Air Pacific

Good experience – Have just returned from Fiji after travelling both ways on Fiji Airways new Airbus 330 and are full of praise for the aircraft and the staff. The seats were comfortable, pillows and blankets were available if needed and alcohol was served with the afternoon snack on the way over if desired. The food was average but what can you expect when you… Read more

get such cheap airfares? The entertainment screen worked well and you could pay $FJD10 to watch an up-to-date movie. We would certainly fly Fiji Airways again. Lovely new aircraft Nothing

Never fly again with Air Pacific – We flew to Brisbane to Honolulu via Fiji, thinking we were going to be on a big plane, but no, to our shock it was only a small plane similar to a domestic flight. Upon boarding the seats ok, there are no personal TV's, only ones above that come down in the aisles so it was hard to see. The food......It was revolting, I could not finish it as it… Read more

was served cold and tasted awful. When we landed in Fiji, flight attendant came down through the aisle spraying two cans of insect spray which seemed to take 15 min before you could breathe in fresh air. My poor mum has asthma so she found very hard to breathe, We were not impressed. Do not book this flight. Not worth the money!

Dismal. Steer Clear – The below complaint to Air Pacific (aka Fiji Airways) summarises our experience. Steer clear. Dear Sir/Madam After the extremely pathetic experience with your organisation (detailed below), I send this email in the slim hope that it may be received by someone holding a semblence of competence and to effect the significant change that your… Read more

organisation so desperately requires. The mere upcoming rebranding of your airline will not cure these fundamental failings.

On 24 June 2012, we booked flights through qantas.com including a transfer flight from Auckland to Nadi to fly on 29 March 2013 on FJ412.

Our experience in respect of flight FJ412 was nothing short of dismal, and the worst experience we have ever endured through any airline in our long history of flying.

Upon arrival in Auckland, we repeatedly sought to obtain our boarding passes for the flight to Nadi (as these were not provided to us upon our check-in in Brisbane). We were repeatedly fobbed off by staff at the transfer desk and told to return later to receive our boarding passes as "the staff member who had access to our boarding passes was not available".

We then attended the Qantas Club in Auckland (as we are members), who very helpfully attempted to call every known number for Air Pacific (after noticing that a number of members had yet to receive boarding passes for this flight and becoming concerned that passengers would be unable to board). They also could not contact anyone from the airline to provide our boarding passes for at least an hour. Eventually, the Qantas Club informed us someone would be available at the transfer desk to issue us with a boarding pass.

FJ412 was supposed to depart at 5.30pm on 29 March 2013. We attended the gate at 5.30pm (upon the airport displays showing "final call" for this flight) only to be told by Air Pacific to return to the gate at 6.00 pm for "a further update".

At 6.00pm we were unhelpfully informed that the flight was cancelled. The service desk could not tell us when the flight might be rescheduled, and the staff member had no idea what was happening with the flight. Finally we were informed that the flight had been cancelled by Air Pacific for "operational reasons" and that the flight "might" fly at 6.00am 30 March 2013. We were then directed to be at the airport three hours prior to the departure time for the flight, collect our checked bags, pass Customs, and to see a service desk to receive our arrangements regarding accommodation and transfers. Minimal, meaningful directions were provided by the staff members at the desk, and passengers were (for the most part) left to fend for themselves.

After arriving at the hotel, we were advised that we must be outside the hotel at 2.45am on 30 March 2013 to catch a shuttle back to Auckland airport.

We arrived at the airport at approximately 3.00am only to discover Air Pacific had not opened the check-in counter. Once they finally arrived and we were checked in, we then discovered that security screening was not open. We waited outside the terminal until security opened at 4.30am.

Despite having attended the airport three hours prior to the scheduled flight (as insisted by your airline), at 6.00am (being the scheduled time for departure of this flight) Air Pacific had not even started boarding.

Around 6.10am, the Qantas Club informed us that the delay was because Air Pacific staff had failed to arrive for the flight.

Around 6.30am, the flight finally commenced boarding.

Upon boarding, some passengers were informed that Air Pacific's crew thought the flight was departing at 6.30am rather than 6.00am. We also noticed that one of the arm rests was held together with tape.

The plane finally landed in Nadi around 9.40am (Nadi time). After a considerable delay on the tarmac, we were told that the crew could not open the airplane door, and that the plane must be towed to another gate. More delay ensued before we were finally able to leave the plane.

