The Most Annoying 15 Hours Ever: My Fiji Airways Flight
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ธ.ค. 2022
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I spent 15 hours on a very sleepless Fiji Airways flight thanks to a broken plane.
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The gentleman working the Fiji Airways check-in counter that Noel visited at LAX was extremely kind and helpful.
Earning his wages unlike many of the curt, surly individuals
I agree!
Yep! Too bad Noel was rude interrupting him and giving him the BS thank you. Thank you.
@@jeremyfowler1519 That's not rude. That's honestly how i'd react to it - maybe a British thing.
I was impressed as well, but sadly, because as a former Pan Am Passenger Service Supervisor I realized that I was surprised to see a modern rep simply doing his job in what, to me, is a "normal" manner. That is exactly the way that interaction should go and you don't see that very much any more. Too bad.
I had to laugh when Noel said that the lounge was nice and quiet and a baby was crying at the same time.
And he didn’t comment 😂
He has kids that is why
I was about to make my won comment but I can see, I dont need too haha
He didn't comment but made a smooth exit and found a better place to hang out with fire pits and outside to boot! ha ha
@@lthanostv963 fair point!
I think the earplugs in the amenity kit was a clue you would need them. Welcome to Australia.
Ear plugs?! Even noise cancelling headphones would struggle with that😉 Seems like the airline aren't doing much to resolve the problem.
in 14:07 u can see he already used earplugs, while obviously it doesn't work so well lol
one of the most helpful, thorough check in agents ever at LAX
Yes i thought that too.
Great service. I hope he sees this video or someone alerts him to it.
Quite a contrast with many of the others. Gentleman.
That broken music system playing every 30 minutes would've driven me crazy. As a light sleeper, I would find that extremely annoying, but I would've been popping in the earplugs. Yikes.
Earplugs were provided in the case. I would have used them.
I’m pretty sure he could have muted it if he tried, or just put the provided ear plugs in…
@@Chapstickmintbut then he wouldn't have been able to complain about it nearly as much
@@user-bc1bd5ig7b Exactly. Never miss an opportunity to complain by being reasonable :)
I use to live in Fiji and often took Fiji air, never first class. I’d say 9/10 flights had music playing through the flight. I remember one having the same song played on repeat for three hours. This was over nine years ago, the crew then gave me the same explanation as you.
That reminds me of a flight home from Orlando to London I took in the 90s on an airline called Air2000. They had three songs that played on a loop (for boarding), but after sitting on the tarmac for well over an hour, it was still playing these three songs, even after take off. We then found out they were diverting us to Manchester and would bus us all down to London to get our cars.
Those bloody songs stayed on and were singed on my memory for decades. One of the songs was by a band called 10cc, called ‘I’m not in love’ and i still cringe if it comes on the radio 😄
Fiji airways dosnt have first class
People love to see the food service. I would not skip it.
Fiji airways use the Panasonic avionics ex3 in flight entertainment system, which is based on android which is (fairly) prone to crashing/boot looping. Airlines can specify music which will be played automatically when the IFS boot's (often called boarding music)which is why the music would play every time the ifs rebooted (you could also see the "welcome to Fiji airways" ifs welcome screen during the video) the cabin crew could turn the IFS off but that would annoy passengers who are watching movies/listening to music etc.
I’m a cabin crew member and I remember one time to Paris we couldn’t get the music to turn off, and we and the passengers had to listen to it for 7hrs.
Nice
Tragic
"Quite quiet this time of night"
Baby in the background: "hold my milk."
Hold my milk 😂 quality
UNDERRATED COMMENT 😂
Sleep deprivation is the worst 😣. The flight map is one of the best I ve seen on Noel's reviews. Lovely seeing the Fiji print on the engine
Hello Noel, Nadi is pronounced Nandi, there’s an invisible N. Fiji is well worth exploring even just to experience the most genuinely lovely people on the planet. Thanks for the video
Wow the sunrise and clouds coming into Fiji were stunning! 😍
The fact that Fiji gives the guy a nice tropical shirt for uniform is awesome
Took the same plane and flight, but from Adelaide one month ago. I loved Fiji Airways and their attention. The cabin is not cramped up and you have decent space in economy. The IFE is amazing! Loved the A350!!!
