Flight check: Auckland to Nadi on Fiji Airways

Bula and bubbles upon boarding and great curry for lunch made for a pleasant trip aboard Fiji Airways.

Winston Aldworth flies to Fiji aboard FJ410.

The route: Auckland to Nadi.

The plane: Airbus A330-200. Brand spanking new. A beautiful beast that leads Fiji Airways rebranding from its days as Air Pacific.

Class: "I've got good news for you," says the woman at check-in. "You've got an upgrade!" It's "bula" to Business class.

Price: Tickets start at around $350.

On time? We departed on time for a flight that takes a sniff over two hours.

The seat: Very comfortable.

Fellow passengers: The Business class travellers were a perfect representation of the demographic in the safety video. Seated around me were a palagi family, a Fijian couple and a Fijian Indian bloke. Plenty of families heading off on holidays back in Economy.

How full? Pretty much chocka.

Entertainment: First words on the safety card are "Stay calm". Ukulele music plays as we taxi for takeoff.

Food and drink: Bula and bubbles upon boarding and great curry for lunch.

Service: Excellent from the greeting to the farewell.

The toilet: Pristine. The toilets halfway down the cabin in Economy can take a wheelchair.

Luggage: You get one bag of 7kg in the hold and one 3kg bag for carry on. You can pay for more.

The airport experience: We were in the Qantas Lounge at Auckland. The food was pretty basic, but there was a good range of drinks, including Fat Yak beer. Landing at Nadi was a heatwave revelation.

Would I fly this again? I hope to.

Winston Aldworth flew as a guest of Fiji Airways.