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Fiji Airways to Fiji

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Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 14 Nov 18, 05:01Post
After I went to St. Lucia, Martinique, and Trinidad & Tobago in December, I immediately started planning where I'd go on my next "leave annual" slot, and quickly happened upon Fiji or Tahiti as likely places. After some thinking, I chose Fiji, as it was largely regarded as much friendlier than Tahiti, and also far cheaper.

Thinking further, I also decided to bring friends and family, and decided to try and make it as cheap as possible for them, as most of them don't make nearly as much as what I do, despite the girl I took having a Master's degree. Oh well, it is what it is, and we're all ridiculously blessed.

My first-bid leave was locked in the low-seniority position of the last week of May and first week of June, so I began looking for flights. We'd all be flying from different areas, and prices were looking somewhat steep, so I decided to launch on a campaign of being a cheapskate. The first thought I had ended up being the correct one: splitting up all flights so that each segment was on a different airline. I'll give you an example of my iten:

DEN-LAX-NAN all on one ticket: $2600.

DEN-LAX on United: $125
LAX-NAN-LAX on Fiji Airways: $1500
LAX-NAN-LAX on Qantas operated by Fiji (same flights): $750.
LAX-DEN on Southwest: $124.
Total: $999 total from DEN to NAN and back.

I chose this booking as the times worked and it got me some nice airplanes: 772, A333, A332, 737-700. Well, mostly nice airplanes. I'd never been on the A33X series before, either, and of course I'd never been on Fiji Airways, but after flying international on United, I figured that it couldn't be that bad. Weirdly, booking through cheapoair was in fact by far cheaper than Qantas or Fiji, though they do try to scam you a little with a couple of calls afterward. Bizarre.

Next was booking excursions and hotels. As it turned out, excursions were pretty cheap and Airbnb/VRBO were not bad. In fact, Airbnb is probably the way I'll go for most of my bookings from now on.

UAL1613
B772
DEN-LAX
Duration: 1853-2003/ 2h10m / 876 miles.
Altitude: 36,000
Seats: Yep.




May 29th rolled around and I drove to 61st and Pena station in Denver, then grabbed the A-train straight to the heart of the Denver airport. With a non-retried/civ CAC the trip is free. Talked to one of the LEOs on the train who had also worked out of Cheyenne in the military and was currently pursuing a degree in teaching history, which was his real passion. Very nice guy and he told me all about how the A-train security works.

I arrived at the terminal and took the escalator up to security, then the next escalator up to check-in. United now has you do all the check-in yourself, including tagging your own bags, though the process was not as smooth as I think they've been hoping it'd be. They had a horde of employees trying to guide people to the correct places to go and what to do, and with one exception, these employees were not friendly, bordering on actively hostile. One verbal transaction went as such:

"Is LAX the final destination for this bag?"
"Yeah, but then I'm taking in on to Fiji!"
"I don't care where it goes after it leaves United, sir, I only need to know if we are only sending it to LAX."

That's service on United!

Military not on orders gets two free bags checked in, and as I was also carrying a bunch of stuff for my GF, who was flying out of MCI, I did check two. The weight limit is about 20-lbs more/bag than standard limits, too, so big props to United for that. That's service on United!

Next was dumping the bags off, and here the UA employee was VERY nice and funny, seemingly amused by the mass of chaos, as well as by my odd last name. He asked me if I was only lugging my two bags to LAX, as he noticed some of my previous stickers (St. Lucia, etc.) on my bags, and when I said no, he asked where I was going. I told him, and he then wanted to chat about his own plans to go there, as like me, he'd noticed how cheap it was. So cool! Welcome to United!

I then took my shoulder bag on down to Pre-Check, and I have to ask how people survived without it. The Pre-Check people had me remove my belt and go through additional screening, as well as two guys right behind me, so it wasn't that fast this time. As usual, I told the TSA dude, "Man, you just touch me wherever you gotta touch me and go to town." As usual, this was not received with any friendliness.

