both flights were on the new Airbus A330. On the way over the food was terrible Udon noodles next so some pieces of chicken it was the worst airline food I have ever had. The flight on the way back put me off Fiji Airlines the pilot seemed to try to take off to soon and but the noise of the aircraft back on the ground before trying to take off again about 5 seconds later. The food on the way back was marginality better but only just edible. The entertainment system was ok some of the settings were "unavailable for this flight" there were about 10 movies and 10 TV shows to chose from at least half of these were Indian and a few were Chinese but most were in English. The landing back at Auckland was fast but smooth and was the only point on this flight. The attendants were always nice and cheerful. All up only fly with this airline if you want to think you are going to die from lack of oxygen when the air conditioning unit starts making sounds.

I recently had to fly from Port Vila to Suva for work. Fiji Airways has recently purchased some new ATR planes for these shorter-leg routes. The problem is these planes don't have enough storage capacity to fit everyone's luggage if the flight is full. On the Vila-Suva leg the passengers weren't told that all of our luggage had been offloaded and left in Vila until some time after we arrived in Suva and stood around waiting in the baggage claim area. The customer service was pretty much non-existent and it took 2 days to get our bags. The return flight to Vila the following Sunday used the same airplane with the same result. It's now been 3 days and no word about our luggage. It's not lost; they know exactly where it is but they won't send it to us or contact us on its status. No FA staff met us in Vila and have been ignoring repeated emails. Avoid Fiji Airways if you can!

Recently I traveled LAX-NAN-SYD and return and I must say I was very pleasantly surprised! This airline is rated 3 stars but should be higher. I traveled in business class and wasn't sure what to expect reading less than kind reviews but I was very happy with the service. The seat was very comfortable for sleeping and the FA's were very kind and pleasant. the meals were fine and the lavatories were kept clean through out the flight. There is a mandatory layover in Nadi for 3+ hours in each direction but the lounge is pleasant enough though rudimentary.

Christchurch to Fiji FJ451 and left Christchurch on 2nd August 2014 left Fiji for Christchurch on 9th August 2014. I found that Fiji Airways were pretty good. Plenty of leg room. Helpful flight attendants. The food wasn't so good but plane food is renowned to be bad! I would definitely fly with them again.

On transit in Nadi my name was not on the passenger list even though I had a ticket. According to a Fiji Airways representative this was normal: the communication between their central reservations and the airport could be better. Our flight to Honiara was aborted over Vanuatu and we returned to Nadi where Port Vila passengers were told to leave the plane and the rest of us were informed that we would have direct flight to Honiara. This departed three-and-half hours later. Two hours were spent matching the boarding passes with passenger lists. We arrived in Honiara at night after a six hour delay. The once-in-a-week return flight Honiara - Nadi was cancelled. There would have been alternative connections with empty seats e.g. Honiara - Port Moresby - Nadi for passengers such as myself who had a Fiji Airways connection to LAX but we were left stranded there without re- routing help or information. I never saw a Fiji Airways representative after the problems surfaced. Personally I managed to buy a Virgin Australia seat to Brisbane at a local travel agency a visa to Australia at the airport and book transit accommodation in the Internet connecting with my Nadi - LAX flight the next day just on time. In Nadi not even a single apology was heard. The next time I will spend a little more for a more reliable service and skip Fiji altogether instead of risking a need to by a second ticket to reach my destination.