Fiji Airways Operates One Off Vancouver Flight Ahead Of November Route Launch

Fiji Airways has operated a one-off flight to Vancouver to promote its latest route, which will launch in November. Flight FJ880 departed Fiji at 7.26 pm local time on Tuesday, and after crossing the International Date Line, arrived in Vancouver at 11.15 am local time the same day.

Upon arrival, a celebration was held at Vancouver International Airport to welcome Fiji Airways and the flight’s special guests, including Fiji Airways’ CEO, Andre Viljoen, and Tourism Fiji’s CEO, Brent Hill.

Commenting on the promotional flight, Viljoen said,

“It is a large market and we must make every effort possible to give our airline exposure, and to capture international travelers from Canada who may not be aware that they can hop on the modern A330 aircraft and literally wake up in paradise.”

Twice-weekly flights to Vancouver from November

From November 25th, the airline will operate twice-weekly direct flights from Nadi (NAN) to Vancouver (YVR). Fiji Airways already operates three other routes to North America, with daily flights to Los Angeles (LAX), three-weekly flights to San Francisco (SFO), and weekly flights to Honolulu (HNL).

The special flight was operated by one of the airline’s two Airbus A350-900s. The aircraft, registration DQ-FAJ, was delivered to Fiji Airways in December 2019, and seats 334 passengers in a two-class configuration – 33 in business class, 301 in economy class. 39 of the economy class seats are extra legroom seats, offering an increased seat pitch of 34 inches.

The aircraft is no stranger to crossing the Pacific Ocean – according to data from FlightRadar24.com, over the past week alone it has flown to Los Angeles and back three times.

While Tuesday’s one-off flight was operated by the Airbus A350-900, when regular services commence in November, the twice-weekly flights will be operated by the Airbus A330-200. Fiji Airways has three such aircraft in its fleet, each seating a total of 273 passengers in a two-class configuration – 24 in business class and 249 in economy class.

Vancouver – a logical addition to Fiji Airways’ route network

When the new route to Vancouver was announced in July, the airline’s CEO Andre Viljoen, said,

“This is a very exciting development as we continue to explore ways to maximize returns not just for Fiji Airways but for the tourism industry and the Fijian economy. Canada represents a new market with immense potential for tourism, trade, and of course, re-connecting Fijian families.”

With a significant Fijian diaspora in Canada, estimated to be around 80,000, and a growing tourism market, commencing flights to Vancouver was a logical move for Fiji Airways. The flights are also timed to offer connections to and from Australia and New Zealand.