National airline reviews communication after long delay

Passengers affected by a 20-hour delayed flight from Nadi to Auckland were forced to seek alternative accommodation after a limited few were billeted.

But service provider, national carrier Fiji Airways, offered free meals and discounted travel as consolation to gloss over tension linked to the Flight 419.

During the hold up, a limited number of rooms were provided for passengers, prioritised for elderly customers and families travelling with young children, the airline said.

In its defence, the airline said support was assessed on a case-by-case basis. 

Operational Constraints

The airline said the delay was owed to safety and unavoidable operational constraints, and conceded to communication breakdown.

“Communication during the delay could have been clearer,” the airline said.

“Providing timely and accurate information during irregular operations is essential to us.

“On this occasion, operations were significantly stretched as it was the busiest day ever recorded in Fiji Airways’ history, which impacted our ability to share updates as promptly as we would have liked.”

The delay is not a good look for Fiji Airways chief executive officer Paul Scurrah, who recently took up office.

Mr Scurrah left Virgin in 2020 after disagreeing with its private equity owners at Bain Capital over plans to let go of leases on 777s that flew to Los Angeles. 

That exit dramatically reshaped Australia’s international flying market, with Jetstar growing by 987,000 seats, while Virgin exited 1.1 million.

Reactive 

Meanwhile, Fiji Airways is reviewing processes to strengthen communication with customers, it said.

“We are reviewing internal procedures to ensure better real-time updates in the event of extended delays,” the airline said.