Fiji Airways announces big US expansion with a new longest route

If Fiji is on your bucket list, there will soon be a new way to get there.

Fiji Airways announced Wednesday that it will commence a new nonstop flight from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Nadi International Airport (NAN) in Fiji. The carrier officially filed for permission to operate this new route with the U.S. Department of Transportation about a month ago.

The new three-times-weekly service will commence Dec. 10. Flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Flights from Dallas will depart at 9:55 p.m. and arrive in Fiji at 5:20 a.m. two days later. The eastbound flight from Fiji takes off at 9:15 p.m. and arrives in Dallas at 3:20 p.m. on the same day.

The airline will deploy a 334-seat Airbus A350-900 jet to Dallas. Fiji's A350 features a competitive business-class product arranged across nine rows in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration.

Each business-class traveler will enjoy direct aisle access, as well as 17-inch TV screens, power outlets and USB ports.

Fiji's A350s also feature 301 economy seats, 39 of which offer extra legroom.

"Introducing a direct service between Fiji and Dallas is a really exciting milestone for Fiji Airways, as we continue to increase Fiji's connectivity with the United States and beyond offering our guests more travel options," Fiji Airways CEO Andre Viljoen said in a statement.

Speaking of a really exciting milestone, the new Fiji Airways route will become the carrier's longest flight yet. At 6,625 miles, the Dallas-to-Nadi route is 760 miles longer than the airline's current longest to Vancouver, British Columbia. (Flights will take around 13 hours.) Furthermore, Dallas will become the airline's fourth U.S. destination, joining Honolulu, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

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Fiji's expansion comes just a few weeks after the airline announced it would adopt the American Airlines AAdvantage loyalty program as its own. Travelers will be able to earn and redeem AAdvantage miles from all Fiji flights and also enjoy reciprocal loyalty benefits for elite members. It's also possible that American Airlines might debut reciprocal systemwide upgrade redemption on Fiji Airways flights.

In addition to the AAdvantage news, Fiji Airways recently received approval to become the newest member of the Oneworld airline alliance by 2025. American Airlines is a founding member of this alliance.

Map watching: The award for 'sexiest new route' of the year goes to ...

As Fiji's flag carrier, Fiji Airways' core mission is to boost tourism to the archipelago in the South Pacific. With the new DFW route, travelers can book hundreds of one-stop itineraries from points across the U.S. to Fiji, likely increasing the appeal of a trip to Fiji for many U.S.-based travelers. This is especially true for flyers based on the East Coast, who currently need to take a transcontinental flight to connect to a nonstop route from the U.S. to Fiji.

Moreover, Fiji Airways has historically also used its strategic location in the South Pacific to offer attractive fares for connections beyond Nadi to nearby destinations, including Australia and New Zealand. This new route might potentially lead to lower fares on key transpacific itineraries.

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