It’s 5.30am on a Friday morning in Fiji.
A gentle breeze rustles palms on Natadola Bay as dawn slowly breaks in the open-air lobby at the beachfront Intercontinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa, on the Coral Coast.
I’m proudly waving my Fiji Airways boarding pass (not the online type) and bidding farewell to my luggage, which I won’t see again until I land in Sydney.
I’m nowhere near the island’s aviation hub – the hotel is roughly an hour from Nadi International Airport – and yet I’ve checked into my flight before I’ve even checked out of my room. “It saves a lot of time,” says Elizabeth, the friendly staff member working behind the small pop-up Fiji Airways desk in the lobby this morning.
This little-known resort check-in service is one of Fiji Airways’ most innovative, and hardly anyone knows about it.
Currently available at Intercontinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa, Sheraton Fiji Golf & Beach Resort, Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa and soon to be launching at the Hilton Fiji Beach Resort & Spa (the airline has an affiliation and agreement with these hotels), it saves guests travelling on the airline hours spent in check-in queues at the airport, the hassle of handling your bags, plus frees up more time to spend at your resort or enjoy brekky before you leave for your flight.
I’m travelling on a morning flight to Sydney at 9am and don’t arrive at the airport until just before 7.30am. Had I been travelling on the 6pm flight, I would have scored an extra couple of hours poolside.
Once at the airport, I head straight for security with my boarding pass, zip through customs and into the Fiji Airways lounge for bubbly and a hot breakfast (anyone can pay to use the lounge for FJD99 if you’re travelling on Fiji Airways). I do feel like I’m missing a limb arriving to the airport without my luggage, but Elizabeth assures me it’s in good hands.
The Fiji Airways resort check-in desks are open from 4am to 2pm every day and the service is free, however there’s a FJD20 (roughly AUD$14) charge per person if you’d like them to take your bags. (Elizabeth tells me if it’s a big family with a lot of bags, then they just charge for every 30kg). I don’t really see any point in taking my own bags, seeing as I would need to drop them off at check-in when I arrive and it’s a small fee to part with to have someone else deal with them.
During the brief 10-minute check-in process at the hotel, Elizabeth asks whether I packed my own bags and confirms I’m not carrying anything I shouldn’t.
“We seal it from here and let the team know. The process is approved by CAAF, our civil aviation authority and it goes onto the belt and the seal is checked,” says Elizabeth.
In true Fiji style, the whole thing is very relaxed and there’s a little bit of a VIP vibe about it, especially as I’m the only person using the service at the hotel when I check-in. I do wonder if that’s because most people are still unaware that it exists.
I’m travelling alone, but being able to check in at the resort without the stress of juggling kids, bags and tired bodies would be a gamechanger for families with little ones.
As always, Fiji seems to cater to this market exceptionally well.
The writer travelled as a guest of Fiji Airways and Intercontinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa.
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