Flew on Fiji airways from YVR to SYD on the A330 to Nadi and the A350 to SYD. The crew was absolutely amazing on both flights, the A330 was a bit older and needed some love, the A350 was amazing. Looking forward to flying Fiji airways again.
I flew Air Pacific in 2012 right before they went back to Fiji Airways name. It was a flight out of LAX that we had to ride a bus to a 1970s 747 in the midfield. We got onto it and it still had functioning ashtrays in the seats. It may have been antiquated, but it was a nice flight into Fiji.
20:00 That Landing! Smooth as Butter
Back in the mid 1970s I was a contract pilot flying the DC-10 for Fiji's other airline, Air Pacific. Flying for Air Pacific was enjoyable. I was based in Honolulu where we had 3 crews to man the Air Pacific flight schedule. The cabin staff was Fijian. The Fijian crews were elegant and provided first class cabin service. Fiji is a wonderful place to visit with great people. The common greeting then and I assume now is the word, Bula. At one time long ago Fiji had the reputation of being the Cannibal Islands. Sailors who shipwrecked in the Fiji Islands ran the risk of becoming lunch. The Fijians like to tell a story about their King. Fiji asked to become a protectorate of the United States like Hawaii but were rejected. The Fijians became a part of the British Commonwealth instead. It was said that the King of Fiji left Fiji on a ship to meet Queen Victoria and to close the deal. Dinner was served the first night at sea and the King was handed a "menu". The King proclaimed; "I do not see anything here that appeals to me. Can I see the passenger list?" Once the King was asked if the women in Fiji partook of the cannibal feasts. He replied, "I never met a woman yet who could not eat her fill." A Methodist Missionary's shoes were on display in the national museum. The story has it that after a visit to Fiji and time spent with the King the missionary was preparing to leave. The missionary was in his tent doing final packing when the King entered to say goodby. The King admired the missionary's comb. The King picked the comb up and placed it in his on hair. As the missionary and the king said their final farewells in front of the tribe the the missionary reached up and grabbed the comb out of the King's hair. The King was shocked because in the Pacific the head and the area above the shoulders is considered sacred. The King was humiliated and announced that the only person to have touched his head was his mother. The missionary was promptly killed. Back when I was in Fiji the missionary's shoes and the story were an exhibit in the Fiji National Museum located in Suva. I can recommend an enjoyable book about Fiji published back in 1929 by Viola Irene Cooper. Copies of the original book can be purchased online on EBay as well as Amazon in the form of a hardback and/or paperback book.
It's the same airline.
Air Pacific rebranded into Fiji Airways in 2013.
I flew on Air Pacific in 1980 and the food was terrible. A great lump of boiled fish and a boiled potato. I can't eat fish and thats all there was. No sauce or dressing, no salad, no bread, no dessert.......
Interesting. Fiji Airways was Air Pacific before rebranding. Don't recall FJ having DC-10s. They had BAC 1-11s, then a couple of 767s and ex Singapore 747s. As a kid growing up part-time in Nadi, I only recall CPAir, Air NZ and Continental flying DC-10s through Nadi, typically on the Auckland-Nadi- Honolulu- LAX/Vancouver(CP) vv. Were you piloting a temporary wetleased aircraft? Btw, yes those boiled boots are still on display in Suva. We always used to have a good giggle at the sight of them. White men don't make good 'boil up' lol. And them boots aren't good for beef jerky :-)
@@juanitarichards1074 Sure. Let's judge them today on their cabin service 43 years ago. Makes a lot of sense.
