The newest addition to our national airline’s fleet – the brand new Airbus A330-343 – landed in Nadi yesterday. It has been named Island of Rotuma.

With this, Fiji Airways moves another step closer to becoming the leading small boutique airline in the world.

The plane flight was accompanied home by the President, Major-General (ret’d) Jioji Konousi Konrote, and the First Lady, Sarote Konrote.

The bigger version of the Airbus A330-200, has 40 more seats and 33 per cent more cargo space.

So good news not only for passengers with more seats, but also exporters are able to increase their export volume and tap into new markets.

We have already heard announcements about direct flights starting June from Nadi to San Francisco, USA. This is in addition to the direct Nadi-Singapore flights starting April.

Fiji Airways has become a hive of activity where new and exciting news is being revealed almost on a weekly basis.

From things as simple as enhanced in-flight entertainment, to improved baggage allowance and too much bigger things such as new aircraft and new routes – a lot is being announced.

And at the helm of it all is the new managing director/chief executive Andre Viljoen who generally prefers to maintain a low profile but comes with big and bright ideas and much experience.

For any who feel the new aircraft will not make much of a difference to their travel experience, think again.

Think back to your travel experience when Fiji Airways used to fly using the Boeing jumbo jet – the experience – not so exciting.

But with the three new Airbus A330-200s being added to the fleet, flyers are now much happier.

Simple things such as the in-flight entertainment (each passenger has their own), the latest technology, the facilities all add up with the inclusion of one of the friendliest cabin crew teams.

These are things which are taken for granted when one flies only Fiji Airways but the realisation will hit once you fly other airlines.

Of course we cannot compare with the likes of Emirates or Etihad (maybe in years to come this will be possible) which are world leading airlines.

But we can at least be proud of our airline which has not only turned around in terms of financial performance but also in terms of the fleet and services.

The new Fiji Airways A330-343 is not the only aircraft on the airline’s list for fleet expansion. More will be coming.

So sit back and relax. Our national airline is getting bigger, brighter and better all the time.

Feedback:  rachnal@fijisun.com.fj