Fiji Airways will become a full Oneworld member in 2025, opening up new opportunities for Qantas frequent flyers and members of other Oneworld frequent flyer programs, including the likelihood of more premium cabin award redemptions to North America becoming available, albeit with a twist.

Fiji’s Current Benefits As A Oneworld Connect Member

Fiji Airways is already a Oneworld Connect member, and it provides select benefits to Oneworld frequent flyers. The key word here is select. Currently, Oneworld Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald members (equating to Qantas Silver, Gold, and Platinum) have access to priority check-in and boarding when flying Fiji Airways, irrespective of travel class.

In addition, members of Qantas, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and American Airlines’ frequent flyer programs can check their luggage through to their final destination when transferring between one of those airlines and Fiji Airways; earn and burn frequent flyer points on Fiji Airways; and get lounge access.

But other Oneworld member airlines are left out in the cold unless Fiji Airways has negotiated specific bilateral agreements. Frankly, it’s a bit of a hodgepodge, with most people not knowing the difference between being a fully-fledged Oneworld member and a Oneworld Connect member. That can create confusion and aggravation, especially when the lounge lady says no. Becoming a full Oneworld member will iron out the inconsistencies.

Qantas already has close ties with Fiji Airways. It owns around 16% of Fiji Airways and co-sponsored the carrier into the alliance. Consequently, Qantas frequent flyers already receive many perks when flying on Fiji Airways. But it’s not the full suite of Oneworld benefits.

There is a lot to like about Fiji Airways, starting with the option of a stopover in the airline’s home country. The aircraft, particularly those that fly in and out of Australia, are young and well-maintained. The hard product, notably the A350 business class cabin, is good, and the soft product, including the always-smiling flight attendants, is superb.

For Oneworld frequent flyers, there are a few more cards in the pack. Fiji Airways is expanding its services in North America, including thrice weekly flights to Dallas Fort Worth starting in December. It already flies to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver. The connections on and off the Australian flights are mostly timed to pass passenger traffic to and from the North American flights. The timings make Fiji Airways a viable choice for trans-Pacific flying.

Maximising Your Frequent Flyer Points

If you’re angling to spend some Qantas frequent flyer points on Fiji Airways, there are two points to keep in mind. Firstly, booking a Qantas economy class classic flight reward on the Sydney–Nadi–Los Angeles route starts at 41,900 points flying Fiji Airways, the same as flying Sydney–Los Angeles on Qantas. Secondly, taxes and fees are cheaper on Fiji Airways (AUD188 versus AUD232 on Qantas). Business class redemptions also have the same starting price, albeit with different charges for fees and taxes.

Qantas doesn’t currently sell cash fares on Fiji Airways through to North America — although it will sell you a ticket with Qantas metal operating the Sydney–Nadi leg and a Fiji Airways aircraft carrying you on the next sector. Qantas does allow point redemptions for the whole trip between Australia and North America on Fiji Airways, but it doesn’t currently allow redemptions between Fiji and North America. Messy? Becoming a full Oneworld member will overcome these quirks.

In the meantime, a trawl through the Qantas booking engine shows business class classic reward redemptions to and from North America on any carrier are few and far between. There are exceptions, including Qantas releasing unsold business class seats on their aircraft for classic reward redemptions close to the travel date. But last-minute travel bookings are not for everyone.  

However, Fiji Airways becoming a full Oneworld member may result in an interesting travel hack to help overcome the lack of premium cabin classic reward availability on trans-Pacific flights. Fiji Airways often offers decent business class reward seat availability on its sectors between Nadi and North America, and Qantas typically offers a lot of business class reward availability on flights between Australia and Fiji. There’s no guarantee this will stay the same once Fiji Airways becomes a full Oneworld member, but equally, there is no indication this will change.

Based on distance, a Sydney–Nadi redemption in business class is 41,500 points, plus fees and taxes, while a Nadi–Los Angeles business class seat redemption would cost 82,000 points, plus fees and taxes. It’s marginally more than the entry-level 108,400 points, plus fees and taxes, to fly Sydney to LA direct in business class, but not much more, and far less than some of the business class redemption prices on offer. 

With around three hours to connect in Nadi and access to the Premier lounge, snapping up two individual redemptions is potentially a viable strategy to cross the Pacific. The logistics of these redemptions will become far easier when the airline joins Oneworld. Beyond stopovers in Fiji, the availability of relatively inexpensive redemption seats across the entire Fiji Airways network, including to North America, is shaping up as the biggest win for Qantas frequent flyers and other Oneworld elites from Fiji Airways becoming a full Oneworld member.