As winter approaches in Vancouver, Fiji Airways has begun regular service to connect Fiji’s Nadi International Airport (NAN) to Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Vancouver is a crucial Western Canadian hub for international and domestic destinations. It's also home to a significant Fijian diaspora in Canada, estimated to be around 80,000, plus the opportunity to be a connecting airline to Australia and New Zealand.
A unique connection
Fiji Airways Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Andre Viljoen believes the new route will provide many opportunities to Fijians and Canadians. The airline's first scheduled flight on the route, FJ881, was a testament to this, with 88% of the seats filled. Plus, even though there was not a Fiji Airways route before this weekend, Canada is already fifth in monthly arrivals to Fiji. As such, it made absolute sense for the airline to begin this route. Viljoen noted,
We are creating a pathway for an entirely new segment, which has seen very little traction over the years.
The flights will also provide a critical agricultural connection between British Columbia and Fiji’s significant agricultural industries. Fijian farmers are committed to exporting on the new airline route. CEO Vilijoen predicted that Fiji Airways’ new route will be exporting 15 tons of produce on the flights to Vancouver and importing 10 tons of fruits, vegetables, and seafood back to NAN.
"This gives everyday Fijians and our hospitality sector consistent and quick access to a wider range of world-class produce from Canada, addressing many of the supply issues that hotels and resorts have had to deal with."
As per the above tweet from Canada’s High Commissioner to the region, Canadians are excited about the new connection. According to a statement from Vancouver International Airport, this route will provide CA$7.5 million ($5.6 million) in Gross Domestic Product, CA$12.2 million ($9.1 million) in tourism, and an estimated 86 jobs and British Columbia's tourism industry.
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Rehearsal flight in August 2022
A rehearsal flight was made in August of 2022 to stir up interest. The flight had a happy reception at Vancouver International Airport, per the above YouTube.
Fiji Airways will typically use the airline’s three Airbus A330-200s. The Airbus A330s seat a total of 273 passengers in a two-class configuration – 24 in business class and 249 in economy class.
Read about the history of the Airbus A330
The flights have a great circle distance of 5,866 miles / 9,440 kilometers requiring over ten and a half hours to go from NAN to YVR and slightly over 11 hours to complete the return trip. Below is a table of basic information about the flights:
Route |
Days |
Departs |
Arrives |
Flight # |
Find flights |
Nadi to Vancouver |
Monday, Friday |
22:15 |
13:20 |
FJ880 |
|
Vancouver to Nadi |
Monday, Friday |
21:40 |
06:30 AM (+2) |
FJ881 |
Are you considering a flight to Fiji from Vancouver, Canada? Please let us know in the comments.
Sources: Fiji Village, PAX News