streetfairie

Hello--new to this site & forum.

I booked several flights operated by Fiji Airways on a trip planned to New Zealand with a 3 day trip to Fiji tacked on at the end.

To be honest, I wish I had done more research prior as I'm becoming increasingly concerned about how the delays/cancellations may affect our escorted tour of NZ and an important event upon our return to the USA.

We are booked in (non-refundable) business class on the following legs on Fiji Airways:

LAX-NAN (purchased thru FJ; operated by FJ)
NAN-AKL (purchased thru Qantas; operated by FJ)
NAN-LAX (purchased thru Air New Zealand; operated by FJ)

My question is this: Does Fiji ever accommodate on other carriers if their flights are delayed/cancelled more than say 3 hours or so? If so, any tips on getting this pushed through?

I've attempted to read the legalese in the FJ contract of carriage, but I'm quite confused as to which airline to approach should this occur (and more importantly--which airline is ultimately responsible for getting me to my destination).

Would very much appreciate any constructive advice that is offered. Thank you!

cavemanzk

on the LAX-NAN and NAN-LAX legs Fiji Airways are the only carrier that is operating this route, therefore there is no-one else to be re-booked on in the event of an delay.

Chance of getting put on another airline are pretty low, other options ex-NAN aren't really an thing. NZ/FJ both an an daily flight on NAN-AKL but there both pretty full, there isn't much options.

Best to have travel insurance that will cover you for delays and associated cost.

Delays in the pacific islands are just apart of everyday island life, you'll even get them flying on NZ to the Islands.

streetfairie

Thanks for the response!

Any thoughts if our final destination is AKL on the outbound? If we find out of significant delay before we leave LAX, I'm wondering in anyone was successful in getting rerouted that far in advance.

Same with the return--would rather be rerouted from NAN-SYD/AKL/BNE to LAX if the need arises.

I am mentally preparing to be flexible but want to armed with an alternative should the delays prove significant. 😊

cavemanzk

Aren't your LAX-NAN and NAN-AKL on separate tickets? if they are you're likely to get little help from the airline.

robertr

I have business ticketed with Fiji Airways SYD-NAN-LAX & LAX-NAN-SYD, I note that Fiji Airways is around 47.5% from memory owned by Qantas.

Should significant delays arise, what are the chances of Qantas accommodating delayed passengers.?

robertr

Anyone on the forum that can advise?

CRAZ8

In June I flew FJ, on the return NAN-LAX, the flight was delayed over 4 hours, and they knew about this well ahead of time. This was partly due to unscheduled maintenance need to an aircraft damaged on the ground in LAX a few weeks earlier.

The same flight the day before was delayed about 10 hours. Those passengers were put up in a hotel in NAN. Since my delay was shorter, we only got coupons for food inside the airport.

At no time was there any talk of re-scheduling passengers on other airlines.

Since I knew about these delays a day ahead, I rescheduled my connecting flight LAX-SEA on AS. They even transferred my First Class upgrade! The passengers sitting in front of us on FJ were also going to SEA, and didn't make my rescheduled flight as it was full by that time.

With a bit of information up front, and a 20 minute phone call to AS, my delay was not stressful at all, but a bit boring with the extra waiting.

As a note, I did meet someone in Fiji that had a 27 hour delay on BNE-NAN due to an engine problem on the ground.

I also met someone who flew Air New Zealand NAN-AKL-LAX-SLC, they left NAN 12 hours ahead of us and arrived in SLC an hour before we arrived in SEA - it's a long way to avoid flying FJ, even with the delays (we'd have beaten them by over 3 hours if FJ had been on time)