Fiji Airways, formerly Air Pacific, is the flag carrier of Fiji. It operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 27 destinations, and has an extended network of 108 international destinations through its codeshare partners, including Qantas, who also own a stake in the airline. The airline is a member of the Oneworld alliance.

The Fiji Airways Group brings in 64 percent of all visitors who fly to Fiji, employs over 1,000 employees, and earns revenues of over FJD$815 million (US$390m).

The first commercial flight as Fiji Airways was made in 1951, but the airline's origins date back to the formation of Katafaga Estates Ltd. in 1947. After being acquired by Qantas in 1958, Katafaga Estates was retooled as a regional airline and renamed Air Pacific. In May 2012, MD/CEO David Pflieger announced that as the final part of the airline's successful turnaround, the airline would be returning to its former name of Fiji Airways to reinforce its role as the national airline of Fiji. The Fiji government owns 50% of the airline, the Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) owns 30% and Qantas 16%, diluted from its previous 46% stake after FNPF purchased their stake in Fiji Airways to raise capital during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the governments of several Pacific island nations holding the remainder.

The airline replaced five of its older Boeing 737 aircraft with newer Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft at a list price of around US$110 million each, beginning in 2018. The airline is also currently leasing two Airbus A350-900 aircraft. The 737 MAX 8s and A330-200s are intended for Fiji Airways' services within Oceania, while the Airbus A330-300s and A350-900s are intended for services to long-haul destinations such as the United States, Canada and Singapore.

History

Origins

thumb|Air Pacific [[de Havilland Heron on its inaugural flight into Marakei Airport, Kiribati ]]

The airline was founded by Australian aviator Harold Gatty who in 1931 had been the navigator on a record-breaking round-the-world flight with Wiley Post. Gatty moved to Fiji after World War II and registered the airline in 1947 as Katafaga Estates Ltd., after the coconut estate Gatty had established on Fiji's eastern island group. Gatty renamed the airline as Fiji Airways in September 1951. The New Zealander Fred Ladd was Fiji Airways' first Chief Pilot.

Flight history

Fiji Airways' inaugural flight was on 1 September 1951, when a seven-seater de Havilland Dragon Rapide biplane departed Suva's Nausori Airport for Drasa Airport near Lautoka, on the west coast of the main island. By 1968, Qantas, Air New Zealand, British Overseas Airways Corporation and the Fiji government held equal shareholdings.

After Fiji gained independence from Great Britain in 1970, the new national government began buying shares and the airline was renamed Air Pacific to reflect its regional presence.

thumb|Air Pacific [[Hawker Siddeley HS 748|HS 748 at Funafuti in 1972]]

alt=The Air Pacific between the 2003 and its rebranding in 2013.|right|thumb|The Air Pacific logo from 2003 to its rebranding in 2013

By the early 1970s, seven Pacific island governments, some still under British rule at the time, held shares in Air Pacific, in addition to shares held by Qantas, Air New Zealand and the British Overseas Airways Corporation. However, the regional airline idea lost support as some of the shareholding Pacific island governments sold their shares and created their own national airlines. In 1993, the government owned 80%, Qantas 10% and Air New Zealand 2%. Having in 1995 acquired a further 8% from Sea-Com, in 1998, Qantas increased its shareholding to 46%.

In the 1990s, the airline relocated its headquarters from the capital city of Suva to the coastal town of Nadi where the main international airport is located. In May 2012, Managing Director & CEO Dave Pflieger announced that the airline, which was completing a successful turnaround that included restructuring and re-fleeting, would be re-branded as "Fiji Airways" to help enhance sales and marketing of the airline and the south Pacific island nation. In June 2014, Pacific Sun was rebranded to Fiji Link. The airline's new brand identity and colour scheme were fully revealed by the CEO and Prime Minister of Fiji at a formal red-carpet, black-tie event in Suva on 10 October 2012, in conjunction with Fiji Day.

The rebranding to Fiji Airways officially took place on 27 June 2013. The name change aimed to associate the airline more closely with the nation and to be more visible in search results. Also during the rebranding of Air Pacific to Fiji Airways, a new line of uniforms for its cabin crew was launched, and was designed by Fiji-based French designer Alexandra Poenaru-Philp. In China, the name Air Pacific was often confused with Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific, Philippine airline Cebu Pacific and a Chinese air conditioning company. From August 1996, a 747-200 was again leased from Qantas.

The 2000 Fijian coup d'état devastated the country's tourism industry and overall economy, which led to a substantial decrease in travel to Fiji. Faced with a falloff in air traffic, Air Pacific returned one of its two leased Boeing 747s.

