Air New Zealand Air Points - Need help on a flight from AKL to PPT

I have been on waitlist for almost a month on a flight from AKL to PPT on Dec the 21st.

NZ22 AKL16:15 PPT 00:05 763 1 C4 D4 Z2 Y7 B7 M0 H0 Q0 V0 W0 T0 L0 S0 G0 K0

The problem is that my wife requires a visa for French Polynesia and the embassy require the printed tickets before they will issue the visa. They need 20 days to issue the visa and i fly out on the 10th of December to the Far east with her to start our holiday. So we are running out of time. The hotels and everything else is booked so changing the dates would not be an option unless there is no other option ;)

Does anyone know how busy this flight is and what are my chances of it getting confirmed in the next few days?

I am a *G with TG if that might help my chances a little. Can i burn some miles and upgrade to BIZ? Or can i only upgrade on TG with miles?

Thanks a lot for your help guys and gals. ^

Hi there


you haven't said which class you are waitlisted for ? I assume not L,S,G, K because as far as I know they will not waitlist - they are either available or they come back unable - so I am assuming one of the higher classes ?

I am wait listed on V class. And i don't require a visa with a British passport do i?

Firstly , I need to make it very clear that I am not an NZ insider , so any opinion I express is just that , however , I was in the travel industry in New Zealand for 8 years .

I do not know whether your AKL-PPT is a stand alone ticket or part of a more complex single ticket

Assuming that it is a separate ticket ,if this was me I would bite the bullet and pay whatever the difference is for B - at that time of year flights to the Pacific are usually full if not oversold - M , H and Q showing 0 suggests to me the chances of V clearing are pretty low - in my experience ( again , please note I am not infallible ) if NZ is showing only Y and B then the flight is likely full already and possibly slightly oversold . Since you must be on the flight because your hotel is already paid and you cannot change your dates this would be your only way to guarantee getting on.

If this is part of a bigger ticket what sort of fare is it and is there any option to upgrade a single sector to D on payment of a differential .


Visa regs change constantly and I am no longer in the industry - but last I checked EU citizens did not need a visa for French Polynesia subject to having sufficient funds / return or onward ticket and a max stay criteria which I cannot remember , but is certainly sufficient for most holiday visitors .


Good luck , I hope I am wrong about the odds of V class clearing , but I personally wouldn't bet on it - particularly when you have other arrangements which are dependent on being on that flight .

Thank you for that advice. Going to wait till monday as thats when we have to send away the Visa application for the wife before opting for the higher fare class.

Why are you going to Tahiti during the rainy season? It seems like such a shame to go all that way to the world's most beautiful islands, just to watch the rain fall.

Honeymoon. Got to go somewhere!! Apparently it doesn't rain all the time. Both of us are not really sun worshipers. In fact we both come from a very hot country so a bit of rain would be nice. Can't remember the last time that it rained here in North India. Must have been months ago. Want to go somewhere exotic and Bora Bora sounds like the perfect place.

I had planned for 4 days in Bora Bora and 4 days in Tahiti. Would that be sufficent time?

Plenty time, but make sure you take a day trip from Papeete to Moorea.

Drop PPT if I were u. There r lots of places that don't need a VISA. Not worth the risk.

Definitely drop the four days in Tahiti - not that interesting. Go to one of the atolls, Huahine, Raiatea, or Taha'a. In fact - I'd even say give Moorea a pass, just not that interesting and there are other, more beautiful places to be - especially on your honeymoon.

Hope the visa/flights work out.

How far is Moorea from PPT airport? How would i get there? Can anyone recommend a good hotel there?

How far is Moorea from PPT airport? How would i get there? Can anyone recommend a good hotel there?

Moorea is a sub 10 minute flight from PPT, or a short ferry ride from downtown Pape'ete. Re hotels, I don't know because I haven't been but there are plenty of online guides to Tahiti, or the best guidebook is Jan Prince's 'Tahiti & French Polynesia Guide', published by Open Road.

At Moorea (MOZ) stay at the Intercontinental or the Sheraton.

You can get seasick on the ferry: you may prefer the plane.

Plane is a 7 minute ride - leaves approximately every 30-60 minutes, depending on time of day.

The thing I don't like about Moorea is that places like the Intercon and Sheraton are a little too family oriented - probably not the best choice for a honeymoon.

For alot more indepth information, have a look through here:

http://www.tahiti-explorer.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi

Hi Flights from Ppt to Moorea are run on a first come first served basis the plane leaves when its reasonably full basically like a shuttle van from the airport to the city...