@@exF3-86 I was merely stating the experience I had and it was actually much worse than the cabin service. They didn't have strollers like the other airlines did and I had to carry a heavy one year old for 6 hours during my wait at Auckland airport having flown up from Christchurch. The baby didn't sleep the whole time and every time I sat down to rest she would scramble off my lap and try to crawl away into the crowds. I was in tears of exhaustion and no other airline would rent me a stroller. By the time I got on the plane I was an exhausted starving wreck and unable to eat the awful food and baby still didn't sleep, she was overtired and when we got to Suva she screamed all night long......having been awake for 24 hours. If shed had a stroller at the airport she would have slept.....
Noel has such child like joy when he is flying.. I love it.. coming from someone who had a fear of flying..I fly through these awesome videos! Rachel is so funny 🤣😂
I would have done the same as you, but spent a week in Fiji supping cocktails, swimming and fishing 🙂
I must say, the check-in at LAX was fantastic. Last time I transited through Nadi was 1999 when you could still bribe security to let you out onto the ramp to have a smoke.
Without any evidence you’re making baseless claims. I work the airport so don’t try and bulshit
Fiji have come a long way since Air Pacific days in the 70s with 2 BAC 111-475s. Amazing feat flying these from Nadi across the ocean to Auckland, Brisbane & Port Moresby back in the day.. I think these had 74 seats!
I travelled Fiji air from
Brisbane to Fiji economy class - about 3.5 hrs - staff on board were lovely and polite - food was great .
Noel, you gotta do a house tour and Q&A about the move would be great to have an insight. Take care & hope you & your family have a great xmas!
Noel, please, continue with this type of content. I watch YT videos to see experiences I will most likely never have. ❤🎉
I am surprised a professional traveller such as yourself does not carry a pair of noise cancelling headphones !
By the way Nadi is pronounced Nandi (nan).
Natives pronounce it Nah - dee. Nahn- dee is acceptable.
@@trimuleNatives? Really? And no, they don’t. It’s pronounced Nandi. In the Fijian alphabet, d is pronounced nd.
came here looking for the pronunciation correction
@@hefsbeerreviews4127 Not arguing about how it's pronounced, because idk, lol, BUT - you seem offended by the person using the word "native", when a lot of the time native just means.. well, the people born there. I mean, that's the main definition of the word - people who are born and live somewhere. Like, I'm a native of the US, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm "native american". The person could obviously be wrong about the pronunciation, but there's nothing wrong with saying the natives of a country pronounce something a certain way.
@@LadyBeyondTheWall he's a liberal he probably only thinks a native can be a brown person
Looked like you handled it really well. Music aside, everything else seemed pretty good. Looking forward to a Pacific Island-hopping episode sometime in the future! Cheers.
Was waiting for opportunity to say “Houston, we have a problem.”
I always see those pretty Fiji Airlines planes taking off during the live streams by LA Flights, and wondered what Fiji looks like. Looks like it's very beautiful. Can't wait for you to go back there.
Made my back hurt watching him hunched down in that seat eating.
The A350 is now my favorite aircraft! Flew it with Etihad Airways in October from ORD-AUH. Smooth and quite plane! Excellent legroom in economy for a 14hr flight!
Legroom depends on the airline not the plane but the A350 is superior to the 787 in every way
Legroom depends on the airline but the 787 is better than the A350 in every way
Haha reminds me of my British army days. Served with loads of Fijians. They all love a drink and sit in their rooms and play that kind of music and drink for days on end listening to that sort of music. Spent many a night listening to that sort of music blasting through the walls trying to sleep.
In my day job I deal with Fiji Airlines and I can say without a doubt that they have some of the most pleasant crew members to deal with, wonderful station staff, and their aircraft are usually spot on. A350s are very nice planes but like anything these days way too computerized and complex for their own good.
I had a similar issue on a flight somewhere. Grew to hate that Joni Mitchell song about a parking lot, after about the 100th repetition.
Thank you Noel, perfect timing as we will be taking the same route, in the same cabin just after the new year. Cheers mate!