In 2006, Air Pacific ordered five Boeing 787-9s. In April 2011, Air Pacific announced that it had cancelled its Boeing 787-9 order due to delivery delays of almost four years by Boeing. In October 2011, Air Pacific announced that it had ordered three Airbus A330-200s. In March 2013, the company received its first "Fiji Airways" branded Airbus A330. It was christened The Island of Taveuni and had its first flight to Auckland on 2 April. In June, one of the Boeing 747-400s was retired. The other, although 'withdrawn from service', was used on an ad-hoc basis when needed. It was retired on 20 November 2013 when it was flown to be scrapped. Today, the fleet includes four Airbus A350-900, four Airbus A330-200s, one Airbus A330-300, one Boeing 737-800, and five Boeing 737 MAX 8s. Fiji Link operates two ATR 72-600, an ATR 42-600 and three de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft. In preparation of the rebranding, Air Pacific retired its Boeing 747-412s from service.

On 2 May 2019, Fiji Airways announced its intention to lease two Airbus A350-900 from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise as a part of their fleet expansion. They operate on routes to Australia, New Zealand and the United States. These A350 frames were originally to be delivered to Hong Kong Airlines, however following the cancellation of that order, they were purchased by Dubai Aerospace Enterprise.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fiji Airways announced 800 job losses in Fiji on 25 May 2020.

Recent developments

In partnership with Qantas, Air Pacific helped pioneer the concept of codeshare agreements in the early 1980s. Fiji Airways is also a partner with the frequent flyer programmes of Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Qantas. That same month, American Airlines announced that Fiji Airways would join its frequent-flyer program, AAdvantage, sometime within the ensuing year. Fiji Airways membership upgrade from Connect member to full membership officially concluded on 1 April 2025, with the carrier joining AAdvantage on the same day.

In November 2024, the airline implemented a complimentary unlimited onboard Wi-Fi system for instant messaging across all classes.

Corporate affairs

Ownership and structure

Fiji Airways is part of the Air Pacific Group (which includes the national airline, its wholly owned subsidiary Fiji Link, and a 38.75% stake in the Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa on Denarau Island). The Air Pacific Group itself is owned by the Fijian government (50%), Fiji National Provident Fund (30%) the Australian flag-carrier Qantas (16%), and Air New Zealand (4%). In the late 2000s, the airline suffered back-to-back losses of FJ$5.2 million for fiscal year 2008–2009 and FJ$65.3 million for 2009–2010.

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Sponsorships

In October 2017, Fiji Airways became the official airline of Fiji Rugby. The sponsorship saw Fiji Airways taking over the following Fiji Rugby teams with major naming and branding rights for the next five years: Fiji Airways Flying Fijians (15s team); Fiji Airways National 7s Team; Fiji Airways Fijiana 15s Team (Women's 15s team); Fiji Airways Fijiana 7s Team (Women's 7s team); Fiji Airways Drua; Fiji Link Referees (all referees in Fiji will be sponsored by and will wear Fiji Link branded apparel).

In February 2018, it announced its exclusive airline sponsorship of Super Rugby champions, the BNZ Crusaders.

The airline is also a sponsor of the Fiji International Golf tournament.

Destinations

Fiji Airways serves 28 destinations as of January 2026.

Codeshare agreements

Fiji Airways has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

  • Air India
  • Air New Zealand
  • Air Niugini
  • Alaska Airlines
  • American Airlines
  • British Airways
  • Cathay Pacific
  • Finnair
  • Japan Airlines
  • Jetstar
  • Qantas
  • Singapore Airlines
  • Solomon Airlines
  • WestJet

Interline agreements

Fiji Airways also has interline agreements with the following airlines:

  • Air Canada
  • Air India
  • Air New Zealand
  • Alaska Airlines
  • American Airlines
  • British Airways
  • Cathay Pacific
  • Emirates
  • Finnair
  • French Bee
  • Garuda Indonesia
  • Iberia Airlines
  • Japan Airlines
  • Japan Transocean Air
  • JetBlue
  • Jetstar
  • Korean Air
  • Malaysia Airlines
  • Oman Air
  • Porter Airlines
  • Qantas
  • Qatar Airways
  • Royal Air Maroc
  • Royal Jordanian
  • Singapore Airlines
  • Solomon Airlines
  • SriLankan Airlines
  • Virgin Australia
  • WestJet

