Air Pacific??

[JenTeach]

Hello everyone!

I had read a post from someone who was traveling to and within Fiji (from LAX) and had trouble with Air Pacific...they were stranded two days in LA.

Any strong opinions for or against Air Pacific? We are looking at booking all of our flights with AP to and within Fiji, but wanted to check on their reliability.

Thanks!
Jennifer

 

[AlanWald]

Be sure to join the American Airlines Frequent Flyer program ( http://www.aa.com/ ) BEFORE taking a flight on Air Pacific. Air Pacific is a mileage partner with American Airlines and you will get about $11,000 miles.

You may have to pay your international departure tax when leaving Fiji in Fiji dollars cash if it is not already included in the ticket. Check to see what the current procedure.

 

[DesertEagle]

Excellent advice, Alan. I kept my boarding passes and had planned to fax them to American Airlines. Air Pacific was actually really quick about it. Within a week my account was credited for the miles.

This was my experience with Air Pacific:

The flight from LA to Nadi was very nice. I booked a few months in advance and chose row 27 which is the first row of economy in the 747-400. That way nobody reclines in front of you. There was lots of legroom. Instead of the TV on the seat in front of you , it folds like the tray table. Air Pacific didn't have any special meals (I ordered a fruit plate).

The day before my return flight, Air Pacific cancelled that one. When I showed up at the airport in Nadi 3 hours before the flight, the line was already out the door. It moved steadily, except for one family of about 12 people. They took about an hour to sort their seating arrangements. Why Air Pacific didn't deal with that separately I don't know. But for economy, they only had about 4 windows open. When it was my turn, the agent was incredibly fast. Then I looked at my boarding pass and saw that they stuck me in a middle seat in the back. He was polite to tell me that reserved seats can be changed. I asked him to politely move the people currently in row 27. He offered a compromise: sit on the upper deck. I got the very first row. Those seats are right up against the wall in the front, so less leg room.

I chose to spend a night in LA before returning to Boston. That gave me some room in case the flight was delayed. It kept me from two redeye flights in a row.

Overall, they were fine. The service was polite, and the flight attendants didn't disappear like they do on US carriers.

Air New Zealand is supposed to be good. They use older 767's with no private TVs. Same 32" seat pitch.

 

[AlanWald]

When flying on big plane with meal service (like a 747) if you order a special meal in advance you will always get served first, no matter where you sit because they want to get rid of the special meals first.

Also, often certain seats are temporarily blocked or unavailable for assignment in advance in one country or airport but at the next stop you can try again for better seats. I wanted a seat with extra legroom on my Singapore-LAX flight and when I checked in at Manado, Indonesia to fly to Singapore they gave me a seat assignment for Singapore to LAX but said the seat I wanted was blocked and to try in Singapore. I had to go to the transit counter anyway to get the boarding pass printed and asked and got a great seat. So always ask, and then ask again if necessary at the next stop if making multiple flights.


Air New Zealand partners for frequent flyer miles with United Airlines and the rest of the star alliance (Lufthansa, Thai etc)

 

[donacheson]

Hello everyone!

I had read a post from someone who was traveling to and within Fiji (from LAX) and had trouble with Air Pacific...they were stranded two days in LA.

Any strong opinions for or against Air Pacific? We are looking at booking all of our flights with AP to and within Fiji, but wanted to check on their reliability.

Thanks!
Jennifer

I've flown Air Pacific to Fiji 4 or 5 times without any problems other than departures or arrivals delayed by a couple of hours (once each as I recall).

My really bitter experience was with Air New Zealand which decided about the time of scheduled arrival in Nadi to overfly Fiji on a NZ/Fiji/Los Angeles flight, so stranding a hundred or more passengers, providing for only some of them and leaving the remainder to fend for themselves. Needless to say, I've never flown ANZ again.

 

[DesertEagle]

They overflew Fiji? Did you get a refund?

On most carries, special meals do get served first. On my flights with Air Pacific, there were no special meals at all. Here's a photo of breakfast, which was pretty good.