Hi Noel. If its any consolation I landed at Manchester airport from Vietnam at 5.30am on Thursday last week, with an 8.30am connection to Aberdeen on Loganair. I then spent 12 hours waiting for my broken plane to finally land in Manchester to take us to Aberdeen. No trains as they were on strike. No other airlines flying to Aberdeen. It was absolute hell on earth.
these strikes are just getting ridiculous now honestly
I have travelled to numerous pacific island nations and I am very impressed with the lounge there in Fiji. Fiji has lots of resorts and brings in the tourist dollars. I once had a stopover in Manus Island. The airport was little more than a bus stop.
A350 business class is amazing. Easy to do a 11 hour flight and leave refreshed.
Absolutely stunning cloud formations during the sunrise!
They should have yanked the fuse for the mood music.
Thank you for sharing your flight here...And you still make me laugh when you do your reviews!!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Years as well...
Yes, the Star Alliance Lounges are very nice!!!
I think that economy should be flown too, I love it. I flew Singapore Airlines in 2005 in economy. It was to me, first class. Big comfy reclining seats with good legroom and no passenger minded my reclining on my trip.
Noel, you killed me when that music was playing on the plane..😂 Crikey!
Very entertaining and fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Would be fun watching you hopping between some of those Pacific Islands in future videos!
I had a great flight with Fiji airways from Brisbane to Fiji which was the first time I had a long haul-esque service (food, entertainment system etc) on a 3.5 hour flight!
Brilliant video, thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you Lord Noel 🙂😊😁
Thank you for reviewing Fiji Airways. Ive always wanted to see their business class product as here in Christchurch, to fly direct to Fiji, Air NZ is the only other option, and I can't stand their business class seats that face away from the window.
Hi Noel, Nadi is pronounced "Nandi" rhymes with handy. Several places in the Pacific have names where the pronunciation seems to bear no connection to the spelling. Case in point, Kiribati. It would seem logical to pronounce it "Kiri - bar - tee", but it is in fact pronounced "Kiri - bus". there are other examples in the pacific as well. Get yourself to Nauru and Tarawa, accessible by Air Nauru. Lots of WW2 history in Tarawa, and you'll be getting back to basics with the travel.
The check in person actually pronounced it “Nadi” too. But this is analogous to Paris’ being pronounced “Paree” in French. Yet it sounds strange, pretentious, and out of place to use the French pronunciation in an English sentence, so some flexibility is called for!
Yep. Every time he pronounced it without the N, I could relate to his problem with the music. 😀 Nothing pretentious about pronouncing it correctly, most people in Australia pronounce it Nandi.
Every time Noel said it I said ‘Nandi” out loud. It’s the same with Pago Pago. I think I’m the only one in my airline ops office that pronounces it Pango Pango rhyming with Tango. I read about the pronunciation in a book about a Pan Am crash there.
Yep, I spent some time in Fiji in 95 and I quickly found out it was pronounced Nandi, not Nadi even though it's spelt that way. Shame you didn't spend more time in Fiji as it's a beautiful country with great proud people. You could have drank Kava, visited Suva and its wonderful market. When I was there the Rainbow Warrior was harboured at Suva and I got to visit it. Bula from London.
I enjoy his videos, they are detailed and informative, but sadly he mispronounces Los Angeles as well as Nadi (Nandi).
Wonderful trip today
Beautiful landing shot followed by shadow of aircraft. Well done Noel.
Great first video based out of Houston Noel thanks ! The Fiji Airlines livery is absolutely fantastic and looks great on the A350 as it did when Fiji Airlines was flying the A330 LAX to NAD. One of the flights at the top of my bucket list. Now I know to have ear plugs thanks to you ! Keep up the good work Noel.
I was shocked to see that a round trip from LAX to NAN on the A350 is only $650 for economy. Now I want to try it lol.
Great video as usual Noel, I went to Fiji back in 1997 when i spent a month touring NZ, Stayed in Fiji and LA too. Was a great holiday
Thanks for sharing!
Finally recharged and with a genuine smile! Well done.