As a result of the above, we lost a night's pre-paid accommodation and were endlessly stuffed around.

On any view, this is a completely unacceptable travel experience. We booked this flight through Qantas assuming, and expecting, that Qantas takes pride in its brand and would not be reselling services through such an incompetent organisation.

Delays, cancellations, non-existant service, incompetence.

Do not fly with air pacific – The worst airline ever! The worst!!First flight cancelled, second flight delayed because their airplane broke!!!!! We got given $15 voucher and a ice cream wow thankyou, not!!!!Ruined our honeymoon!! Will never fly with you again I would rather pay an extra thousand dollars to a competent airline with planes that work n stuff that understand communication. Bad. Bad. Bad!!!!!!

Do not fly to the US – Seats were very small and uncomfortable, air was so dry it hurt, the food was terrible, the screen were small and and actually did not work. OK to fly from Australia to Fiji but do not worth flying to the US to save a couple of hundred dollars. Will not fly them again. Cheap Very bad flying experience

Schedule changes Tough luck if they don't suit – Booked may 2012 for 4 of us to fly Bris LA Bris on 14 Feb returning 19 March 2013- was a great departure time and short stopovers - terrific with 3 year old -AirPacific changed flights - and now we don't get to Nadi til after LA flight has departed. leave Bris nearly midnight instead of mid morning - call centre attitude very poor - no choice… Read more

avail - Now supposed to fly day before - tough if we are working that day. New flght at nearly midnight with 17 hour stopover in Nadi instead of 4 hours and now the one on the way home is a 15 hour stopover instead of 3 hours- maybe we will get a day room but will only know when we get to FIJI - I'll have a refund please - no way - was advised to get insurance company to cover it - airpacific would write a letter - my travel insurer outraged. I just want my money back...Please - no faith in them at all and not even on the plane. Staff pleasant but do nothing Tough luck attitude

Trepidation! – Hard to rate when not flown yet. booked one way new york to brisbane thru expedia for a good deal. 6 weeks later told that air pacific has cancelled morning departures nadi to brisbane so now we arrive nadi 0530hrs and depart 2030hrs for 2300hrs in to brisbane. attempts to have them allow us to recover for couple of nights is hilarious. i am… Read more

wanting to pay my own accommodation, but no. air pacific will pay for day use of hotel and fly us out that night, or we stay one night at our cost. so far they have changed flights without my consent and have us leaving on a flight the night before we arrive in fiji. Stay tuned.

Yet to fly but phone crew are a worry.

Shocking customer service – Just came back from my holiday in Fiji – we had a wonderful stay at Shangri La resort and the only thing that spoilt our trip was flying with Air Pacific and dealing with their reservations centre in Nadi. Just before our trip I had to change my return date from Nadi due to the cyclone, and although I successfully managed to change it over the… Read more

phone, the booking confirmation email never arrived. When I got their operator on a phone while at Nadi, and asked her to send me a confirmation email, she was driving me crazy: kept me on a phone for more than two hours, putting me constantly on hold while doing God knows what. When I just had enough, I asked her to pass the phone to her supervisor, which she refused to do and just hang up on me.

She was absolutely incompetent, ignorant and unprofessional, which left me guessing how she got this job in first place. Communication with their reservations centre via email turned out to be no better. Moreover, they managed to do double booking and, as a result, on the day of our departure from Nadi, me and my family learnt, that our tickets were suspended because of above mentioned staff error, and we had to wait more than an hour in a stiff, non-air-conditioned Nadi airport until our tickets were eventualy released so we can fly back home.

Awful ground customer service

Terribe Terribe customer service. hidden extra costs if you have to change flight – I had to change my flight because my father passed away. It took 12 phone calls all on different days to simply change my flight. When I called the various representatives quoted sometimes very high differences in fares that didn't reflect the prices on the web site at all. One representative told me the that the prices on the web site are not… Read more

the prices they use for fare differences; that they in fact use different pricing that is not transparent or available to view online. During most of my phone calls the representative told me they couldn't change the flight and that I would have to call back another day when their 'supervisor' was available, or once they had received a confirmation email from their head office. Hence the 12 phone calls.

