Fiji Airways will launch non-stop service from Dallas – Fort Worth to Nadi, Fiji. This route makes a ton of sense, with the carrier becoming a full member of oneworld and adopting American’s AAdvantage as its frequent flyer program. I would not be surprised to see them add Seattle, home to oneworld member Alaska Airlines, in the future as well.

Service will be on board their Airbus A350 on on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Historically passengers haven’t earned points flying Fiji Airways, except through partners. Most passengers travel to Fiji once, or only very occasionally. And you choose Fiji Airways for the destination as the best travel option – although they do compete one-stop via Nadi carrying passengers back and forth to destinations like Australia and New Zealand.

Already an American AAdvantage partner, they’re one of the easier ways to get from Australia (Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra) and New Zealand (Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington) to Tokyo, Singapore, Taipei, and Hong Kong and to the United States and Canada. Fiji Airways currently serves Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and Vancouver in North America.

These moves by the airline help take it farther than just ‘transportation to Fiji and back’ (though it does that) but to a place where the destination becomes more focal. More people will choose to travel to Fiji both because (1) it’s more convenient, with better-connected air service and (2) they’re likely to pay more attention to it as an AAdvantage partner – even though it was already possible to spend AAdvantage miles to go there.

The airline is majority-owned by the government of Fiji, though both Air New Zealand and Qantas hold stakes as well, and so do the governments of Nauru, Samoa, Kiribati and Tonga.

As a state carrier, growth in the U.S. market and deepening of U.S. partnerships are part of a broader context of Fiji’s shifting international alliances, recalibrating its relationship with China and increasing engagement with Western partners.

The country’s political landscape has seen significant instability, such as the acquittal of former Prime Minister Bainimarama and suspended police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho, who were charged with interfering in a corruption investigation. The current Prime Minister faces concerns about potential military involvement in government decisions​. Bolstering Western partnerships that also boost the country’s economy should help.