Cons
- long walk to the the TBIT west gates from the main terminal
- no pajamas
- expensive Wi-Fi
How I did it
I paid US $363 for a one-way Economy ticket. Using their "Bula Bid" upgrade system, I bid $1500 for an upgrade to Business Class and got it. Fiji Airways also offers the ability to bid for the upgrade via the Amex website, where you can use points (at 1¢ per point valuation) to bid. In both cases a little meter tells you how likely you are to win the bid. I tried crediting my flight to my Qantas account and was told my fare didn't qualify for earning miles.
If you're staying in Economy, they were also offering the ability to buy seats around you to give you some more social distancing from other passengers. I don't know if this is temporary or not.
Airport and Lounge
Business Class passengers get to use the gorgeous
One World lounge at Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). I'm not a huge lounge nerd, but it definitely has showers, Wi-Fi, bar, espresso, and a hot food buffet with loads of choices.
Unfortunately Fiji uses TBIT West gates, and it's a 20+ minute walk to get out there from the main terminal where the lounge is. The lounge attendant warned us of this when we arrived.
Boarding and Seat
Once we got out to the gates, I liked the fact that they use two jetways to board the flight, so the Business Class cabin is
very quiet and calm during boarding. Bedding and a Covid safety kit were waiting at our seats. Despite the bidding system, there were several empty seats in Business Class, which makes me think I could have bid even less…
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| our A350 |
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| dual jetway boarding |
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| love the Fijian fabrics! |
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| Sanitizing wipes and a fresh mask |
The flight
Because I'm that kind of nerd, I actually brought a humidity detector with me, and sure enough, the A350's cabin humidity was 18% (versus the 5-10% level I see on older planes). This and the higher cabin pressure are supposed to make you feel more rested. Honestly I think the timing had more to do with this being a relaxing flight: you leave LAX at bedtime, eat some food, go to sleep for 7 hours, and arrive in Fiji at 6am. Our hotel had no problem checking us in early, but we were there in the off-season, so YMMV there.
Wi-Fi was expensive but this is the kind of flight where you're meant to sleep, so that didn't bother me. If you do need to use it, make sure you
put your iPhone/iPad into low-data mode before you connect. If you're on a laptop,
this little tool can be a lifesaver when you're on a metered data plan like this.
Gotta say, for a leisure market carrier, the service was way better than I expected. For example, they had full turn-down service when you were ready to go to sleep – something you'd see on Singapore or ANA, but not on, say, Hawaiian.
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| Yes, I own a humidity monitor |
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| $50 a gigabyte |
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| The first of many delicious curries I had in Fiji |
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| FA's make up your bed for you |
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| breakfast |
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| my first time south of the equator! |
Landing (plus a few Fiji tips)
Given that Fiji has already suspended most of the Covid protocols that affected our visit, I'll omit them for now. What I will do is give you a couple of tips for Fiji:
- If you're staying on the Nadi side of the main island, go see Monica for sunset dinner at the Boatshed.
- I've never been to India, but I ate more good curry in a week in Fiji than I have in a lifetime of eating them in the US and Europe.
- Rent a giant SUV with big tires if you're going to rent a car at all. Other than the main highway (Queens Road) the road conditions are unimaginably bad, even the ones leading to tourist attractions like the Sleeping Giant orchid garden. Better yet, just have your hotel arrange for a driver to take you everywhere – it's cheap, and the drivers can help you find anything you might need.
- If you do rent a car, do not, under any circumstances, rent from AIMS. Do not let your hotel's concierge rent you a car indirectly from AIMS.
Menus
What's the story with AIMS?
ReplyDeletehooo mama.... they gave me an olllld car and the brakes went out while I was driving in the country's busiest, multi-lane roundabout. it was not cute. they charged my card without my permission for damage I didn't do. In the end I had to submit all of it to my travel insurance company and get them to reimburse me. It was the one dark cloud in an otherwise awesome visit
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