Apr 14, 2019, 12:54 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
Air Tahiti Nui is replacing their five A340-300 aircraft with four Boeing 787-9 “Tahitian Dreamliners” (two purchased, two leased from Steven Udvar-Házy’s Air Lease Corporation). 787-9 operations are scheduled to begin 7 November 2018, with the last A340-300 retired from TN service in September of 2019. Registration and names:
“Woven together our fleetnames registrations have a hidden meaning: The warrior (TOA) going forward (MUA) in the great (NUI) canoe (VAA)!” The actual aircraft are named for different islands in the French Polynesian chain. The seating is 30 Poerava Business Class, 32 Premium Economy, and 232 Moana Economy. Business is fully lie flat. The 787-9s will be / are:
F-OMUA “Fakarava”
F-ONUI “Tupaia “
F-OVAA “Bora Bora”
F-OTOA “Tetiaroa”
NOTE: The TN “Tahitian Dreamliner” is equipped with the GE GEnx-1B, not Rolls Royce, engines. as lessor Air Lease Cofporation selected the GEnx-1B engine to power the 30 Dreamliners purchased or on order. The GEnx-1B allows ETOPS rating of this aircraft to be ETOPS 330. (The FAA Air Directive restricting the 787s with the defectious Rolls Royce Trent 1000 to ETOPS 140 would have prevented TN operating these aircraft PPT-LAX-PPT.)
Routes Online
Link to review of entire aircraft: Touring Business, Premium and Coach on Air Tahiti Nui’s First 787-9 Dreamliner, by Zach Honig, October 10th, 2018 TPG
Seating is C30 - W32 - Y232 in two cabins for a total of 294 seats. LINK to TN 789 seat chart PDF Photos courtesy of Sam Chui.
30 Poerava Business seats using Rockwell Collins (née B/E Aerospace) Diamond Parallel seat pairs (lie flat to 78” fully extended, at an angle to forward; all but window seats enjoy full aisle access) with 16” screen AVOD Panasonic Avionics eX3 IFE. These are similar to the seats in QR 777-200LR or AA 757-200, A321T Business, UA 777 SFO-PPT. Row 4 is missing a window, bulkhead row enjoys larger foot boxes.
Link to review: Review: Air Tahiti Nui Business Class 787-9 Los Angeles To Papeete, by Ben (Lucky), 20 Feb 2019, OMAT
32 Moana Premium (Premium Economy) Zodiac Z535 seats, with 38” pitch, 19”width, 8”of recline in 2 - 3 - 2 configuration with Panasonic Avionics eX3 13”AVOD seatback screens. Bulkhead row enjoys full use of extended leg rests; other rows seat leg rest extension is impeded by seat pitch.
Review of 787-9 Premium Economy by Sam Chui - link
232 Moana Economy Zodiac Z300 long range series seats with articulating seat pan in a 3 - 3 - 3 layout in two cabins, with 31”pitch, 6”recline and 12” Panasonic Avionics eX3 seatback AVOD screens.
OMAT states seat numeration is:
Poerava Business: rows 1-5, columns AB, DE, KL
Moana Premium: rows 10-15, columns AB, DEF, KL
Moana Economy: rows 18-46, possibly ABC, DEF, JKL
Also available is Panasonic’s eXConnect Ku band satellite-based Wi-Fi access.
“Moana” means “ocean” in several Polynesian languages; “Poerava”means “black pearl”, a valuable dark pearl from the Pinctada margaritifera or black-lip pearl oyster found in French Polynesia. As indicated previously, TN will call these the “Tahitian Dreamliner”.
Links and sources of the information in this post:
Air Tahiti Nui announcement of 789 acquisition - Mar 2015
Boeing press release about TN 789 selection
GE press release about Air Lease Corporation selection of GEnx engine for its 787 fleet
Air Tahiti Nui press release about refurbished Papeete Air Tahiti Nui Business Lounge, operated by ADT - 3 Nov 2017
Forbes article detailing the TN 787-9 - 22 Mar 2018
Airline Geeks article detailing 789
Routes Online article announcing new TN 789 routes
Air Tahiti Nui press release about 789 seats, chart, etc.
The Points Guy review of Poerava Business class on the TN 789
One Mile at a Time blog article about TN 789
Business Insider article on TN 789
Runway Girl Network article about TN 789
The Points Guy article on the TN 789
Traveling For Miles article on TN 789
Air Tahiti Nui announcement of new Air Tahiti Nui brand identity
Illustrations courtesy of Sam Chui, samchui.com
See below for seat chart.
“Woven together our fleet
F-OMUA “Fakarava”
F-ONUI “Tupaia “
F-OVAA “Bora Bora”
F-OTOA “Tetiaroa”
NOTE: The TN “Tahitian Dreamliner” is equipped with the GE GEnx-1B, not Rolls Royce, engines. as lessor Air Lease Cofporation selected the GEnx-1B engine to power the 30 Dreamliners purchased or on order. The GEnx-1B allows ETOPS rating of this aircraft to be ETOPS 330. (The FAA Air Directive restricting the 787s with the defectious Rolls Royce Trent 1000 to ETOPS 140 would have prevented TN operating these aircraft PPT-LAX-PPT.)
