National carrier Fiji Airways has been recognised with a Seven Star PLUS safety rating by AirlineRatings, following an independent onboard cabin safety audit of its cabin crew operation.
The airline joins a select group of 10 global airlines holding the Seven Star PLUS rating, including Etihad Airways, STARLUX, Malaysia Airlines and Cathay Pacific.
According to the airline, the independent assessment was conducted anonymously under normal operating conditions across six flights, observing the practical application of cabin safety procedures; and included cabin checks before departure and landing, clear and consistent safety announcements, ensuring safety videos could be heard over engine noise, and checking that guests had fastened their seatbelts.
The audit also recognised the crew’s situational awareness and attention to guest safety throughout the flight, including communicating important information on power banks, seatbelts and electronic devices.
Fiji Airways managing director and chief executive officer Paul Scurrah said safety was their highest priority, and the recognition was a credit to the care and discipline their team brought to that responsibility every day.
“That’s why it’s so meaningful to have that commitment recognised through an independent, anonymous assessment. Our guests trust us to get them safely to where they need to be, and we uphold that trust on every flight.”
AirlineRatings Safety and Service Quality manager Josh Wood said Australians had long trusted Fiji Airways to start their island holidays, and this rating now gave them independent evidence of what happens in the cabin once they board.
“On every flight we audited, the crew delivered safety procedures with real consistency and genuine care for each passenger, from turning the safety video up over the engine noise to walking the cabin properly before every take-off and landing,” Mr Wood said.
“Fiji Airways joins Air New Zealand as one of only two airlines in the Australia Pacific region to hold a Seven Star PLUS safety rating, a result the whole team has worked hard to earn.”
Fiji Airways chief Safety, Security and Sustainability officer Captain Josua Cavalevu said the audit’s independent nature made the result especially meaningful.
“Cabin safety is built on doing the small things properly, every time: the checks, the briefings, the conversations with guests,” Mr Cavalevu said.
“The audit was conducted on ordinary flights without our crew knowing they were being assessed, providing a practical measure of the standards they deliver every day. I’m proud of our cabin crew and the standard they hold themselves to.”
The Seven Star PLUS rating is awarded to airlines that already hold AirlineRatings’ seven-star safety rating and successfully complete an independent, anonymous assessment of cabin crew safety compliance. The rating is reviewed every two years.
According to the airline, it has safely carried millions of guests across the Pacific for 75 years, maintaining AirlineRatings’ seven-star safety rating, the maximum on its scale, since the website launched in 2013.
