If Fiji is on your bucket list, there will soon be a new way to get there.
Fiji Airways announced on Wednesday that it will launch a new nonstop flight from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Nadi International Airport (NAN) in Fiji. The airline officially applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation about a month ago for approval to operate this new route.
The new three-times-weekly service will commence on December 10, with flights operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Flights from Dallas depart at 9:55 p.m. and arrive in Fiji two days later at 5:20 a.m. The flight from Fiji east departs at 9:15 p.m. and arrives in Dallas at 3:20 p.m. the same day.
The airline will operate a 334-seat Airbus A350-900 to Dallas. Fiji’s A350 offers a competitive business class product with nine rows of seats in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration.
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Every business class traveler benefits from direct aisle access as well as 17-inch television screens, power outlets and USB ports.
Fiji’s A350s also feature 301 economy seats, 39 of which offer extra legroom.
“The launch of direct service between Fiji and Dallas is a truly exciting milestone for Fiji Airways as we continue to expand Fiji’s connectivity to the United States and beyond and offer our guests more travel options,” said Andre Viljoen, CEO of Fiji Airways, in a statement.
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Speaking of truly exciting milestones, Fiji Airways’ new route will be the airline’s longest flight yet. At 6,625 miles, the Dallas-Nadi route is 760 miles longer than the airline’s current longest, to Vancouver, British Columbia. (Flights take about 13 hours.) In addition, Dallas will be the airline’s fourth U.S. destination, joining Honolulu, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Fiji’s expansion comes just weeks after the airline announced it would adopt American Airlines’ AAdvantage loyalty program. Travelers will be able to earn and redeem AAdvantage miles on all flights to Fiji, as well as enjoy elite loyalty benefits. It’s also possible that American Airlines will introduce system-wide upgrade redemption on Fiji Airways flights.
In addition to the AAdvantage news, Fiji Airways recently received approval to become the newest member of the Oneworld airline alliance by 2025. American Airlines is a founding member of this alliance.
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As Fiji’s national airline, Fiji Airways’ primary mission is to boost tourism in the South Pacific archipelago. The new DFW route will allow travelers to book hundreds of nonstop trips to Fiji from locations across the U.S., likely increasing the appeal of traveling to Fiji for many U.S. travelers. This is especially true for East Coast passengers who currently have to take a transcontinental flight to reach a nonstop U.S.-to-Fiji route.
In addition, Fiji Airways has historically used its strategic location in the South Pacific to offer attractive fares on services beyond Nadi to nearby destinations such as Australia and New Zealand. This new route could potentially lead to lower fares on key trans-Pacific routes.
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