Air Vanuatu

Customer Reviews

No Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 65 reviews
5/10
No Skytrax Rating
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10/10

"highly recommend Air Vanuatu"

(New Zealand)

Not Verified | Check in at Port Vila was full of smiles, pleasantries and efficient. Handed two seats of boarding passes, one for access to the Lounge at Port Vila and the other to board the flight. Passed through Security and Immigration swiftly and made our way to the Lounge. The Lounge is a private Lounge operated by a third party, it is Air conditioned and has a fridge with refreshments and some snacks, comfortable seating and a view of the tarmac/runways. Very pleasant to stay in the air conditioned comfort whereas the main terminal waiting area is not air conditioned. Boarding was quick and easy and we settled into our Business Class Seats 2A 2C. Once boarding finished, I switched to the other side 2D as 2C was faulty. Pretake off drinks provided at 7am in the morning, Juice or Water only. After a slightly delayed take off, Breakfast was offered, was hot, tasty and just enough. Coffee or tea provided. We were surprised to find no alcoholic beverages are served in both Economy Class and Business Class. No explanation as to why, they just do not service Alcohol, so no Champagne for the wife.... No Wi-Fi or IFE to pass the time, but the seats did have charging ports. The crew were friendly and again full of smiles, perhaps not as attentive as they could have been but then again if we wanted anything (apart from Alcohol) they were there. Flight arrived on time and overall a good flight and would certainly travel Air Vanuatu again. I see on previous reviews there are some very negative comments on Air Vanuatu.. We've travelled extensively and all we can say to those negative people is pull your head in. Delays and disruptions are part and parcel of travel and you deal with it as it comes. In the end, Air Vanuatu got you there didn't they. We highly recommend Air Vanuatu, we booked on-line in Economy Class then negotiated the Business class differential with Air Vanuatu who were obliging to our surprise. Well Done Air Vanuatu..
AircraftBoeing 737-800
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeBusiness Class
RoutePort Vila to Auckland
Date FlownJanuary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
10/10

"Cabin crew were full of smiles"

(New Zealand)

Not Verified | Check in at Port Vila was somewhat chaotic in the Domestic Terminal, however certain check in desks for certain flights ensured you checked in for your flight on-time. Very strict closing times for check in, be warned to check in on time. Boarding announcements were not very clear and any announcements were very hard to hear due to echo in the terminal. Boarding was efficient, greeted by the Smiling crew and that was it really. Pre takeoff checks and we didn't see the crew again until the pre-landing checks were done. There is NO refreshments offered, so take your own. We did on this flight and so glad that we did. Beautiful views to be had heading north to Santo, however things turned to custard on coming into Santo. It was mid-afternoon when the thunderstorms tend to pop up and we could not land at Santo due to the weather. We then endured another 75 minutes back to Port Vila where more chaos ensued. I must say it was the Australians and Americans who were demanding on arrival, wanting compensation and accommodation, their pleas went unanswered as weather issues are not the responsibility of the airline folks.. Found our own hotel for the night, turned up back at the Airport the next afternoon for our replacement flight and off we flew back to Santo and landed on a beautiful afternoon. Cabin crew again were full of smiles on boarding and deplaning, but really they did nothing else. Aircraft was clean, toilet was clean and announcements on the aircraft were much clearer than on some airlines we have travelled. In fairness to Air Vanuatu, they got us there and back and then there again safely, they accommodated us onto an extra special flight due to the disruption, you could not ask for anything else.
AircraftATR72-600
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RoutePort Vila to Luganville
Date FlownJanuary 2024
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
3/10

"Very disappointing!"

(New Zealand)

Trip Verified | We were booked to go to Vanuatu on Tuesday 24 October. Our check in was delayed 1 1/2 hours due to ‘mechanical issues’. Then delayed another hour for it to then be cancelled. We waited around for another hour for you to sort accommodation for us. We were then stuck in Auckland waiting for a new flight with no car, no warm clothes etc. Our new flight time was Thursday 26 October at 1.30pm. This was also then delayed until 8pm. Another day of us waiting around in Auckland. Just as we were getting ready to head to the airport for check in, we found out the flight had once again been delayed! We had had enough by this point and our travel agent ended up getting us on a flight to go back home. Throughout this whole ordeal we have had zero communication or updates from Air Vanuatu, only through our travel agent who was also having trouble getting any answers. We understand there has been a cyclone but we have wasted three days of our holiday waiting around for flights and answers! We were looking forward to this holiday only to have to cancel it. We won’t be flying Air Vanuatu again, purely because of the lack of communication and willingness to give us any answers or updates on what was happening with our flights. Very disappointing!
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteAuckland to Port Vila
Date FlownOctober 2023
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

"Terrible customer service"

(Australia)

