Fiji Airways Wants You To Fly Your Way

Full-service carrier Fiji Airways is introducing Fly Your Way, which gives economy passengers choices about how they want to travel.
With the COVID-19 travel restrictions virtually a thing of the past, countries and states throughout the South Pacific have well and truly laid out the welcome mat for visitors. Inbound tourism is the lifeblood of many island economies, and airlines, in partnership with tourism bodies and airports, play a major role in attracting visitors to these picture postcard destinations.
With Fiji a popular destination, particularly for Australian and Kiwi families, the national carrier Fiji Airways has long been a driver of travel and tourism to the country. Last week, Fiji Airways announced a program that will give economy passengers the choice of what they want from their flights, aptly named Fly Your Way with Fiji Airways.
SIMPLEFLYING VIDEO OF THE DAY
Photo: Airbus
What is Fly Your Way?
This is an interesting move by the full-service airline, and by changing its product offering to one more akin to a low-cost carrier (LCC), it aims to give passengers the best of both worlds. Fiji Airways describes it as giving guests more flexibility and choice by “introducing an unbundled economy class fare concept.” They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so have a look at this:
As the video points out, economy passengers can now choose from four product offerings: Lite (LT), Value (VL), Comfort (CM) and Plus (PL). They are straight out of the low-fare airline playbook, except that the Lite fare starts at a much higher level than on an LCC.
Fiji Airways managing director and CEO Andre Viljoen said that Fly Your Way is part of the carrier’s continuous efforts to innovate and introduce new products and services to meet evolving customer needs. He believes the program gives guests the best value for money, whether traveling light for a weekend getaway or being a family on their annual holidays. “With this new concept, we give them the ability to choose the product that suits them best,” adding:
“We have conducted extensive global market research, and I am certain our different guest demographics will see the benefit in each of them. The results of the market research showed that what our different customers expect and value most when travelling and what they prefer more flexibility with, and that’s the approach we took when designing these categories.”
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Each choice comes at a price
The interesting thing about the Fiji Airways economy product is where it starts. We have all flown on an LCC where everything is charged for, but perhaps in a nod to its heritage, Fiji Airways’ Lite choice looks like a regular economy fare on a full-service airline.
All economy fare types include meals, beverages, inflight entertainment and a carry-on bag of up to 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds). Here is what each level contains:
Image: Fiji Airways
Fiji Airways has an extensive route network that covers other South Pacific nations and further afield to North America, Asia, and Australia. Its destinations include Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Singapore, Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. It utilizes a mix of Airbus A330 and A350 widebody aircraft and Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 737-800 narrowbodies, with some regional flying operated by turboprops.
What do you think of this innovation by Fiji Airways? Let us know in the comments.