Fiji Airways is launching flights to its sixth Australian city, with direct flights between Nadi and Cairns commencing on 10 April 2024.

The flights are timed to offer short connections between Cairns and North America, with Fiji Airways’ one-stop flights via Nadi set to become the fastest way to travel between Cairns and Los Angeles, San Francisco or Dallas.

The new route is being supported by the Queensland government. The state government hopes the flights will attract more tourists from North America, while also providing a direct service to Far North Queensland for Fijian students, their families and freight exports.

“The Queensland Government is proud to support these new services as we formulate a 20-year tourism plan to showcase Queensland’s natural beauty to the world, including the reef, rainforests, beaches and the outback,” Queensland Tourism Minister Andrew Powell said.

North America is Cairns’ second-largest source of international tourists. The new Fiji Airways service shaves around three hours off the flight time from major US cities to Cairns, compared to connecting via Brisbane or Sydney.

Fiji Airways already serves Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra. It will join the Oneworld alliance and adopt American Airlines AAdvantage as its loyalty program next year.

Fiji Airways Cairns-Nadi schedule

Fiji Airways will use a Boeing 737 MAX 8 on its Nadi-Cairns route. This aircraft has 8 Business Class and 162 Economy seats. All passengers receive complimentary meals, drinks and in-flight entertainment on board, and Wi-Fi is available.

Flights will run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. This is the schedule:

• FJ970 Cairns 12:25 – Nadi 18:35
• FJ971 Nadi 08:30 – Cairns 11:25

Book a seat using Qantas points

The new Cairns-Nadi flights are already on sale. As Fiji Airways is a Qantas partner, you can even book a seat using Qantas Frequent Flyer points!

A round-trip booking from Cairns to Nadi would cost 36,000 Qantas points in Economy or 83,000 Qantas points for Business Class, plus $296 in taxes. There are no carrier charges when redeeming Qantas points on Fiji Airways.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.