Fiji Airways review: Nadi to Dallas Fort Worth direct flights open up new options for Aussie travellers

7NEWS

21-04-2025

Fiji Airways has launched a new direct route from Nadi to Dallas Fort Worth, offering Australians travelling to the business hub a new island layover.
The airline launched the direct route from Fiji to the US late last year, with the airline now regularly flying out of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and — as of this month — Cairns.
But if you can already get a direct flight from Down Under to Dallas on other airlines offering layovers in places like Singapore, Dubai, and Bangkok — why stop in Fiji?
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Well, that question was answered on my first day in Dallas, by the diner waitress pouring me bottomless filter coffee, and plonking plates of pancakes, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy in front of me.
She was an elderly waitress with a thick Southern accent, and as she turned back toward the counter, the slogan printed on the back of her uniform said: 'Life's short, eat dessert first.'
If the Texan financial hub is dinner, Fiji is most certainly dessert.
Flying into Dallas, I was first greeted by the vast white rooftops of sprawling megaplexes, and humungous highways snaking in and out of each other like concrete muscles.
Above Nadi, passengers are conversely met with the luscious greens of farmland and mountains, and the mottled blue of reefy waterways. On the ground, beachside resorts boast luxurious pools, and the lullaby-pace of 'Fiji time' keeps everyone smiling.
Even the fullest travellers will declare they have room to fit Fiji.
But if I'm honest, the first exotic destination on my trip between the two beautiful cities — as someone who had never flown Business Class — was Fiji Airways new Airbus A350-900 XWB, which I was sent to review.
Fiji Airways CEO and Managing Director Andre Viljoen shared that sentiment when he told 7NEWS.com.au: 'From the moment you step aboard, your holiday begins.'
'You become part of our Vuvale (family).'
Under the ambient, purple cabin lighting, the four-and-a-half hour journey from Sydney to Fiji literally and figuratively flew by.
The Wi-Fi was out-of-action during my flights with the airline, but I had enough space and storage in and around my seat to spread out with my books, journals, even crafting supplies — and between movies, settled in to a digital detox.
Each of the roomy seats had aisle access, with lie-flat recliners that were puffed up with a mattress-topper, pillows, and duvets pulled from the overhead compartments by the cabin crew as the lights were dimmed for the evening.
I confess, one leg of the trip was spent without knowledge that this was an option — it took a comment made to another traveller, about whether their backside had also been slipping into the gap between seat cushions, to discover that the beds could be made up on request.
This was apparently something one can expect in Business, you need only ask. I blushed — my Economy-class was beginning to show.
Above and beyond
Hot towels and welcome beverages served in glass flutes — these luxuries, at least, I had been prepared for. But there were more surprises still to be had onboard.
I was just getting settled into my seat, preparing to take off from Nadi, when I noticed that my new scarf was no longer draped over my bag.
I gave a description of the bright blue garment to the airline staff, who called the Premier Lounge and confirmed with me that it was not there.
I assumed that nothing that could be done, and got to work coming to terms with the ephemerality of my material posessions.
But, without my knowing, the cabin crew had subsequently sent someone to retrace my steps through the airport, where they discovered the scarf on the floor somewhere, and casually handed it back to me, perfectly folded, moments before take-off.
How the other half live, I thought, as I took alternating sips of my complimentary orange juice and sparkling wine.
The small but regularly-refreshed menu was passed around promptly afterwards, from which I selected cold prawns and salsa, a coconut milk-poached fish, a savoury crepe stuffed with greens, and a pot of Häagen-Dazs Belgian chocolate ice cream.
I asked Viljoen about his favourite dishes on the Business Class menu, and he noted some of the desserts, which 'infuse local Fijian ingredients with modern techniques' like the Fijian Purini, a steamed coconut caramel pudding served with curry leaf and cardamom ice-cream.
My favourite thing was the 'ota' — little fiddlehead fern fronds cooked to tender and served as an accompaniment to several dishes that I tried on the in-flight menu.
I only had about seven hours in Nadi — one hour for each of the pools at the stunning new five-star Crowne Plaza in Nadi Bay, where I was lucky enough to let the time slip by leisurely, and where I hope to one day return.
I asked Viljoen what he would recommend for someone with more time on the island, and he said, 'it's impossible to name just one'.
Heading to a traditional village on a Sigatoka River Safari, taking a snorkelling or diving trip in the Mamanucas or Yasawa Islands – Fiji's outer islands — or day trips to Malamala Beach Club, South Sea Island, Cloud 9 and Seventh Heaven, were at the top of his list.
After the 14-hour flight from Nadi to Texas, I was sufficiently rested, fed, and entertained, and even detected a hint of sadness to farewell a couple of the cabin crew members, who for a brief airborne-moment really did feel a little like vuvale.
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