Bula and bubbles upon boarding and great curry for lunch made for a pleasant trip aboard Fiji Airways.
Winston Aldworth flies to Fiji aboard FJ410.
The route: Auckland to Nadi.
The plane: Airbus A330-200. Brand spanking new. A beautiful beast that leads Fiji Airways rebranding from its days as Air Pacific.
Class: "I've got good news for you," says the woman at check-in. "You've got an upgrade!" It's "bula" to Business class.
Price: Tickets start at around $350.
On time? We departed on time for a flight that takes a sniff over two hours.
The seat: Very comfortable.
Fellow passengers: The Business class travellers were a perfect representation of the demographic in the safety video. Seated around me were a palagi family, a Fijian couple and a Fijian Indian bloke. Plenty of families heading off on holidays back in Economy.
How full? Pretty much chocka.
Entertainment: First words on the safety card are "Stay calm". Ukulele music plays as we taxi for takeoff.
Food and drink: Bula and bubbles upon boarding and great curry for lunch.
Service: Excellent from the greeting to the farewell.
The toilet: Pristine. The toilets halfway down the cabin in Economy can take a wheelchair.
Luggage: You get one bag of 7kg in the hold and one 3kg bag for carry on. You can pay for more.
The airport experience: We were in the Qantas Lounge at Auckland. The food was pretty basic, but there was a good range of drinks, including Fat Yak beer. Landing at Nadi was a heatwave revelation.
Would I fly this again? I hope to.
Winston Aldworth flew as a guest of Fiji Airways.
The perfect destination for both a one-stop holiday, or a much-needed stopover.