Nadi...reminds me of the old CP Air - Canadian Airlines days when flights from Canada would converge on Honolulu then depart for various south pacific destinations including Nadi. Love your videos!
Ambient Music can drive you absolutely nuts if it is forced upon you!
Your videos are great and hilarious. Thanks for taking me along with you all over the world.
Thanks for watching!
In late 2019 (right before the plague times started) we took Fiji business class from SFO to fiji, then out to Hong Kong a week later. No complaints. No music problems.
I have been wanting to take a flight to Europe with a fun layover at a place I have never been before, but then I want to stay at least a day to explore some of the city and the connections are usually just a few hours long. I am amazed how you booked a trip to Fiji and didn't spend at least a day to see some of the island.
I'm glad you went on this flight Noel. It did seem nice apart from the horrific Entertainment system debacle. I hope you didn't regret it too much.
Strange that Fiji Airways use the Star Alliance lounge at LAX as they are a Oneworld associate… regardless that outdoor area looks very nice and as for the A350 what a stunning aircraft regardless of glitches with the IFE. Flew MAN-HKG return with Cathay a couple of years ago (pre covid) on theirs in premium economy, an absolute pleasure all round
IAH and LAX, are my two most frequented airports. Just saw you moved, so it all makes sense! Welcome to the US, Noel!
The nicest people I ever met islands' wide were the Fijians. They use the word Bula as a greeting and an attitude. So worth visiting.
You could have even flown to Sydney via IAH UA100 but glad you did it this way Noel
Wow!!Well done on your move to the USA.Seize the moment as a family!!!No regrets.
Does he have a GREEN CARD to legally stay in the US or is he an illegal Alien?
Your presentations are always an absolute must to watch. Thank you very much and take care. Happy New year. 👍😁🎇
The landing shadow!!!! Love it!
All the technology this plane has at it's disposal but there isn't a button to turn off the music!
Have to wait for the A360 to get that upgrade.
I love your seat on Fiji Airways! It looked so comfy and spacious! I know I would be having a wonderful time. :) I started laughing when that annoying music played AGAIN. ROFLOL! That would make me want to beat the pillow to death!! This was by far my favorite video of yours to date. :) I love how, despite the craziness that has happened to you, you always remain cheerful and respectful to others.
I flew to Fiji on a Continental DC-10 HNL TO FIJI back in the early 80s loved it. Was in First class great service.
Design and market sound proofing Ear Covers...Thank You for sharing. Merry Christmas and Happy flying 2023.
Another mid week video from King Noel. Christmas came early for the viewers. Thank you very much Noel
Noel, get yourself noise cancelling headphones, they work a treat on loud planes
For a routine traveler he sure seems to struggle with common problems that are easily resolved with a tiny bit of planning.
Essential bit of kit in any class I would have thought…
@@CAHSR2020 My guess is that he wants to be able to showcase the good, the bad and the ugly so people can better prepare whenever they fly themselves. People see this video watch and think "Wow ... I'll remember to bring NCHPs when I fly Fiji." Mission: accomplished for Noel.
Great flight i enjoyed watching your report
Beautiful aircraft. Welcome to Sydney Noel.
Superb video. That music would have been rather a nuisance to me so I understand why you didn’t really fancy it especially since you were trying to sleep.
I can't understand why they would just turn the whole IFE off during the night. Those couple of people who would actually watch something instead of sleeping wouldn't enjoy it anyway if it restarts every 30 minutes and the rest of the plane would prefer it.
Happy to see you in texas noel!! Best wishes and happy holidays 🎄
I think you got a better view of Sydney Airport than I did at the Rydges! I am looking forward to flying Fiji Airway very soon! Thank you for the report.
We recently stayed at the IBIS Hotel next door to the Mantra and had a corner room overlooking the Royal Flying Doctor Service hangar. An RFDS plane took off every two hours. I loved it!! The private jets are in the same area and a few arrived or left over a period of 6 hours.
Great video!
That music is so annoying, especially when you try to get some sleep, can ruin the whole flight..
