After a two-year pause, Fiji Airways has resumed regular passenger flights to New Zealand. On Saturday afternoon, FJ410 pushed back in Auckland bound for Fiji with more than 200 happy passengers onboard. The rebooted flights came on the same weekend the New Zealand Government started allowing its citizens and permanent residents the freedom to come and go without isolation requirements upon their return.
Fiji Airways flights to three Kiwi cities from mid-April
Fiji Airways is temporarily operating four flights a week from Auckland, New Zealand, with daily flights scheduled from 14th April. The airline is also scheduled to relaunch flights from Christchurch from 14th April and Wellington from 13th April. Tourism Fiji saw a 55% increase in traffic to their website in the first 24-hours after the announcement of New Zealand’s home isolation requirements easing.
“We’re so excited to finally resume commercial flights between New Zealand and Nadi after two long years. We’ve seen an influx of Kiwis interested in flying to Fiji, and we expect to see the demand continue to increase over the coming months. It’s a joy to be able to welcome our Kiwi neighbors back onboard,” says Fiji Airways Managing Director and CEO Andre Viljoen.
After a prolonged shutdown, Fiji’s international airline is easing its way back into the skies. Fiji reopened its borders to international travelers in early December, and Fiji Airways promptly resumed flights to its biggest inbound market, Australia. Flights to North America soon followed. Now, Fiji’s second-biggest market, New Zealand, is starting to lift its border drawbridge.
Fiji Airways sends a daily A330-200 into Auckland from April 14
Fiji Airways is temporarily using a mix of aircraft on the Nadi (NAN) – Auckland (AKL) route, with MAX 8s flying on weekdays and the bigger Airbus A330s on weekends. When the schedule segues into daily flights by mid-April, Fiji Airways will stick to A330-200s for its Auckland flights.
From April 14, FJ411 will depart Nadi every morning at 08:30 and land in Auckland at 11:40 after a flight time of three hours and ten minutes. Except for Saturdays, the return flight FJ410 will leave AKL at 13:05 and arrive back at NAN at 16:05. On Saturdays, the same flight will depart Auckland at 14:35 and land in Nadi at 17:35.
Fiji Airways’ A330-200 aircraft fly up to 273 passengers, including 249 passengers in the main economy class cabin and 24 passengers in the business class cabin.
“We’re anticipating high demand from New Zealand with the borders opening,” says Sonya Lawson, Tourism Fiji Regional Director for New Zealand. “Fiji has always been a popular hot spot for Kiwis, previously being Fiji’s second-largest source market and accounting for over 200,000 visitors each year, and we’ve seen that many Kiwis are already eager to get back to the place.”
Fiji Airways will send its MAX 8 down to Christchurch and Wellington from mid-April. Photo: Boeing
Fiji Airways MAX 8s bound for Wellington & Christchurch
Meanwhile, Christchurch and Wellington will also slip back into Fiji Airways’ schedules by mid-April. From April 13, FJ461 will leave Nadi at 07:40 every Wednesday and Sunday and fly down to Wellington (WLG), landing there at 11:30. Flying back to Nadi, FJ460 pushes back at 12:45 on the same days and lands in Nadi at 16:35.
A Boeing 737 MAX 8 will operate Fiji Airways’ Wellington flights. Fiji Airways is the first airline to resume international passenger flights to and from WLG since New Zealand began reopening its borders.
From April 13, Fiji Airways flights to and from Christchurch will restart. Initially flying twice a week, FJ451 will leave Nadi at 08:10 every Thursday and Saturday for the four-hour five-minute flight down to Christchurch (CHC). For the return sector, FJ450 will depart CHC at 13:30 on the same days and touch down in Nadi at 17:30. The MAX 8 will also operate Fiji Airways’ Christchurch flights.
The reopening of Fiji’s biggest visitor markets is very good news for the tourist dependant country. “Fiji and our people can’t wait to welcome Kiwis back to our shores,” says Tourism Fiji CEO Brent Hill. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for two years.”
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