That out of the way, it was down to the train and off to the B concourse. The flight was entirely full and they were asking for volunteers check overhead luggage. After a few minutes, I did go and volunteer, and as it turned out, I was the only person on the entire 777 who was willing to do this. SCORE! The gate agent told me to go ahead and board since I was so dang accommodating. (She also loved my last name, which helped, and I am sure my young face.) As such, I was the first passenger on the plane.

For this flight, I'd chosen a seat in front of an exit row, and near the galley. The normal setup seems to be 3-4-3 configuration on this sort of 772, which I think is only for domestic flights, but my seat was 2-0-2. I chose the window seat and the mid-ship flight attendant asked me if I wanted to take any pictures before everyone got on, as it was "such a big plane." He explained that he goes on all sorts of different planes and so sometimes gets their various features confused. Interesting little tidbit.

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Soon the first class people had boarded, and then the Great Unwashed came back to join me. The process seemed to work well enough, though apparently everyone was assigned a screaming baby to hold upon checkin. Luckily, I had my Sond MDX noise-canceling headphones with me, which work a little better than the newest offering from Bose.

We pushed back expeditiously and went quickly to the sourthern, west-departure runway. Listening to liveATC, we were cleared for takeoff about 80 seconds before actually arriving at the hold-short lines, and a number of other airplanes waited on us to pass before entering the queue. Not sure what that was about.

Departure was more-of-less straight out and without any turbulence.



The economy seats on the 772 have no screens, but instead a weird holder for your phone. It doesn't work that well, at least on a Samsung Note 8, but they also have their inflight-entertainment intranet, which makes you want to use the dumb holder. As the lighting conditions weren't the best, I made use of the IFE options and watched something with Andy from the Office for a bit. It wasn't very good, by which I mean loathsome. Inflight internet would have cost me $7.99 for this flight, so I passed on that. The snack service had offerings for pay and for free. I have noticed that if you pay, you get a whole can of soda, but if you don't, you get only the little cup. As I was hungry, I did the salami snack box, which is actually OK. It was cheaper than getting something at the airport in LAX, and I was also not sure how much time I'd have upon checkin. My neighbor didn't want a snack or a drink, so the flight attendant from before gave me his drink and his snack, too. Three snacks and three drinks! That's service on United! Anyway, the salami is tasty, and I ate it up, then watched pre-downloaded Netflix on my phone.

Looking out the window, I realized that we were over the southern part of the Grand Canyon, getting near LAS, and I verified this with the in-flight map. I forget the name of the airport on the rims to the south, but it's always struck me as very desolate.

Around 60 miles out, we started our descent, which ended up with an approach that was basically straight in to one of the southern runways. We descended into clouds which remained as a marginal VFR ceiling, and went on to become an IFR deck as the night progressed. Touchdown was not as smooth as I'm accustomed to, and it knocked my phone out of my hands.

We taxied for about 10 minutes all the way back to the United stands and deplaned. Shockingly, deplaning was lightning-fast, at least for me at mid-cabin.


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Now a weird note. Departure for this flight was at 11PM, and I was originally scheduled to get in to LAX at 8:50, so I wondered if I was cutting it when I got the ticket...but somehow we had touched down at 7:47! My mom and sister had departed SLC an hour before I departed DEN, and had texted me when they left, being pretty happy that they were not going to be stressed about their connection time. They were going to be in much sooner, so I texted them as I was walking to baggage claim. They were on Delta, and when I got to baggage claim, I texted them and asked if they were at the Thomas Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) and checked in yet. They replied that they had just landed and were not off the runway yet. Ha! How does that happen?


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Fiji 811/Qantas 3838
A333
LAX-NAN
Duration: 2354-0610/11h16m (+1 Day, 48 minutes late)/ 5616 miles.
Altitude: 34,000, step climb to 36,000, then 38,000
Seats: 40A and B



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Ugh. The shape of LAX. What a terrible, terrible airport to have to transit between airlines. I easily beat my folks to their bags and claimed them, then we met up and elected to simply walk to the TBIT. (The information guy said that it would be a lot faster for us.) My girl was already checked in, and told me that we should check in at Fiji, not Qantas. I did know that, but I guess I forgot to relay this. Poor Kristi had arrived at 2-3PM, so her wait was very long, but she didn't have as many options in departures.

