Over the last nine months, I’ve forayed into island-hopping trips through the Pacific. It took me three shots, but I *finally* completed the Oceania region! And with such a journey came a variety of experiences on the airlines of the Pacific, some more… eventful than others. Herein lies the definitive ranking of these airlines from not so good to wonderful.
11 – Air Niugini
Genuinely one of the worst airlines I’ve taken. To be fair they have improved since 2023, but are still not great, and for domestic get ready for an adventure… Planes from the 70s, hours of false hope about planes being ‘about to leave’ and then actually never leaving at all, delays as standard, and just generally poor service. Avoid if you can.
10 – United Island Hopper
Honestly United you can do better. What is this chaos on the island hopper and why are you leaving passengers without food for a 7 hour journey? No way to pay for additional food or beverages if a credit card isn’t stored on file. Waiting 1 hour + to get water. Absolute chaos during the stops of the hopper with missing passengers and rogue bags. I could go on. Also some guy got drunk and passed out and one of the cabin crew really thought he was dead. Passengers were chewing betel nut and spitting it into bottles and the crew did *nothing*. Absolute carnage. God bless the people that ride this from one end of the hopper route to the other. That’s a rough 12 hours you have right there.
9 – Solomon Airlines
Ok disclaimer I haven’t actually flown with these guys. But they’ve moved or cancelled several flights I had booked with them, sometimes completely ruining my whole itinerary because now none of my other flights align with their new dates. So they’re far down the list.
8 – Jetstar
Ok another disclaimer I haven’t flown these guys to or from the pacific but I have flown them internationally to/from Brisbane. They do the Sydney-Port Vila route, so are included. Jetstar get a lot of hate, but ultimately they’re a budget airline that will fly you 6+ hours for £200… and if you’re nice to the checkin staff they sometimes overlook your bag being overweight (though not often…). It’s bare bones – no food or drinks, no in-flight entertainment, barely any baggage allowance. But honestly for the price they are passable.
7 – China Airlines
Routes to Palau only. Ok this might be slightly unfair as for short haul daytime flights these guys were legit and a very nice, somewhat affordable option. But the seats are made of weird faux leather material so if you’re trying to sleep your butt slides down the seat constantly and you’re woken violently by your pelvis being jammed in your seatbelt. Not cool. Don’t wear linen pants. Also they left the lights on during a 6+ hour overnight flight. Why.
6 – Philippine Airlines
Routes to PNG only but that counts! Philippine airlines are nice – friendly staff, comfy-ish seats, TVs, they feed you, all good. Why so many of their longer flights are overnight, I’ll never know. It’s a slight pain. Manila airport is also low key the worst to transit, but if you get over that then you’re fine.
5 – Qantas
Comfortable. And they have beers. But these guys are a pain. Qantas staff actively find new rules to tell you off about (my fanny pack has been strapped to me for 100+ flights, including Qantas ones, why does it now need to go under the seat? Why was I not allowed to move seats ‘because of plane weight’ but when a guy twice my size did it, that was ok? Why do you need to check if I can have a second wine but the guy in front of me is having his third beer?). They have also shifted several of my flights in an itinerary-ruining way. Including shifting me from a Qantas to an Alliance Airlines 26 hours earlier. I want to like Qantas, but I just keep having so many experiences that make it hard…
4 – Virgin Australia
Pretty decent, nice crew, plenty leg room. I had a pleasant experience with Virgin, and they have routes to Fiji, Samoa, and Vanuatu. They can be hit and miss when it comes to cancelling flights to the pacific, but then so can all the airlines… Also slightly annoyingly you can’t check in online for international routes. But all in all, can’t really complain.
3 – Nauru Airlines
Honestly really rate these guys. Legit meals given out on 1 hour hops, on time, take you to weird destinations and therefore are perfect for ‘every country’ people. What more could you ask for? Also in their hopper there’s none of this nonsense of trekking around the plane finding your bag and bringing it back to your seat, the crew just go through the plane identifying whose bag is who. Take note, United.
2 – Fiji Airways
Queen of the Pacific flight, Fiji Airways knows what’s good. A member of OneWorld and connected to so many Pacific destinations. The only way to get to Tuvalu, and the way you connect between unconnectable islands like Tonga and Samoa. Inflight entertainment in their bigger planes, good food, and routes to Singapore, LA, Vancouver etc. Honestly great. They even feed you on their tiny 70 seater propeller planes, and bring around candies on their 20 minute domestic flights. Glorious. Only downside is some of their prices. Why is it £200 to fly to Australia but £450 to get to Tuvalu, less than half the distance? Supply/demand obviously, but still. Make it make sense.
1 – Air New Zealand
Really rate these guys, both for long haul to get to NZ and then the short haul hops to nearby pacific islands. Pricey but not break-the-bank pricey. Planes going to Tonga and Samoa are HUGE too so lots of availability, and generally on time, limited delays/cancellations. BONUS – scored a business flight cheaper than economy while travelling between Christmas and New Year, food was amazing and selection of NZ wines was even better. Just all round good.
Leave a Reply