Hotels the best is definately the Intercontinental have stayed there very nice even has a pool with dolphins in it ..3 levels of accommodation all very nice Linea rooms are just a hotel block ,one tip join the priotity club rewards program its free and gives you a free late check out at all intercontinental hotels in Tahiti..Its a great hotel lots to do and right on its own beach..

Bora Bora is fabulous you will love it ..A lot smaller but the locals there are a lot friendlier ..Lots of accommodation sofitel ,novotel, sheraton ,intercontinental, pearl hotel ,club med and the very best of the lot the bora bora lagoon resort.. Lots to do there and not as expensive as i thought it would be ..The major cost in all of French Polynesia is the accommodation..

My only big tip is to try to use some basic french with the locals even if its just bon jour ,it will make them much more friendly than speaking to them just with english ..

I am booked at the Le Meridean Bora Bora in a over water bunglow, is that any good?

How much should i expect to pay for the short flight to Moorea?

Thanks a lot for all the advice everyone :)

Le Meridien Bora Bora is just fine.

Last time I looked the MOZ flights were 5500 CFP each way, ie about $110 US return.

How much should i expect to pay for the short flight to Moorea?

You can find all the info about inter-island flights here:
http://www.airtahiti.aero/home.php

The flight is still the same :confused:

AKL Auckland Int'l NZ [NZAA]
PPT Papeete Faaa PF
WED 21 Dec 2005

Carrier Flight From Depart To Arrive A/C St Availability

NZ 22 AKL 16:15 PPT 00:05 763 1 C4 D4 Z2 Y7 B7 M0 H0 Q0 V0 W0 T0 L0 S0 G0 K0

The flight is still the same :confused:

AKL Auckland Int'l NZ [NZAA]
PPT Papeete Faaa PF
WED 21 Dec 2005

Carrier Flight From Depart To Arrive A/C St Availability

NZ 22 AKL 16:15 PPT 00:05 763 1 C4 D4 Z2 Y7 B7 M0 H0 Q0 V0 W0 T0 L0 S0 G0 K0


Can't see from your earlier posts whether this is going to be a 'stand alone' or part of a longer multi-carrier itinerary - if it is just AKL-PPT-AKL then I am afraid my advice would be to bite the bullet and confirm in B on this leg while it is still available - yes , it will be pricier , but you have said that your hotel is booked and changing dates is not an option .

If it is part of a longer itinerary it is hard to offer suggestions without being aware of the full itinerary /fare type .

DEL> SIN > AKL > ROT > ZQN > CHC > AKL > PPT > BOB > PPT > AKL > SIN > DEL

Am booked in Q & V class for all of the NZ legs. My travel agents tells me that booking in a higher class is not an option (for some reason) for the AKL PPT leg.

Am running out of time now so might have to cancel some hotel's and re-book to a different date.

The funny thing is that every other date the flight is fully open. Here is a couple of exapmples -

AKL Auckland Int'l NZ [NZAA]
PPT Papeete Faaa PF
SUN 18 Dec 2005
NZ 40 AKL 12:40 PPT 18:45 -1 763 0 C4 D4 Z2 Y7 B7 M7 H7 Q7 V7 W7 T7 L7 S4 G4 K7

AKL Auckland Int'l NZ [NZAA]
PPT Papeete Faaa PF
FRI 23 Dec 2005

NZ 40 AKL 23:59 PPT 06:05 763 0 C4 D4 Z2 Y7 B7 M7 H7 Q7 V7 W7 T7 L7 S4 G0 K0

sorry , not sure what to suggest - NZ22 is a funny flight it routes AKL-RAR-PPT-LAX which means you are competing for seats with pax wanting AKL-RAR or RAR-PPT or RAR-LAX rather than the nice straightforward AKL-PPT nonstop NZ40 - my suspicion is that the plane is full up as far as RAR with Cook Islanders returning home for Xmas - If you get on it I would bet that it empties out after RAR - that would explain why the non-stop flight is wide open - but it doesn't really help you with your problem . Sorry , wish I could think of an alternative

Yes the plane is full to RAR and is then light to PPT where it becomes a lot fuller to LAX ..Sorry not that this helps you much at all ...Best of luck

Thanks for your hep guys!

Just got of the phone and my agent says that her rep at NZ says that there is a 80% chance that our flights will get confirmed. Not sure if that 20% is worth the risk.