I went to the Fiji counter and was welcomed with the awesome "Bula!" that they are known for. She looked at my ID and said, "Oh, I checked in your girlfriend! She is so nice." I went on to note that the same people who worked at the counter were somewhat cross-utilized, and, later on, getting back to the states, that the exact same people were working then, too. I'd say that Fiji's operation in LAX isn't big, but it is friendly and efficient.

Fiji lets you check multiple bags, which we did, and then it was on up the escalator to security. LAX is painless in that regard, and we were through in a flash. The walk to Fiji's bus stand is also not that bad, though the remote-stand waiting area is trashy and looks a bit third-world. Met up with Kristi and got a drink. Within an hour we were getting on the bus to head to the Airbus.

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Got to walk past the plane when going to the remote gate, which was one of the permanent types with the enclosed ramp. Up the ramp and onto the plane—bula! The flight attendants were incredibly cheerful.

Kristi and I took out seats as everyone packed in on this 100%-full flight. Fiji has 3 A332s and 1 A333, and this was their A333, staffed by all native Fijian flight attendants (In this case, "real" Fijians/Melanesians and not any of the imported Indians). I should mention a few weird facts about this booking.

As above, I booked through cheapoair. Half scam, but the best price. I also booked the Qantas codeshare (note: FJ just joined Oneworld as a Connect partner, so that's good for a lot of folks), and was scared that I would not get to pick our seats. As it turns out, the site claimed that we couldn't change seats, but by logging on to Qantas, I found out that I could. (Even though it gave me an error each time saying that it wasn't possible.) My family booked through Kayak on the Fiji ticket and couldn't based on the fare rule. I told them to call Fiji directly, and, just like every other experience in Fiji, the agents were totally happy to help, free of charge. Anyway, we all got out seats.

Back in the real world, their A333 has an extra econ section called the "quiet zone" which allegedly can't be booked in advance. I found out that I at least could book it, but I just didn't want to be up there.

The seats have 32" pitch, 7.5" recline, in-seat video with 10.6” monitors, in-seat USB power and entertainment on demand, and also 110V power plugs. Our middle arm rest seemed to be broken, but Kristi somehow fixed it during the middle of the flight. I found the seating to have a lot more room than the BA777 I was on a few months ago, and way more than the UA777, albeit the UA was in domestic config. The seats were also clean, which I appreciated. At full recline, I was able to not have my toes of shins touching anything...so that's pretty cool!

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While the flight was 100% full with 313 pax, the overhead bins were not used much! Maybe this was because many of the passengers were Fijians, which I also found surprising. One had VERY stinky feet, and I wanted to defenstrate him. Put your shoes on, you nasty old man. We already had pillows and a blanket, which were just ok, and of course got a toothbrush and toothpaste. I did like the designs.




Despite being full, we pushed back on time and made our way all the way to to opposite side of the airport to take the active, only waiting on two Delta 737s to hustle before us. Departure was straight West and we were in the clouds instantly, gradually climbing above them. About 30 minutes after takeoff the meal service began, and the way it works in the rear econ is kind of odd. A drink service happens starting on the left side of the plane and moving backward, followed by a second drink service, and in between someone took our meal choices. The same service then starts in the back of the right side and moves forward. Seemed unusual to me. Regardless, I selected the chicken, though the two other options were beef and vegetarian. The meal was DELICIOUS, which surprised me. I ate all the sauce from the chicken, and even the mashed potatoes were well seasoned, along with the vegetables. Included in the meal were a chocolate moose, cheese, crackers, bread, etc. Kristi had the same, so I can't say what the other meals were like.