Trip Verified | Changed flight details 3 times to only cancel the flight 2 hours before leaving the airport. The airline has left us high and dry with no other information since informing us of the cancellation at 11:30am. It is now 1am the following day. Office is not available outside of business hours and when you can get in touch with them, they can’t tell you anything. Terrible communication and professionalism. Phone line actually cut out mid conversation and they didn’t bother to call back, and that’s when I could get through! Language communication barriers weren’t helpful either and their support team seemed clueless and unable to help at all. We were told by Flight Centre that they are planning a flight on a Monday. This is 3 days after the original departure date. Our holiday was only for 5 nights. I can’t understand how an international airline could have no leasing arrangements with Qantas as they are affiliated with them and the flight numbers are NF and QF. To cancel an international flight with no further communication or support is disgraceful. To not have an emergency flight organised for the next day is really unethical and unfair on paying customers. To make customers wait 3 days for a flight is unacceptable. Terrible customer service. I won’t ever trust Air Vanuatu with my holiday again. What a roller coaster ride. We booked through flight centre and flight centre were not updated by the airline with all of their changes on multiple occasions. We had to ring our travel agent about the cancellation as they had no idea. No one has any idea about anything. Great customer service is gone.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteSydney to Port Vila
Date FlownSeptember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
7/10

"1 accommodation day wasted"

(Australia)

Trip Verified | Cancelled flight for 25 hours then re scheduled flight two hours late, by the time we got to Vanuatu and resort it was 4.00am. 1 accommodation day wasted. Return trip - sat on tarmac 1.5 hours late, 1 toilet only due to one being broken, line up to use, still broken on return trip. Qantas in partnership booked through Qantas for this airline. We went into Air Vanuatu to pre select our seats so our family were all together, when we got on the flight we were all separated. I was in an aisle away from my husband and our other 4 members were moved elsewhere. Disgusting. Losing one day gave us only 5 days and was very tired on the first day. Poor form, anything related to Qantas seems to be very poor of late.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteSydney to Port Vila
Date FlownSeptember 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"customer service was dreadful"

(Australia)

Not Verified | Our flight was cancelled when we were in the check-in queue. The customer service was dreadful and there was no advice on when the flight would be reinstated. We booked with another airline after realising that the flight would be grounded for at least three days (the airline only has one plane). We are still waiting for a refund. The Air Vanuatu website says that the wait for refunds is 'indefinite".
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteMelbourne to Port Vila
Date FlownMay 2023
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"Promised a refund, never received"

(Australia)

Not Verified | Air Vanuatu cancelled our flights. Promised a refund, never received. Lots of emails promising a refund, but it's all lies. Every email thanks us for our patience and they will sort the refund. Now they dont ever bother to answer out correspondence. Look like we have lost $4360.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteSydney to Port Vila
Date FlownJanuary 2023
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"Customer service is horrendous!

(Netherlands)

Trip Verified | Air Vanuatu the nightmare that never stops. Flew from Fiji to Vanuatu on April 11th and they off loaded our luggage without telling us. When we arrived they informed us we could fill in a missing luggage form and that maybe they’d be able to bring it over in the next couple of days. Our flight to Sydney was scheduled for April 14th and that only gave them 3 days to sort it out. We proceeded to have to come in every day, to their office in Port Vila as well as the airport to ask for the compensation that was clearly stated on their website. 7000 vatu a day per person for a maximum of 3 days. They didn’t want to honour this as they claimed the policy had changed but wasn’t updated yet on the website. After repeatedly showing up they finally accepted to pay for 2 days. In the end they weren’t able to bring our luggage over so we requested for it to be sent to Sydney as our terrible nightmare of a vacation was nearly over. However one day before departure they cancelled our flight. The one Boeing they use for international flights had mechanical problems. Customer service is horrendous, they’re unhelpful, hang up the phone and told us what’s the big deal? It’s only one extra day. The big deal was that our luggage was still not with us, imagine not having access to clean clothes for 4 days in a hot country. Do not book this airline.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteNadi to Port Vila
Date FlownApril 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

"hurts Vanuatu’s tourist industry"

(United States)

Trip Verified | The delay was almost twice as long as the flight time itself. Barely any announcements or updates were made. Poor families with children aimlessly waiting in the boarding area. They have a notorious history of delays. Sometimes they outsource to others like Naru Airlines. Do yourself a favor and take Aircalin or any other carrier instead. This company hurts Vanuatu’s tourist industry.
AircraftAT76
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RoutePort Vila to Noumea
Date FlownJune 2023
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"Terrible customer service"

(New Zealand)

Trip Verified | Terrible customer service. We were due to fly for a 7 day holiday on Saturday, the night before (Friday) we got an email that simple said "Your flight has been cancelled there will be a further update on Monday" There was no support or information on what we should do. On Facebook they kept saying to call the team for assistance, yet no one could get an answer. Since then emails have gone unanswered or they rudely respond with one line and no answer to your actual question. We ended up not being able to have our holiday yet we had paid for everything. Travel insurance doesn't cover mechanical issues, the airline should. Trying to get our refund has been impossible, they said the time frame for a refund is indefinite. It's been 8 weeks so far. I've never experienced such terrible customer service and sadly on something that has left us very out of pocket!
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteAuckland to Port Vila
Date FlownApril 2023
Value For Money 12345
no
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