I was invited to take a look around the new training centre for Fiji Airways. The Aviation Academy is located at Nadi Airport, the home airport for Fiji Airways which services most inbound international traffic to and from the country.
The Academy was opened in 2019 right before the COVID pandemic struck so is only just starting to get some attention now we’re all travelling again.
It consists of two fixed based flight simulators (Airbus A330 and Twin Otter) and two full motion sims (Boeing 737 Max and Airbus A330) plus classrooms for service and safety training, a mockup aircraft interior, and other various administrative areas.
I was given the chance to land the full-motion Boeing 737 Max simulator on a mock approach to Nadi airport. I’ve flown a few sims in my time but it’s always an incredible and humbling experience to be at the controls of a multi-million dollar piece of equipment that very few people get to fly. Captain Jim gave me a briefing then talked me down as we descended from 4,000 feet and touched down at the airport.
I was given a demonstration of the service offering in the cabin by the students as well. My job was to play the role of a difficult customer who was ordering something the staff weren’t familiar with. It was worrying how easy it was for me to be a difficult customer. I would like to take this moment to formally apologise to the class for being so annoying.
You can watch the full video of my day inside the Fiji Airways Academy below. It was a really fun day, and there’s a lot in this video that hasn’t been seen before, enjoy.
I had a great day, you’ll see how friendly and considerate the students were. Each time I’ve flown with Fiji Airways I’ve been treated with respect and kindness so it’s no surprise their training programs reflect that.
Full disclosure – my flights and accommodation in Fiji were paid for, but even if they weren’t I would still say nice things about the airline and its staff because they were lovely and I had a great day.