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The meal was cleaned up promptly and then a night-time tea service began, along with another alcohol run. (The flight attendants kept reminding everyone that all drinks were free, which was charming.) We took hot teas, because who wants coffee so late, and the weirdest thing happened. As the flight attendants moved away, the second attendant looked at our cups of tea, saw that mine was, well, tea, and exclaimed, "I'm so sorry sir!" She then proceeded to dump milk in my tea only. I don't normally take milk as I'm becoming lactose intolerant, but it was a cute thing. I then selected Fiji Rum, which I will admit nearly knocked me out. Turns out it was 58% ABV and they gave me nearly a whole cup of it. Crap.

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While I didn't use the IFE much, the screens were clean, as were the controllers. The system worked smoothly and had a wide selection of movies and sitcoms, with about a 2:1 average of Holly-to-Bollywood. There were also some games that I observed plenty of kids playing quite happily.

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After changing into my pajamas in the one, read lav, and bushing my teeth, I went and made our "beds." While Kristi couldn't sleep, I conked out until immediately. There was very little turbulence, and I didn't wake up until approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes before landing, after towelettes had already been passed. This was fine by me, as breakfast service was well underway. I used the wait time to go and change into my arrival clothes, then filled out the immigration card that had been handed out.

Breakfast was typical and thankfully not greasy, consisting of some cheese/egg/squash concoction, which was great, and some chicken sausages, which I didn't care for, and will never care for. Blech. The Fijians seemed to like them, though.

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Breakfast was cleaned up 40 minutes before landing, and I looked out the window to see the horizon starting to show some light, as well as lights of various islands beneath us. The seatbelt sign remained off until we had turned onto a 15-mile final.

Nadi (said Nahn-dee) likes to land runway 02 and depart runway 20. This means that a landing aircraft exits at the very end of the runway, making a right turn, and taxis right to the gate. Departing aircraft conversely push back and are 30 seconds from the runway and ready to depart. This also helps aircraft avoid coming close to the Sabeto mountain range, though I stayed by the Nadi VOR to the NW and noted that most propeller aircraft were fine with a curved approach to land southwest.


We made our approach along the coastline from the NE and turned in over Momi Bay, which has expensive, overwater bungalows. By all accounts, these are not worth the price, as the bay is manmade and rather sterile. Fiji is itself not big on overwater accommodations, unlike Tahiti.

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OVERWATER BURES


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The overhead lights remained on the entire time during landing, so good pictures and videos were impossible. Very little braking was used since we had to go to the end, and the lack of reverse-thrust was a first for me.



We made the right turn and passed by the Fiji hangar, which, as seen, is incredibly inviting. The lead attendant gave us the greeting of, "You are now in Fiji where it is early morning. Welcome to our home. Vinaka."

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Deplaning took no time at all, and the open-air walkway meant that we got to go right by our jet! The crew sure was friendly as we left, too. Cool! Though it was not even 0600, some Fijians were playing welcome songs along the immigration queue, and generally being chatty and fun. Immigration itself was quick, and friendly, with greetings of "bula!"

On the way through customs, I got asked by the X-ray technician what was in my luggage. I explained that it was my snokeling gear and she said, "Oh! Fun!" then waved me on.





In Fiji:

We stayed at the following resorts/Airbnbs in Fiji:

1.) de Vos, the Private Residence (4/5 room, 5/5 staff, 5/5 activities )
2.) Maui Bay "The View" Adult Villas (5/5 room, ?/5 staff; it was a weird stay, 5/5 things to do)
3.) Tambua Sands Resort (2/5 room due to simplicity and lack of AC/internet, 4/5 staff, 2/5 activities, but excellent landscaping)
4.) Dreamview Villas (8/5 room, 5/5 staff, 2/5 activities, though nearby resort can be utilized)
5.) The Fiji Orchid (Raymond Burr's old place) (5/5 room, 5/5 staff, 1/5 activities, but excellent overnight stay on way to the airport)

We also visited a number of islands, rafted through Eden, caught tuna and barracuda, visited the island that Tom Hank's Castaway was filmed on, etc.