7 hour delay – Our flight home from Fiji to Sydney was scheduled for 9am, it was delayed 2 hours and ended up being delayed 7 hours before we left at 4pm. Our flight broke down in Sydney and they didn't have an aircraft for us. Once they had arranged an aircraft it wasn't even Air Pacific, it was a Portuguese airline. We arrived in Sydney at 7pm but had… Read more

missed our flight scheduled for 5pm back home. Air Pacific refused to take responsibility for the delay. Wouldn't find us accommodation or rebook our flights. They basically said all we have to do is get you to Sydney safely it doesn't matter on the time it's done.

We were stranded in Sydney overnight and they told us to sleep on the floor of the airport. We found quick accommodation and rebooked flights... but from this experience I will definitely not be travelling on Air Pacific again nor will I recommend them...

Love the pacific music – Flown twice, both times were fine. Fist time Melbourne to Nadi, second time Sydney to LA. Basic but affordable with friendly staff, relaxing boarding music and decent food. On flight to LA husbands TV not working and plane was full but was a mid night flight and we had portable DVD player so no complaints. TVs were not controllable which was… Read more

the only down side. Might fly a different airline if prices were the same but great price made it worth it for sure! Music, staff and cheap Entertainment System

Can't understand all the bad reviews – Well after reading the horror reviews below my wife and I approached our last holiday flying Air Pacific; Sydney - Nandi - Los Angeles and return with not a little trepidation. However the 4 legs were an absolute delight. The planes were clean, the toilets exceptionally clean with a pleasant aroma. 2 of the legs left right on time. 2 of… Read more

the legs actually left 5 minutes early as the planes began boarding between 45 minutes and 1 hour prior to take off. Boarding from the rearmost seats first was adhered to.

The food was in the top 10% of all the different airlines we have flown on.

The coffee was the best airline coffee we have ever had.

The cabin crew were plentiful, extremely pleasant and helpful.

And best of all, the leg room was without a doubt the most spacious we have ever encountered on any airline.

To clarify the above we have probably flown (economy class) on 15 different airlines in the last few years so we do have something to compare with.

4 hour delay – We were booked on a 6.30am flight from Sydney to Nadi on the 27th of July, 2012. We were told at 3am that there was a delay due to the staff requiring a 12 hour break from the previous night. At 10am when we finally boarded the plane were were told we were delayed due to 3 reason... one previously stated, not enough meals on the plane and lastly… Read more

we required more fuel. We finally departed at 10.30am.

Were were served 'breakfast' at approximately 11am. This consisted of dried fruit, fresh apple slices, diced fruit and an orange juice! Who would eat that for breakfast, seriously? We almost missed our transfer to the island only managed to get on by the last 5 minutes.

The plane was very hot, air con not working properly i suppose?

Airline staff serve drunk passengers with more alcohol – We endured a nightmare flight from LA to Brisbane via Nadi. We had a drunk passenger behind us who kicked my husband's seat and abused him for 2 hours on the sector to Nadi. The staff were incapable of handling her and to quieten her down they gave her more alcohol and she became more abusive until she passed out. When I arrived back in… Read more

Australia I emailed Air Pacific 3 times and called but they refuse to respond or acknowledge my complaint. never fly with this airline. They serve alcohol to drunk passengers which is against the law.

Shocking airline staff

Ripped-Off during rebooking: their policy of $100 rebooking fee + increase fare costs is a lie! – I am very disappointed with the ethical and professional conduct of Air Pacific. I was told changes to flights would cost $100 + any additional cost of the flights. This seemed fair to me. What is not acceptable is that I was charged an additional $300 (+ $100 rebooking fee = $400) for my flights when the cost of my new flights was actually… Read more

decreased! When I inquired why I was being charged for an increase in fare when the fare was actually decreased, they could not give me an answer - basically I had the choice to pay their "made-up increase fare" price, or not change my ticket. I basically got screwed and there's nothing I can do about it. I will choose a more reliable, professional, and ethical carrier next time. Sorry, but I despise being ripped off. Never again Air Pacific! If you enjoy being charged rediculous rebooking fees - this is your airline Being told rebooking fees are a specific cost, then being charged an inflated price with no explanation

Worst Airline – My sister and I booked tickets to Australia from LA six months ago. 48 hours before our departure we learn our flight has been cancelled. They've rebooked us on a flight the following day but can't guarantee that it too won't be cancelled. And when you've spent six months planning a trip, arriving a day late isn't an inconvenience but a disaster.… Read more

They offered us a full refund, but only if we cancelled our return ticket with them as well. As we booked six months ago at a ridiculously reduced rate, rebooking with another airline 48 hours before takeoff would cost us an extra $1500 each. So we take the flight a day later and they can offer us no compensation whatsoever. No upgrade, no reduced rate, no vouchers for another flIght, nada. In short, stay away, far away from Air Pacific. Our experience has been excruciating. Nothing redeemable about this airline Their service is a con.

