9 June 2022: Fiji Airways, Fiji’s National Airline, has been awarded the 2022 Passenger Choice Award® for Best Food & Beverage in the South Pacific by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX). Fiji’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, His Excellency, Mr Jitoko Tikolevu, accepted the award on behalf of the airline at an award ceremony in Dublin, Ireland on Wednesday 8 June.
Fiji Airways Managing Director & CEO, Mr Andre Viljoen welcomed the regional culinary recognition: “This recognition represents almost 24 months of care and commitment from our Fiji Airways family to take our service to an entirely new level. Fiji is open and travelling to our islands has never been better. We’re grateful to APEX and our customers for this recognition of our new in-flight menu. Our team have worked hard in offering a dining experience to our customers that is equal parts phenomenal and uniquely Fijian. If you haven’t tried our kava ice cream –– you must!”
Fiji Airways launched its new award-winning Business Class menu with multi-award-winning chef Richard Cross earlier this year, taking the airline’s catering to new heights. A highlight of the new in-flight dessert menu includes Chef Cross’s signature kava and cinnamon ice cream, as well as cookies and cream banoffee parfait, and bittersweet chocolate panna cotta. Showcasing homegrown vegetables in a new light, modern cooking and preservation techniques have been used to transform the likes of cassava, sweet potato (yellow kumala), dalo (taro) and plantain into edible garnishes you’d expect to enjoy in a fine-dining restaurant.
Cross runs regular workshops with Cabin Crew Trainers at the airline’s Aviation Academy in Nadi, Fiji, providing hands-on training for Fiji Airways Cabin Crew to ensure they can confidently execute the new techniques and deliver an elevated onboard dining experience. He also works directly with the crew on flights to ensure that the airline’s dining experience is consistent.
The airline is working on a number of enhancements in other key areas which will further enrich the guest experience with Fiji Airways.
