Hands down, without question, Fiji Airways‘ overnight flight from LAX to Fiji is one of the best routes in surfing. It’s certainly my favorite. And while surfers around the globe love to loathe commercial airlines, Fiji Air hits different. They actually like surfers!
The flight typically departs from LAX at midnight, which means arriving at the airport around 9:00 pm is recommended. Avoiding LA’s soul-crushing rush hour en route to the airport is a perk in and of itself, but the bonus time also gives you enough space to get through security and post up at the gate for a drink or two before the midnight haul. About an 11-hour flight across the Pacific, once the plane’s up in the air, the eyelids get heavy, and sleep isn’t far behind. Wake up in time for breakfast, and before you know it, you’re on the ground in wonderful, glorious Fiji.
Because you’ve crossed the dateline overnight, you skip a full day and land somewhere around 6:00 am the following day. So, for example, if you leave on Friday at midnight, you land at 6:00 am on Sunday. Because of the weird time travel element, jet lag is typically minimal. It’s so efficient. So easy. So perfect.
And when it comes to service, of course, Fiji Air is the best. That warm, friendly hospitality that the people of Fiji are famous for is infused into the airline’s DNA. Last month, I headed south for the Fiji Pro. When I was at the check-in counter at LAX, the woman working the desk asked how long my board bag was. I told her it was 6’8″ and that there was a tag on the bag that said the same. Unsure that the size was accurate, she busted out a tape measure and measured my board bag. It came out to be 6’6″. She said that it could fly for free, but if it had been 6’8″, I would have had to pay. She certainly didn’t have to do that. She could have taken my money, and I wouldn’t have thought twice about it, but she took the time to look out for me, and that means the world when on the road.
In my 30 years of surf travel, it’s never happened. I was ready to throw down the credit card and pay up, but instead, I dropped my board bag in the oversized luggage section and breezed through security.
Fiji Airways
Admittedly, Fiji Air was gracious enough to upgrade me to business class, and while I’d be more than happy in the back of the plane, the level of comfort and service was next level. I would have been stoked to be wedged in the last row between two giant Fijian guys, but flying business class, from the comfort of the seats to the quality of the meals, what a dream! I may never fly again after that.
Eleven hours and over 5,500 miles across the ocean later, and there you are in Fiji. And whether you’re headed straight to Cloudbreak to test your mettle or slow walking it to a more benign break, the fact that you can start your adventure in the chaos of Los Angeles, and mere hours later, be somewhere so wonderfully exotic and beautiful is kind of mind-blowing. No flight transfers. No layovers. No hassles. Just a direct flight to paradise. What a dream trip!