.. otherwise I was impressed by them! Nice plane, crew seemed nice, great food, clean plane, nice seat, cool livery (branding in general, loved the crew outfits!), nice transit and lounges etc, much to like!
I feel your pain Noel. Nothing worse than these first world problems with malfunctioning entertainment systems in business class. 🤣😉
Hi Noel. Except for the loooouuuudy music I think Fiji Airways is amazing. I will put a thumbs up. Merry Christmas Noel and a big hug from Colombia.
Great video Noel
Bose noise cancelling headphones, works really well
I see now why they provided ear plugs in the amenity kit, haha.. what a strange thing to be blasting the music like that!
I was in Nadi in 1983. Those same guys were playing welcome music at the airport back then too.
Fiji has been on my list since forever! Hope to fly there vey soon. The plane, stuff and food looked amazing! 😃
estalbished titles is s cam
Few other people and I been telling him for awhile,, don't think he reads his comments at times
Noel years ago on your Around the World in 80 hours as you were on final into LAX, you said the USA felt like a second home, and I said "You'd be welcome to make the US your home, we can always use talented people.". Now here you are! I feel so flattered you've chose the USA. Happy Holidays!
I remember being on an overnight bus from Asunción to Buenos Aires and they showed several movies during the trip. After one of the movies ended, it kept playing the same preview over and over for at least half an hour. Hearing the same tune over and over got quite tiring rather quickly.
This was an incredible adventure!!
i'm surprised that a veteran traveler like Noel doesn't carry headphones and ear plugs and face mask or a combo of those (i know i've seen him in masks before, maybe amenity kits?), to cancel out noise and light when needed. though having said that it looks like he has earplugs around 15:00-15:12?? so i dunno... i realize headphones are difficult to sleep in but an airplane, for me, is a MUST HAVE for Heavy Duty noise cancellation at a moments notice. Love the vids!!
I do, even my Bose headphones only cancel ambient noise, and not music/talking.
@@noelphilips whoa! the man himself! Hello!!! Love your videos. And I know what you mean about noise cancellation and how it does not always cancel certain sounds. I certainly empathized with you on this one as I am very sensitive to noise in tight spaces myself. And the only way I cancel out some of those things is by blasting my audio in my headphones, which some people cannot sleep like that so I get that too. And I realized after I posted my msg that a pro such as yourself must carry those things, not to mention i've seen you wearing such things in other videos. Cheers! ps- for christmas I am thinking of getting you an audio file of that air fiji song, played on a loop for sayyyy, 10 hrs??? Sound good??? hahaha. that way you can always listen to it on long flights
It's weird knowing that Noel won't be leaving his home in England.
yeah will miss that a lot
I’ve done this exact flight going the opposite direction SYD-NAD-LAX in 2017 on their a330-200 at the time!
We landed there back in 1974, when we were on our way to NZ from U.K. We were in awe of the place as we were handed the floral necklace welcome gifts. Also, as kids, we got our international date line certificates to prove we’d crossed the equator (still got it somewhere). We were on Pan Am. Good memories.
Another great video Noel, Noise cancelling headphones need to be on the gift list I think although, I can't imagine a long haul master such as yourself doesn't already have a premium set 🤑
A shame the entertainment system was malfunctioning. I'm sure the staff were unhappy too (as much for themselves as for the pax, as you alluded to). I've flown Melb to Nandi and back many times with Fiji Air via mostly A330's and 737max. I've always found them great (and better than our Aus national carrier). Nice upload.
@andyh5666 I don’t think the staff was sad or too unhappy about the entertainment system ….
Noise cancelling headphones AND a white noise app playing soothing sounds cancels out annoying noise. I also load up a tablet with my own entertainment in case the airline's entertainment fails
The airline was awesome I love the seat arrangements it looked very cosy and comfortable. I agree about the loud music was rather annoying but it felt great seeing the view when taking off and landing. The food looked good as well.
Glad you enjoyed it!