the phoenix

well, we flew four different segments on Air Tahiti Nui JFK-PPT-SYD-PPT-JFK. All segments were in First class. I love all aspects of aviation and travel, so this will be an in-depth review of this wonderful airline.

[On a tangent, I have flown AA coach and Qantas coach quite a few times, AA international First, BA international First, and QF international First a few times and have even flown Concorde. Air Tahiti Nui was as good, if not better!]

My only complaint with Air Tahiti Nui is that they do not fly to that many cities yet!


OK, so what to expect.

Air Tahiti Nui has a fleet of 5 Airbus 342's and 343's.

The planes:
Nuku Hiva is the newest to the fleet. I noted that it had power ports on the First class seats, so I could plug in a laptop or charger for my camera batteries. Also, it had a cool link to an external camera. This allows for a view to the front of the plane. a cool and different perspective on things.

Bora Bora and Mangiroa were identical to Nuku Hiva except for the lack of power ports and lack of external camera views.

The seats in first, on all three, were very comfortable and roomy. My wife was about 8 weeks pregnant and found it very comfortable. Pillows and blankets were found at every seat.

The cabin staff:
Well, we felt pampered and that is a COLOSSAL understatement. On three out of the four flights that we took on Air Tahiti Nui, we were the only people in first class. So we became close friends with our flight attendant. All the flight attendants were extremely pleasant and cordial. They were attentive and helpful without being overbearing.

We loved their outfits. For takeoff and landing, they were in a conservative but chique outfit. But for main cabin duties, they changed into these colorful flowery dresses. And the male staff had similar changes of clothing.

The pilots:
We really felt that these flight crews loved what they did and really enjoyed it. Instead of the usually climbout banter about weather and the such, on half of my flights, the Captains came out and greeted passengers and asked how things were going. This was a classy touch that I have not seen much recently but it certainly sets most passengers minds at ease.

The food:
The food was excellent. We did not request any special meals but we found the meals to be flavorful without being too salty. There was a good selection of foods and wines. Also, up front, a full bar was set up as well as tropical flowers. As I mentioned earlier that my wife was in her first trimester, her ONLY gripe was that should could NOT try all the great choices and foods available! (I guess we will have to plan that better for the next trip.)


The in-flight entertainment:
About 6-7 movies were shown, in 2 languages. Then there were video games...poker, trivia and the like, as well as space invaders type games. I loved playing Trivia on Nuku Hiva. You got to play against other passengers on the aircraft and it gets fun and competitive, addicting even! I learned a lot too. On the other 2 planes, there was Trivia but on at least one of them, you could not play against others ( I guess I sound competitive! Sorry!)
My only gripe was this: On one or two of the aircraft, the video games would freeze. The simple solution was to ask the FA to reset the system, which I believe she was able to do for the invididual seat. Happened maybe 3-4 times total but not a huge problem.

The in-flight amenities:
There was big yellow pillow at every seat. Then prior to takeoff, we are given headsets and blankets, along with a pre-flight Tahitian Punch(juice for her). Also given a First Class amenity kit...included eyemask, earplugs, toothpaste and brush and dental floss, hairbrush and comb, and a variety of hand and face creams, socks. help me if I am overlooking something. I used the earplugs and the eyemask for sleep.

After eating, we were given duvets and another large pillow. The FA helped us lay our seats back. Then gave us pajamas to change into. I only used the pajamas on the last leg but man, I should have used them on eevery leg. Very cozy PJs that allowed me to quickly fall asleep.

The cabin:

Great looking seats. Clean and crisp lines. Lighting was turned up or down as needed. VERY roomy cabin. Clean throughout. Oh, even the attention paid to the bathrooms was amazing. Clean lavoratories, accented with Evian natural products such as fascewash and tone.

And the portrait/painting that is hanging up on the wall in First and business. That is just a touch of class I have to tell about. Very elegant! ^


I truly hope this airline continues to grow. And I would love to hear how different coach class was. I understand Coach is also a fantastic product!

Darren

Thanks for a great report. I don't suppose you got any photos that you would like to share?

number_6

It actually sounds like an average trans-Pacific F service (and I've read your description carefully). To put it into context, compare to another airline that operates A343 trans-pacific. TN has an F cabin of a single row of 6 seats. CX configures their A343 as 4 across -- or 50% more space per F pax. If you describe the TN config as VERY roomy, what would 50% more space be, palatial? The IFE sounds quite sub-standard from what about 20 airlines have installed in the past 3 years (they have AVOD with considerably more entertainment capability). I don't doubt that TN is a fine airline, but is it really competitive with the best of what else is currently offered?

Kagehitokiri

Who else flies East Coast > PPT nonstop?

the phoenix

Oh, I was not privvy to the heavily laden JFK-PPT route. What competition?


