Amid plenty of bad news, one airline in our region is flying high

It hasn’t been a great time for some airlines based in the South Pacific. Air Vanuatu went into voluntary insolvency last month, grounding all flights, and unrest in New Caledonia included blockades of that country’s airport, affecting the operations of the national carrier, Aircalin.
The airport reopened, but unrest continues.

But there’s some good news for Vanuatu. Solomon Airlines will begin weekly direct flights from Brisbane to Vanuatu’s Espiritu Santo island from Thursday, July 4. The once-weekly direct return joins its twice-weekly Brisbane-Honiara-Port Vila flights in servicing Vanuatu for Australians.
Air Vanuatu’s administrators have also received expressions of interest in the airline from potential buyers seeking to resume operations.

One of those might well be the South Pacific’s biggest airline, Fiji Airways, which is a beacon of regional and global aviation success.

Fiji’s national carrier was voted, for the second consecutive year, the “Best Airline in Australia and Pacific” at the Skytrax 2024 World Airline Awards, held in London on June 24.

Fiji Airways was also awarded “Best Airline Staff in Australia & Pacific” for the fourth year in a row and also improved its global ranking in the top 100 airlines, climbing from 15th in 2023 to 14th in 2024, to finish ahead of Qantas and Air New Zealand.

The Fijian carrier has just also become the 15th full member of the oneworld alliance, joining the likes of Qantas, Cathay Pacific, British Airways and American Airlines. Fiji Airways had been a oneworld “connect” partner for five years, a title denoting it offered some, but not all, member benefits for flyers.

Fiji Airways integration into the group, scheduled to be completed in phases over 12 months, means the airline will provide oneworld Emerald, Sapphire, and Ruby customers with the full range of benefits including earning and redeeming miles, earning status points, priority check-in and boarding and lounge access.

Fiji Airways’ own top-tier customers will be able to gain access to all oneworld priority benefits including a network of almost 700 business and first-class lounges globally.