Bula buzz as Qantas brings back Sydney to Fiji flights

Qantas has brought back Sydney to Nadi flights four times a week as Australians continue love affair with island escapes in the South Pacific.

Sydney to Nadi 4 times a week

Australians have reignited their love affair with Fiji and Qantas has answered the call for premium flights four times a week starting from March 31 this year.

The “Bula buzz” was well and truly building over the past couple of years as new luxury resort openings including Six Senses Fiji on a private bay on Malolo Island in the Mamanucas, a stunning new Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay, and Kokomo Private Island Fiji heralded a new dawn for cashed up travellers flocking to the South Pacific paradise and its 300+ islands.

Of course, that has only opened up a market for premium seats and the Qantas Boeing 737 will now take flight between Sydney and Nadi – the country’s main gateway – four times per week on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The new Qantas Fiji flights

QF101 will depart Sydney at 10.30am every Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday to reach Nadi at 4.30pm. The QF102 return leg will be wheels-up from Nadi at 5.35pm the same day for an 8pm touchdown at Sydney.

“Fiji continues to be an incredibly popular holiday destination for Australian families, couples and adventure and luxury travellers, with a number of new luxury properties having opened up on the islands in recent years,” says Qantas International CEO Alison Webster.

“We have built flexibility into our network to respond to growing demand where we see it. In this case, it’s a return to Fiji after almost 20 years, a short four-hour hop from Sydney, helping extend the summer for Australians year-round. The combination of Qantas and Jetstar also means we can provide more options to a destination which caters to different budgets and tastes, with good interstate connections for passengers travelling from other parts of Australia.”

Top luxury travel expert Sally Bird, Co-founder of Executive Edge Travel, agrees.

“Gone is the cane furniture and pastel bed spreads that Fiji has been so synonymous with,” Mrs Bird says. “Some serious new 5 star resorts in the past few years have really put Fiji back on the radar – Six Senses Fiji,  Kokomo Island , the amazing Laucala Island just to name a few and, refreshingly, with the arrival of all the new luxury it has still maintained it’s beautiful familial feel, ideal multi-generational location and place. It’s also so close and offers great weather pretty much all year round. Fiji offers something for everyone.”

CHECK OUT OUR INTERVIEW WITH LAUCALA ISLAND’S MASTERCHEF

Code added to Jetstar flights

Qantas has added its code to Jetstar’s flights between Sydney and Nadi, for travel from 1 February 2019.

Qantas customers travelling on the Jetstar codeshare service will enjoy additional benefits, including the opportunity for Qantas Frequent Flyers to earn points and status credits and a complimentary meal. Qantas will also continue to codeshare on Fiji Airways’ services to Nadi. With Fiji Airways now integrated as a oneworld connect partner, Qantas customers will benefit from more flight options and the opportunity to earn and redeem Qantas Points and Status Credits on Fiji Airways’ services between the two countries.

Fiji brand is ready to blitz

The new Qantas flights have come only months after Tourism Fiji’s announcement of a revitalized global brand campaign, created by Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand and Goodoil Films, demonstrating the Fiji brand goes beyond mere relaxation – it highlights the “Bula Spirit” with a vast range of adventure and other travel experiences throughout the 333 islands.

The suite of assets developed for cinema, TV and social media adds to the momentum of Fiji’s resurgence and is designed to appeal to families, lovebirds, adventure-seekers and luxury travellers around the globe.