Fiji Airways orders two Airbus A350-900 jets

Fiji Airways is set to acquire two more Airbus A350-900s, bringing its long-haul fleet total to eight aircraft. The additional aircraft will help the carrier to meet the increasing demand for travel to and from its hub at Nadi International Airport (NAN).

Fiji removed the last of its travel restrictions earlier this year, and with restrictions now also a thing of the past in the majority of its markets, Fiji Airways has experienced a significant rebound in passenger numbers over recent months. The healthiest booking figures have been from Australia, New Zealand, and the US.

Speaking at the Tourism Investment Summit, the Fijian Minister of Civil Aviation, Viliame Gavoka, highlighted the strength of the recovery, saying that Fiji Airways is now seeing more bookings than it did in 2019. He also made reference to the two additional Airbus A350-900s, but no timescales were mentioned as to the aircraft’s delivery dates.

This week, the carrier has resumed flights to two significant Asian markets – Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) and Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT). According to Gavoka, Fiji Airways also intends to launch flights to Seoul Incheon (ICN), although no official announcement from the airline has been made. He said,

“This week, Fiji will welcome back twice-weekly flights between Nadi and Hong Kong, following which Fiji Airways will fly to Narita, Japan, and Seoul, South Korea.”

Gavoka went on to reiterate that Fiji Airways has the government’s full backing, supporting growth in a controlled and sustainable way.

Fiji Airways already has two Airbus A350-900s in its widebody fleet, in addition to three Airbus A330-200s and one Airbus A330-300. According to data from ch-aviation.com, the aircraft have an average age of 3.4 years, 9.9 years, and 7.3 years, respectively.