Fiji Airways will change into a full Oneworld member in 2025, opening up new alternatives for Qantas frequent flyers and members of different Oneworld frequent flyer packages, together with the probability of extra premium cabin award redemptions to North America turning into out there, albeit with a twist.
Fiji’s Present Advantages As A Oneworld Join Member
Fiji Airways is already a Oneworld Join member, and it gives choose advantages to Oneworld frequent flyers. The important thing phrase right here is choose. Presently, Oneworld Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald members (equating to Qantas Silver, Gold, and Platinum) have entry to precedence check-in and boarding when flying Fiji Airways, regardless of journey class.
As well as, members of Qantas, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and American Airways’ frequent flyer packages can verify their baggage by means of to their last vacation spot when transferring between a kind of airways and Fiji Airways; earn and burn frequent flyer factors on Fiji Airways; and get lounge entry.
However different Oneworld member airways are overlooked within the chilly until Fiji Airways has negotiated particular bilateral agreements. Frankly, it’s a little bit of a hodgepodge, with most individuals not understanding the distinction between being a fully-fledged Oneworld member and a Oneworld Join member. That may create confusion and aggravation, particularly when the lounge girl says no. Changing into a full Oneworld member will iron out the inconsistencies.
Qantas already has shut ties with Fiji Airways. It owns round 16% of Fiji Airways and co-sponsored the provider into the alliance. Consequently, Qantas frequent flyers already obtain many perks when flying on Fiji Airways. However it’s not the complete suite of Oneworld advantages.
There’s a lot to love about Fiji Airways, beginning with the choice of a stopover within the airline’s house nation. The plane, notably those who fly out and in of Australia, are younger and well-maintained. The onerous product, notably the A350 enterprise class cabin, is nice, and the tender product, together with the always-smiling flight attendants, is excellent.
For Oneworld frequent flyers, there are a couple of extra playing cards within the pack. Fiji Airways is increasing its companies in North America, together with thrice weekly flights to Dallas Fort Price beginning in December. It already flies to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver. The connections on and off the Australian flights are principally timed to move passenger visitors to and from the North American flights. The timings make Fiji Airways a viable selection for trans-Pacific flying.
Maximising Your Frequent Flyer Factors
When you’re angling to spend some Qantas frequent flyer factors on Fiji Airways, there are two factors to remember. Firstly, reserving a Qantas economic system class traditional flight reward on the Sydney–Nadi–Los Angeles route begins at 41,900 factors flying Fiji Airways, the identical as flying Sydney–Los Angeles on Qantas. Secondly, taxes and charges are cheaper on Fiji Airways (AUD188 versus AUD232 on Qantas). Enterprise class redemptions even have the identical beginning worth, albeit with completely different prices for charges and taxes.
Qantas doesn’t presently promote money fares on Fiji Airways by means of to North America — though it should promote you a ticket with Qantas steel working the Sydney–Nadi leg and a Fiji Airways plane carrying you on the subsequent sector. Qantas does enable level redemptions for the entire journey between Australia and North America on Fiji Airways, nevertheless it doesn’t presently enable redemptions between Fiji and North America. Messy? Changing into a full Oneworld member will overcome these quirks.
Within the meantime, a trawl by means of the Qantas reserving engine exhibits enterprise class traditional reward redemptions to and from North America on any provider are few and much between. There are exceptions, together with Qantas releasing unsold enterprise class seats on their plane for traditional reward redemptions near the journey date. However last-minute journey bookings are usually not for everybody.
Nonetheless, Fiji Airways turning into a full Oneworld member might lead to an fascinating journey hack to assist overcome the dearth of premium cabin traditional reward availability on trans-Pacific flights. Fiji Airways usually provides respectable enterprise class reward seat availability on its sectors between Nadi and North America, and Qantas sometimes provides plenty of enterprise class reward availability on flights between Australia and Fiji. There’s no assure this can keep the identical as soon as Fiji Airways turns into a full Oneworld member, however equally, there isn’t any indication this can change.
Primarily based on distance, a Sydney–Nadi redemption in enterprise class is 41,500 factors, plus charges and taxes, whereas a Nadi–Los Angeles enterprise class seat redemption would price 82,000 factors, plus charges and taxes. It’s marginally greater than the entry-level 108,400 factors, plus charges and taxes, to fly Sydney to LA direct in enterprise class, however not rather more, and much lower than a number of the enterprise class redemption costs on provide.
With round three hours to attach in Nadi and entry to the Premier lounge, snapping up two particular person redemptions is probably a viable technique to cross the Pacific. The logistics of those redemptions will change into far simpler when the airline joins Oneworld. Past stopovers in Fiji, the provision of comparatively cheap redemption seats throughout your entire Fiji Airways community, together with to North America, is shaping up as the most important win for Qantas frequent flyers and different Oneworld elites from Fiji Airways turning into a full Oneworld member.