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Fiji 810/Qantas 3839
A332
NAN-LAX
Duration: 2104-1252/11h16m (Same day, 7 minutes late, 8 hours before departure time) / 5610 miles.
Altitude: 39,000
Seats: 35J and K


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On our departure day, we didn't need to be at the airport until 7PM or so. We traveled from the Fiji Orchid down to Natadola Bay for a second time. A storm was persistent in the area and the temperature got down to 61F, though the water was plenty warm, so we spent a few hours splashing around in the waves before heading back northwest toward the airport. We'd elected to spend $18 to go to the Travel Center near the airport, which gives you access to a lounge, spa, shower, etc. Best $$$ I've ever spent, and a nice welcome drink, too, as well as free wifi.

We then left for the airport. The signs were indistinct for where to return the car, but it was pretty easy...just park alongside the area you rented it and run across the street. It took some time for the folks to show up to take the car back, but when they did, the lookover consisted of, "No, no, vinaka, it looks fine, let's sign it off." GO BUDGET!

Checkin was right around the corner to the left, and we went in as darkness took over the island. My bag was 12 lbs over the limit, but Fiji was fine with that. AWESOME!

Security was friendly, as usual, with no questions. Soon enough we were upstairs in the larger-than-expected departures section. Tappoo's was excellent and I brought back a ton of rum! Also got a bunch of cheap, made-in-Fiji stuff, by Fijians, as well as some more kava. Then we went and had some Burger King, which was also cheap! Yumm! American junk food.

By the time we were done eating, it was about time to board. The crew had a female, native Fijian as the copilot, which was cool, and I watched as they went to the plane first. The section we were waiting in was odd, in that the waiting area for the plane was off in what was kind of its own little, isolated section, down a short ramp, in a large, rectangular shaped room with lots of off furniture designed to sleep on. There appeared to be lines forming at perpendicular angles to the actual door, both of which seemed equally valid. Guess it's Fiji time!


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Once through the door to the ramp, we were on an outside balcony. A couple of lovely first class passengers told us to stop so that they could take our picture! I guess Fiji makes everyone more friendly.

Our seats were in the back again, and thankfully this time there was no one with smelly feet, though there was a child in front of us. This time we were on a shorter A332, but in Fiji's configuration, there is no noticeable difference if you're in economy, and certainly not in 35J and K. As the safety briefing started, we pushed back on time-ish at 2104, and began the taxi to the runway. As we were taxiing, the Australian captain announced that the weather in LA was...you guessed it, "fine." This was the last thing we heard from the flight deck. Our departure was odd in that the cabin lights were never dimmed, but standard in that we were heading southwest on the way out, utilizing runway 20.

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We were airborne within 5 minutes of pushback, and the seatbelt sign was turned off before we reached 5K feet. The flight attendants asked everyone to close their window shades for the duration of the flight at the same time.

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Dinner was served about an hour after takeoff. While I had the beef, Kristi chose the chicken. Pretty sure that mine was a lot better. Tons of people got the vegetarian option pre-loaded, which seems common for the Indo-Fijians. Afterward I changed, brushed my teeth, and fell asleep. I'd hoped to wake up to watch the sunrise over the Pacific, but I didn't wake up until breakfast was served. It was pretty similar to the previous breakfast, so not much to report there.

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We came in over the Catalina islands and then flew into LA from the south, landing west. We taxied to an actual gate and went through immigration and customs. The customs guy asked Kristi if she loved me...she stared, and he said, "Yeah, you do, y'all can keep going," and dismissed us. Wow! Way easier when you're not single.

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We all spent some time together, then split up for our respective flights.

WN 1318
B738
LAX-DEN
Duration: 1939-2245/ 2h6m / 918 miles.
Altitude: 37,000
Seats: One by the engine on the A side.


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I took Southwest, while Kristi was on Delta. I don't have much to say about the Southwest flight. I was one of the first to board and chose a nice window seat where I could see the wing and engine, and we took off as it was getting dark out. Legroom seemed excellent to me for some reason, and the seats are so much better than the new ones on AAs 73Max or anything on Frontier.

