This was our second overseas holiday with our daughters and we were looking for somewhere kid friendly, not too far away and inexpensive.  Vanuatu seemed to fit the bill perfectly and it seemed only natural to choose Vanuatu’s own carrier to fly with.

Airline and Flight #

Air Vanuatu| NF11 to Vanuatu & NF10 back to Sydney

Aircraft

Boeing 727-200

Airport 

Departure: Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney NSW Australia

Arrival: Bauerfield International Airport, Efate Vanuatu

Scheduled Departure Date and Time

Wednesday 11th October 2006| 7:20pm

Flying Time

Sydney to Efate: 4hrs 35mins

Efate to Sydney: 3hrs 50mins

Luggage Allowance

As of 17 July 2017 luggage allowances have increased for international passengers flying into Vanuatu with Air Vanuatu.  For passengers from Australia and New Zealand carry on allowances for Economy passengers is 7kg whilst checked luggage is 30kg.

Children are entitled to the same baggage allowances as adults and infants are allowed 10kg of checked luggage.

Dimensions for carry on luggage are 23x34x48cm.

Fun Facts

• Air Vanuatu has a fleet of just 8 aircraft
• The airline uses Qantas’ frequent flyer program
• It was founded in 1981 after gaining independance from the UK and France the previous year

Website

There’s something to be said for a simple website and Air Vanuatu’s website is just that. It’s not cram packed with information you can get lost in. Flights don’t go to any other destination other than Vanuatu and depart from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and of course various Vanuatu islands.

Prices come up around your selected dates so you can easily see if there’s a cheaper flight a few days either side of the date you selected.  Once you’ve chosen your flight, other details are displayed such as the type of aircraft and flight duration.

I also like the colour scheme Air Vanuatu have chosen to use.

Check-in 

Online check-in for international flights opens 24 hours prior to departure and closes 3 hours prior to scheduled departure.  To check in online enter your booking reference number and surname or ticket number.  Then just follow the prompts.  You can select your seats and print off your boarding pass.  If you have infants you cannot check in online.  Once you have checked in online you must still visit the check-in counter for document verification.

Catering

Menus

Air Vanuatu didn’t have menus on board this flight as it was relatively short and only contained one choice.

Food/Drinks

The meal we were served was a beef dish with rice and vegetables, a bread roll and butter, crackers and a delicious slice.  Drinks were also served

In-flight Entertainment

There was headphones to listen to music but back then there were no individual screens.

Pros

• Friendly crew

Cons

• Late departure time meant turning up to our accommodation late

Conclusion

We enjoyed our flight to Vanuatu and would happily fly with them again.