The new 787-9 Dreamliner complements and extends the super-efficient 787 family. With the fuselage stretched by 20 feet (6 meters) over the 787-8, the 787-9 can fly more passengers and more cargo farther with the same exceptional environmental performance — 20 percent less fuel use and 20 percent fewer emissions than the airplanes they replace. The 787-9 also leverages the visionary design of the 787-8, offering passengers features such as the industry's largest windows, large stow bins, modern LED lighting, higher humidity, a lower cabin altitude, cleaner air and a smoother ride. (Boeing)
- Papeete – Auckland began 07 Nov18 3 weekly
- Papeete – Los Angeles began 07 NOV18 3 weekly TN102/101 (Day 136 from PPT, Day 257 from LAX)
- Papeete – Tokyo Narita began 04 FEB19 2 weekly
- Papeete – Los Angeles began 07 NOV18 3 weekly TN102/101 (Day 136 from PPT, Day 257 from LAX)
Routes Online
Link to review of entire aircraft: Touring Business, Premium and Coach on Air Tahiti Nui’s First 787-9 Dreamliner, by Zach Honig, October 10th, 2018 TPG
Seating is C30 - W32 - Y232 in two cabins for a total of 294 seats. LINK to TN 789 seat chart PDF Photos courtesy of Sam Chui.
30 Poerava Business seats using Rockwell Collins (née B/E Aerospace) Diamond Parallel seat pairs (lie flat to 78” fully extended, at an angle to forward; all but window seats enjoy full aisle access) with 16” screen AVOD Panasonic Avionics eX3 IFE. These are similar to the seats in QR 777-200LR or AA 757-200, A321T Business, UA 777 SFO-PPT. Row 4 is missing a window, bulkhead row enjoys larger foot boxes.
Link to review: Review: Air Tahiti Nui Business Class 787-9 Los Angeles To Papeete, by Ben (Lucky), 20 Feb 2019, OMAT
32 Moana Premium (Premium Economy) Zodiac Z535 seats, with 38” pitch, 19”width, 8”of recline in 2 - 3 - 2 configuration with Panasonic Avionics eX3 13”AVOD seatback screens. Bulkhead row enjoys full use of extended leg rests; other rows seat leg rest extension is impeded by seat pitch.
Review of 787-9 Premium Economy by Sam Chui - link
232 Moana Economy Zodiac Z300 long range series seats with articulating seat pan in a 3 - 3 - 3 layout in two cabins, with 31”pitch, 6”recline and 12” Panasonic Avionics eX3 seatback AVOD screens.
OMAT states seat numeration is:
Poerava Business: rows 1-5, columns AB, DE, KL
Moana Premium: rows 10-15, columns AB, DEF, KL
Moana Economy: rows 18-46, possibly ABC, DEF, JKL
Also available is Panasonic’s eXConnect Ku band satellite-based Wi-Fi access.
“Moana” means “ocean” in several Polynesian languages; “Poerava”means “black pearl”, a valuable dark pearl from the Pinctada margaritifera or black-lip pearl oyster found in French Polynesia. As indicated previously, TN will call these the “Tahitian Dreamliner”.
Links and sources of the information in this post:
Air Tahiti Nui announcement of 789 acquisition - Mar 2015
Boeing press release about TN 789 selection
GE press release about Air Lease Corporation selection of GEnx engine for its 787 fleet
Air Tahiti Nui press release about refurbished Papeete Air Tahiti Nui Business Lounge, operated by ADT - 3 Nov 2017
Forbes article detailing the TN 787-9 - 22 Mar 2018
Airline Geeks article detailing 789
Routes Online article announcing new TN 789 routes
Air Tahiti Nui press release about 789 seats, chart, etc.
The Points Guy review of Poerava Business class on the TN 789
One Mile at a Time blog article about TN 789
Business Insider article on TN 789
Runway Girl Network article about TN 789
The Points Guy article on the TN 789
Traveling For Miles article on TN 789
Air Tahiti Nui announcement of new Air Tahiti Nui brand identity
Illustrations courtesy of Sam Chui, samchui.com
See below for seat chart.
Air Tahiti Nui / TN 787-9 “Tahitian Dreamliner” (as of 2018)
May 10, 2018, 11:46 am
#1
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
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Posts: 62,948
Air Tahiti Nui / TN 787-9 “Tahitian Dreamliner” (as of 2018)
Information transferred to community updated Wikipost.
See below for routings early 2029 and “Tahitian Dreamliner” seat chart.
Poerava Business extended seat — The Points Guy
Poerava Business 2 x 2 x 2 seats — The Points Guy
See below for routings early 2029 and “Tahitian Dreamliner” seat chart.