Fleet

Current fleet

thumb|Fiji Airways [[Airbus A330#A330-300|Airbus A330-300]]

thumb|Fiji Airways [[Airbus A350#A350-900|Airbus A350-900 at Sydney Airport]]

thumb|Fiji Airways [[Boeing 737 Next Generation#737-800|Boeing 737-800]]

, Fiji Airways operates the following mainline aircraft:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;text-align:center"

|+ Fiji Airways fleet

|-

!rowspan=2| Aircraft

!rowspan=2 style="width:25px;"|In service

!rowspan=2 style="width:25px;"|Orders

!colspan=3| Passengers

!rowspan=2| Notes

|-

! <abbr title="Tabua">T</abbr>

! <abbr title="Pacific Voyager">V</abbr>

! Total

|-

|Airbus A330-200

|3

|&mdash;

|24

|249

|273

|

|-

|Airbus A330-300

|1

|&mdash;

|24

|289

|313

|

|-

|Airbus A350-900

|4

|&mdash;

|33

|301

|334

|

|-

|Boeing 737-800

|1

|&mdash;

|8

|162

|170

|

|-

|Boeing 737 MAX 8

|5

|&mdash;

|8

|162

|170

|

|-

!Total

!14

!&mdash;

! colspan="4" |

|}

Former fleet

thumb|Air Pacific [[Boeing 747-400 (DQ-FJK)]]

thumb|Air Pacific [[Boeing 737-800 (DQ-FJH)]]

thumb|Fiji Airways [[Boeing 737-700 (DQ-FJF)]]

thumb|Fiji Airways [[Boeing 737-800 (DQ-FJG)]]

In the past, Fiji Airways and its predecessor Air Pacific has previously operated the following aircraft:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;text-align:center"

|+ Fiji Airways historical fleet

|-

!Aircraft

!Total

!Introduced

!Retired

!Notes

|-

|Airbus A330-200

|2

|2018

|2021

|Leased from Etihad Airways.

|-

|ATR 42-300

|4

|1988

|1994

|

|-

|ATR 42-500

|2

|2006

|2007

|

|-

|BAC One-Eleven

|3

|1972

|1984

|

|-

|Beechcraft Travel Air

|3

|1967

|1972

|

|-

|Boeing 737-200

|1

|1981

|1990

|

|-

|Boeing 737-300

|1

|1995

|1999

|Transferred to Titan Airways.

|-

|Boeing 737-500

|1

|1992

|1999

|Transferred to Nordeste Linhas Aereas

|-

|Boeing 737-700

|1

|1998

|2020

|

|-

|Boeing 747-100

|1

|1988

|1989

|rowspan=3|Leased from Qantas.

|-

|rowspan=3|Boeing 747-200B

|3

|1985

|1994

|-

|4

|1996

|2003

|-

|1

|1996

|1996

|Leased from Air New Zealand.

|-

|Boeing 747-400

|2

|2003

|2013

|Leased from Singapore Airlines.

|-

|Boeing 767-200

|1

|1990

|1994

|Transferred to Trans World Airlines.

|-

|Boeing 767-300ER

|1

|1994

|2012

|Transferred to Ansett Worldwide.

|-

|Britten-Norman Trislander

|4

|1974

|1983

|

|-

|de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover

|7

|1954

|1968

|

|-

|de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver

|2

|1954

|1963

|

|-

|de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter

|1

|1984

|1988

|Leased from Great Barrier Airlines.

|-

|de Havilland Dragon Rapide

|4

|1951

|1962

|

|-

|de Havilland Heron

|7

|1959

|1975

|

|-

|Douglas C-47 Skytrain

|6

|1963

|1972

|

|-

|Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante

|4

|1979

|1987

|

|-

|Fokker F27

|1

|1984

|1984

|Leased from Ansett Australia.

|-

|Grumman G-73 Mallard

|1

|1969

|1971

|

|-

|Hawker Siddeley HS 748

|4

|1967

|1986

|

|-

|McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30

|1

|1983

|1985

|Transferred to American Airlines.

|}

Award and recognition

On 24 June 2024, Fiji Airways was voted 2024 Best Airline in Australia/Pacific and Best Airline Staff Service in Australia/Pacific by Skytrax.

Notes

References

Further reading

  • French T.F. Fiji’s internal air service. Fiji Society. 1963
  • Driscoll I.H. Flightpath South Pacific. Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd. Christchurch (N.Z.). 1972
  • Driscoll I.H. Airline-The making of a national flag carrier. Shortland Publications. Auckland (N.Z.). 1979
  • Air Pacific website archived at the Wayback Machine