[img]https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/46183044_1883607665067724_4301812318523621376_o.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&oh=b3db87b708bff2161023db261aac36a3&oe=5C7E0594
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There were some nice views as we overflew LAX after having departed over the ocean, and the entire flight was smooth. At this time, WN was still serving peanuts, as well as Wheat Thins, which puts them ahead of many airlines...plus the free bags. We had a beautiful, long approach over Denver from the southwest, then went up north over BJC, while airplanes zoomed around underneath us! Gawjus! We got to the gate in record time. By the time I got to baggage claim, my bag was waiting, and I took the train back to my Jeep, getting home about 1AM.


Final thoughts: I love Fiji's direct flights, even in economy. I wish the flight were a little longer, so that I could sleep more, but it was very pleasant and less torturous than flying Frontier for even two hours. Fiji is my favorite country I've visited, just because the locals are so nice. If you have time, stopping by villages and interacting with people is well worth it. :)
ANCFlyer (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 14 Nov 18, 08:48Post
Excellent Report. Great shots of Fiji. Didn't look like such a bad ride on Fiji . . . never flown with them. I agree navigating LAX is a PITA. No decent was to get from one terminal to the next. Underground would be best.

Love the suitecase with 121.5 sticker . . . . . .

Pep
LET'S GO BRANDON!!!!
ShanwickOceanic (netAirspace FAA) 14 Nov 18, 09:16Post
Stays by the VOR.

No pic.

{grumpy}
My friend and I applied for airline jobs in Australia, but they didn't Qantas.
Zak (netAirspace FAA) 14 Nov 18, 10:01Post
Fantastic TR! I envy you for that trip!

Great photos as well. That night sky - wow!
And the one saying "Land 4 sale" - how tempted were you? ;)

ShanwickOceanic wrote:Stays by the VOR.
No pic.
{grumpy}

You know that's nerdy, even for our unusually high nerd standards. {silly}
Ideology: The mistaken belief that your beliefs are neither beliefs nor mistaken.
miamiair (netAirspace FAA) 14 Nov 18, 10:10Post
Nice TR.

{thumbsup} for the Milky Way shot.

Enjoyed reading it.
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
CentrelinePhoto 14 Nov 18, 15:39Post
Enjoyed reading this, Lucas. I sell various routes on Fiji Airways from time to time so it's great to hear how pleasant their service is.
Just once in a while, let us exalt the importance of ideas and information.
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 14 Nov 18, 15:40Post
ShanwickOceanic wrote:Stays by the VOR.

No pic.

{grumpy}



LOL...I guess I did take a picture. :P Here you go, the Nadi VOR!
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Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 14 Nov 18, 15:44Post
Zak wrote:Fantastic TR! I envy you for that trip!

Great photos as well. That night sky - wow!
And the one saying "Land 4 sale" - how tempted were you? ;)




Well my coworker Russell already claimed that piece of land, I'm afraid! I did decide that I want to own the Nanuku airport, though. This pic is taken from the road. :))

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Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 14 Nov 18, 15:56Post
Pep and Vic, thank you! I Pep, I also have a 243.0 "You're on Guard" sticker for my luggage, which is a bit more relevant as I serve in the 243d Air Traffic Control Squadron. :))

CentrelinePhoto wrote:Enjoyed reading this, Lucas. I sell various routes on Fiji Airways from time to time so it's great to hear how pleasant their service is.


CP, thanks. I really don't know why you'd fly a different airline to Fiji, not only given the cheerfulness of the service, but also the routing, at least if you're departing the US. Will definitely use them again. {thumbsup}
vikkyvik 15 Nov 18, 17:47Post
Lucas wrote: I forget the name of the airport on the rims to the south, but it's always struck me as very desolate.


You talking about Grand Canyon National Park Airport?



(sorry for the self-plug)

Lucas wrote:I was originally scheduled to get in to LAX at 8:50, so I wondered if I was cutting it when I got the ticket...but somehow we had touched down at 7:47!


Sounds like someone mixed up Mountain and Pacific time. :))

Nice report, I'll have to watch the videos when I'm home.
 

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