The trip report is mainly for those wanting to know a bit more about what this airlines First class service is like. (Since when I last looked, there were not many references.)

I dont cry about AVOD nor do I count or make a decision to fly on whether one airline's A340 plane has 4 or 6 six across. Those are minutiae.

Comfort and sleep were key and we got it. But I can hardly understand why you even bother posting about % space, etc.

kyushuman

I agree with you to a certain degree. It looks like you had a great experience with them--do you have anything more detailed, like menu offerings, etc? How many meal services were there on each flight? How many courses? Stuff like that is often useful when comparing. I am curious if the person who challenges you has ever flown TN. I guess not, so I'm not sure about questioning your report so strongly! If he had a bad experience that contrasted yours, that would be one thing, but he just seems a little too negative.

ctmike

Thanks for sharing. We are also booked in November JFK-PPT-SYD and return from AKL. We are in Business Class though. Any comments from your observations from the Business cabin? Did you notice the loads in all cabins? What was your JFK check-in and lounge experience like as well as your PPT transit experience?

The rumors are resurfacing again about TN dropping JFK due to poor loads, something like 30%. There is a recent thread on Airliners.net which said a financial review was performed on the airline and their future looks dismal. It specifically mentions that the JFK flight has been a financial disaster. They even had a very short lived once a week JFK-CDG flight. Obviously for selfish reasons, I am hoping they keep the flight at least until the new year!

jacob_m

Nice report!
Did you take any photos? Would have been interesting to see...

Air NZ and Air France operate LAX-PPT, but that's about it ex-US, nothing else from the east coast AFAIK.

flyer121

TN just started JFK-CDG in April of this year. In addition TN has NOT canceled this flight and it is available for purchase.

QF NB

http://www.airtahitinui-usa.com/hote...us/default.asp

Scroll to the bottom of the page and you'll find some photos of the Crew.

Nice report Mario, TN look like a great carrier.

Looking forward to reading about your flights with the big Q esp. on KNX-ZNE-PER and PER-SYD.

Cheers

number_6

I have flown TN, but not recently, so my TN experience isn't relevant to the current airline (it had no F service when I flew them, for example, only J). I am not negative about TN and it might even be the best way to get to PPT; but it is merely an average F service by world standards, and not something that is particularly noteworthy. The review suggested it was one of the best F services in the world, and that was too absurd to leave without comment. Lots of airlines have improved their F/J service in the past 3 years, and TN hasn't kept up -- they don't even have power ports in F on all of their planes! Now what kind of F service is that when you cannot use your laptop inflight? Perhaps great for PPT, where laptops are frowned upon, but not for the rest of the world.

ctmike

The JFK-CDG service has been pulled effective October 29, 2006.

the phoenix

It looks like you had a great experience with them--do you have anything more detailed, like menu offerings, etc? How many meal services were there on each flight? How many courses?

I will post photos soon, regarding meals and offerings. 2-3 meals serivces per flight.
7 course meals.

We are in Business Class though. Any comments from your observations from the Business cabin? Did you notice the loads in all cabins? What was your JFK check-in and lounge experience like as well as your PPT transit experience?

J cabin has the same wall hanging portrait effect. 24 seats in J cabin. Same IFE. I will get accurate load info soon.

JFK check-in was simple. There was the LONG line for coach, but J and F check-in took less than 5 minutes. At JFK, at check-in, our invite to the SWISS lounge was given to us there. SWISS lounge was nice, quiet, with food service. Only gripe there was that the SWISS representative did not call our flight.

PPT experience was also easy. Got off the plane and shown to the lounge upstairs. Lounge was large, clean, and lightly airconditioned.


Now what kind of F service is that when you cannot use your laptop inflight?

WEll after yesterday's news, even the ubiquitous laptop is not an issue inflight

Kagehitokiri

Meh, I'll still plan on Maldives instead of Polynesia then. More segments required, but better airlines and I like the overwater pool idea.

Most people seem to disagree with me though, so this is probably a really good trip report to have on FT.

Fraser

Don't see many TN reports around so a useful guide for some I'm sure.

4 or 6 across is 'minutiae' That is some serious difference there! The one thing I love about int. F on contemporary products is the massive amount of personal space one has around their seat and the 50% increase in space isn't minute, it is gargantuan! Personally a non-suite product (a la AA Int. F coffins) isn't a true int. F product unlike say a true suite affair (AA Flagship Suites, BA F, CX F and basically every other first and second rate F product )

Sounds to me like TN have a good soft product, the hard one needs more consistency across the fleet and some updating.

Out of interest how did what you paid for TN F compare with say a similar itinerary on QF (but via SYD of course ) on a 'true F product'?