Poerava Business extended seat — The Points Guy
Poerava Business 2 x 2 x 2 seats — The Points Guy
Last edited by JDiver; Sep 18, 2020 at 11:02 pm Reason: Add / edit
Jan 6, 2019, 4:03 pm
#2
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Updated information in the first post.
AA and AS are partners in the US.
Often overlooked among the aspirational awards to Tahiti (and onward travel via non-partner Air Tahiti to Bora Bora, Fakarava, Rangiroa and the small Tetiaroa for The Brando. Again: Air Tahiti Nui does not fly to those islands; Air Tahiti, which is not affiliated with TN, does.
Moorea is more accessible and economical by fast Aremiti ferry.
NOTE: Contrary to most one world agreements, Qantas (and Japan Airlines is likely) marketed codeshare tickets on flights operated by Air Tahiti Nui will earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles in accordance with the Qantas partner airline earning charts on aa.com.
AA and AS are partners in the US.
Often overlooked among the aspirational awards to Tahiti (and onward travel via non-partner Air Tahiti to Bora Bora, Fakarava, Rangiroa and the small Tetiaroa for The Brando. Again: Air Tahiti Nui does not fly to those islands; Air Tahiti, which is not affiliated with TN, does.
Moorea is more accessible and economical by fast Aremiti ferry.
NOTE: Contrary to most one world agreements, Qantas (and Japan Airlines is likely) marketed codeshare tickets on flights operated by Air Tahiti Nui will earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles in accordance with the Qantas partner airline earning charts on aa.com.
Last edited by JDiver; Apr 14, 2019 at 1:13 pm Reason: Update
Jan 17, 2019, 4:48 pm
#5
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Jan 18, 2019, 4:34 am
#6
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: MIA
Posts: 498
Mar 4, 2019, 6:54 pm
#9
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: MIA
Posts: 498
I got to review their premium economy from AKL-PPT a few weeks ago. Great product. I had a friend in Business who was dissatisfied with the food and seat but had great service
https://samchui.com/2019/02/13/revie...emium-economy/
https://samchui.com/2019/02/13/revie...emium-economy/
Apr 14, 2019, 1:09 pm
#11
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
If there are empty Poerava Business or Moana Premium seats available, Air Tahiti Nui often sells these as counter upgrades. I recall a few years ago LAX-PPT was offered for USD $800. These aspirational upgrades do not sell cheaply, and they tend to not sell counter upgrades if you are flying on another airline’s codeshare (we flew as an AA marketed flight operated by TN and were denied counter upgrades LAX-PPT though seats were available).
Sam Chui shared in his excellent February 2019 review of Moana Premium:
Sam Chui shared in his excellent February 2019 review of Moana Premium:
For anyone looking to upgrade at check-in, for this trip premium economy upgrades were available from $460 NZD (~$315 USD) and business class from $580 NZD (~$396 USD) pending availability.
Apr 21, 2019, 3:53 pm
#12
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Long Beach, CA
Programs: AA PLTPRO, HH Diamond, IHG Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 3,559
If there are empty Poerava Business or Moana Premium seats available, Air Tahiti Nui often sells these as counter upgrades. I recall a few years ago LAX-PPT was offered for USD $800. These aspirational upgrades do not sell cheaply, and they tend to not sell counter upgrades if you are flying on another airline’s codeshare (we flew as an AA marketed flight operated by TN and were denied counter upgrades LAX-PPT though seats were available).
Sam Chui shared in his excellent February 2019 review of Moana Premium:
Sam Chui shared in his excellent February 2019 review of Moana Premium:
Jun 2, 2019, 5:22 pm
#13
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 222
For anyone that is flying Air Tahiti Nui soon, there have been some cancellations and last minute equipment swaps lately due to one of their remaining three Airbus A340-313 (Reg: F-OSEA) being out of service. That leaves them with just four planes to operate all of their routes. Mostly has affected the PPT-NRT and PPT-AKL flights. But the NRT route has the potential for the largest impact since they only operate to/from Narita once a week. I was affected last week and was re-booked on AA NRT-LAX and then TN LAX-PPT. Others were sent to via Sydney and Auckland (on JL and NZ).
Not sure what the problem is or if the out of service 343 will come back or they will operate without a spare bird until their next 789 delivery which is eminent (F-OVAA is already in test flights by Boeing). In addition, I am told that new 789 may remain as a spare at PPT for a while due to their shortage of Dreamliner pilots.
Not sure what the problem is or if the out of service 343 will come back or they will operate without a spare bird until their next 789 delivery which is eminent (F-OVAA is already in test flights by Boeing). In addition, I am told that new 789 may remain as a spare at PPT for a while due to their shortage of Dreamliner pilots.
Jun 12, 2019, 2:58 pm
#15
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: MIA
Posts: 498
First row will have a larger foot well but you will be competing for sleep against galley light and noise