Don't fly this airline! – Four flights with a total of more than 30 hours flying from LA via Fiji to Sidney and then Auckland via Fiji to LA. Every flight was delayed from 1/2 hor to more than 4 hours. Cabin always kept uncomfortably cold. During transfer at Fiji, during a heavy rain, one piece of luggage was droped in water. Upon arriving home, we discovered all the… Read more

contents was soaking wer. Report immediately to the airline. Days later and still no response, not even an e-mail of acknowledgement. I would never recommend this airline!

always deleayed

Worst airline ever!! – Always having mechanical problems, have never arrived on scheduled time, have been turned back twice have given them 3 chances and the last time our entire holiday ended up cancelled ( over Christmas as they couldn't reschedule a flight!!) 4 months on and still trying to get a refund for flights that was promised! Toilet problems every time! No customer service when things go wrong and flight cancelled or delayed

terrible airline,nothing works – My family flew from Nadi to Sydney on an old 747-400. It seemed nothing worked on the plane, most passengers complained the movie screens and lights did not work, food was bad and service terrible. We were stuck in the plane when it arrived and the air cond did not work. Stay clear of this airline.

Excellent – i recommend Air Pacific tro anyone flying to fiji! i have also flown other airlines, but none compare to Air Pacific! Excellent service, on time everytime i have flown with them which is 6 flights and counting! Good food, free vodka, friendly staff!

Excellent – The airline hostess were polite, helpful and friendly. Their was plenty of food that tasted nice. The airline hostess really made it an enjoyable experience for me and my family. Awesome service on our flight to FIJI. The food tasted great and was served at just the right times. They had good activities for the kids to do in their seats, which… Read more

kept them busy during the flight. They had a great selection of movies, for the kids and adults. Friendly staff who were polite and helpfull at all times. The t.v screens didn't all work. Some were discolored and sound faded in and out.

Average – Reading other reviews I had to laugh.. This review is based on our experience flying over to Fiji. Flying back, Same aircraft issues, But staff were more organised and friendlier. Yes Air-Pacific were on time. Food? Well as an adult if you dont eat fish tough As a child if you dont eat cold chicken and rice tough Staff mostly friendly, but… Read more

un-organised.

Ran out of customs cards?? huh we just boarded! You know how many people are on the plane.

Aircraft 747-400 clearly tired and outdated. Seats worn, in-flight entertainment ( If you can call it that) periodically worked.

Look Id never fly with them again personally, To Fiji or anywhere else for that matter.Could not imagine going anywhere further than Fiji with this airline.

Old tired pay for what you get budget airliner.Simple. Reliable, On-time. Out dated, Tired, Noisy, Un organised staff, Terrible in flight systems.

Good – If you bring a book, games or your iPad or iPod and don't expect gourmet food, you'll have an enjoyable flight with friendly staff! Friendly and helpful staff, very affordable prices ! The food was very basic and not very tasty compared to the same flight I did with another airline of the region, but that is to be expected, you don't fly for the… Read more

food !

The inflight entertainment hardly worked, the screen worked 10 min per hour. The radio worked well, though.

Good – I flew Air Pacific to Fiji and found it to be a most pleasant, comfortable flight. The service was excellent and the staff were all very friendly and helpful. The food was surprisingly good and the inflight entertainment helped to pass the time with a selection of movies, TV programs and games to try. The flight left and arrived on time and… Read more

without any issues and the whole journey was very smooth and comfortable. Overall, it was a very positive experience and I would consider using Air Pacific again if I am travelling to Fiji. Friendly service with a smile. Nothing of note

Excellent – initially thought.. oh no, a fijian airline,,, this will be hopeless to be amazed at the quality and service. not sure if it was due to expecting the worst and receiving 1st class service.. staff always smiling and helpful.. also helps that its only a 3 to 4 hour flight to fiji (i hate sitting in still for longer haul flights) cost, service nothing - maybe they're airline food, but its on par with 90% of other airlines out there.