A Qantas Boeing 737 touched down at Nadi International Airport yesterday afternoon, marking the first flight by the Australian carrier in 20 years.
Qantas executive manager sales and distribution Igor Kwiatkowski, who travelled on the inaugural service, said the new flights were a win for the more than 365,000 Australians who travelled to Fiji each year.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in demand for premium holidays to Fiji which is why Qantas is returning after nearly twenty years,” he said.
“We’ve had a fantastic response from travellers, with strong demand for the direct flights particularly around the peak school holiday periods.
“Since we went on sale in January, we’ve seen a sharp increase in the number of five-star Fiji hotel bookings made online through Qantas Hotels.”
Fiji Airports’ communications and public relations manager Christopher Chand said Qantas’ return to Fiji was a win-win for all stakeholders.
“We are delighted to see the flying kangaroo back in Nadi after almost 20 years. We look forward to working with Qantas to grow Australian tourism numbers for the benefit of the Fijian economy.”
Qantas will operate four flights a week to Nadi from Sydney. In addition to Jetstar’s service, the Qantas Group will offer customers more than 75,000 seats annually on a choice of six flights a week.
