The small Pacific airline luring Kiwis with cheap long-haul fares

Brook Sabin is a travel reporter for Stuff and former political reporter.

OPINION: Earlier this year I looked into booking a trip to Rarotonga and Air New Zealand wanted to charge me an astonishing $1800 return for the flights.

Before Covid, you could get to Europe on a special fare for that kind of price. But today, it’s almost a thing of the past.

I say almost because there are a few airlines targeting Kiwis with cheap airfares – and one of them is found just a few hours away with its home base along a coconut-lined runway.

Fiji Airways, under the excellent stewardship of Andre Viljoen, is luring Kiwis with cheap fares to the United States, Canada, Asia and throughout the Pacific. In some cases, the tickets are significantly cheaper than what Air NZ is offering.

It has airfares on sale from Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch to Los Angeles and San Francisco for $1073 return. You can travel to Vancouver for $1173 return.

And, interestingly, it’s offering return fares from New Zealand to Singapore for $999, Tokyo for $773 and Hong Kong for $1073.

But that’s not all – Fiji Airways also wants to fly you around the Pacific, offering fares through its Nadi hub to Samoa and Tonga from $499 return.

These are sale fares, but even so, it’s offering serious price competition to Air NZ.

So, what’s going on here?

Air NZ is in a bind. Its executive made the decision to permanently retire around a quarter of its long-haul flying capacity during the pandemic – it got rid of eight 777-200ER aircraft. The airline anticipated it would take years for demand to rebound – a calculation I argue it got very wrong.

Put simply, Air NZ doesn’t have the aircraft to keep up with demand. Granted, it’s a problem many airlines are facing. But it’s being felt particularly hard by Air NZ because we’re an isolated country at the bottom of the world that relies on long-haul flights. Taking eight long-haul aircraft out of the mix is tough.

With limited capacity, airfares are sky-high, and with a cost of living crisis, consumers are looking for other options.

One of those is Fiji Airways. The airline flies to three New Zealand cities and can connect Kiwis to numerous destinations in USA and Asia via Nadi.

The airline doesn’t have a big enough population to support its outbound long-haul flights, so it needs to lure Kiwis (and Australians) by using Fiji as a hub. It also has the advantage of a lower cost base than New Zealand or Australian carriers and is rumoured to be eyeing more long-haul aircraft.

Air NZ’s fleet problem puts it in a vulnerable position long-term. It’s facing increased pressure from Qantas, which will soon have Kiwi Cam Wallace heading its international division. The former Air NZ executive knows too well that market share is up for grabs. Qantas is already in the hunt, launching a direct Auckland to New York route in June to compete with the national carrier’s “flagship” NZ1 flight.

On top of that, Fiji Airways is increasingly targeting the leisure end of the market – those who are price sensitive and don’t mind a stopover in Nadi.

Intriguingly, it’s also trying to market flights for Kiwis to Tonga and Samoa – with sale fares at just $499 return. Air NZ has traditionally been dominant with these destinations. But since Covid, Qantas now flies to Samoa (from Brisbane and Sydney) and Fiji Airways is keen to provide Kiwis with an alternative if they’re willing to fly via Nadi.

All this is great for you and me – the consumer. International flights have reached eye-watering prices, so I imagine a fair few people might be swapping a “Kia Ora” for a “Bula” the next time they’re heading to the USA and Asia.

Would you be happy to fly via Nadi if it meant a cheaper long-haul flight? Let us know in the comments.