HASSLE free was how a Fiji born resident now residing in Surrey, Vancouver in Canada described the new Nadi-Vancouver direct flight which was launched last Friday, November 25.
Originally from Namotomoto Village in Nadi, Eseta Lutumailagi Batirerega said there were a lot of things that you don’t have to worry about now and one in particular is the transit visa from the United States of America.
“To go to Fiji, you have to check your transit visa if it’s still valid,” Ms Batirerega said.
She said one had to fill a lot of forms online when applying for the transit visa and now they did not have to anymore.
“With this direct flight, all we have to do is save money, and book our ticket. You don’t have to worry about whether our US visa is still valid,” she said.
Ms Batirerega explained how it took two days to get to Fiji before when transiting through the US which she claimed was also a hassle. She said for this new route, one just had to board the flight at night and would get to Fiji the next morning and it would only take 11 hours.
“I will be having dinner here and then I will be having breakfast with my family in Fiji the next day,” she said.
Time management was a key factor as well for Ms Batirerega for this new route as she explained that very little time was spent preparing.
“I’m so thankful that this has finally happened and I’m looking forward to going on this new route to Fiji,” she said.
Ms Batirerega hopes that the new route is sustainable and continues, and the fare is reasonable.
Another Fijian who now resides in Canada echoed similar sentiments saying that said this had been forthcoming for a very long time and Fijians in Vancouver had been looking forward to.
Sitiveni Delai said “Fijians in Canada, we usually travel to San Francisco or Los Angeles and it takes up a lot of travel time.
“Basically it’s 24hrs if you leave in Canada to go to America and then go to Fiji,” Mr Delai said.
“But this is so much easier to promote this flight from Fiji to Canada vice versa, easier for the Fijian people to travel and its also a way of promoting Canadians to go to Fiji.”
