Air Tahiti Nui Review - Economy Class
Jan 10, 2009, 8:40 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: DSM
Programs: AA Platinum, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum, Fairmont Platinum, United Silver, National Exec
Posts: 1,035
Air Tahiti Nui Review - Economy Class
Our family of four just returned from a holiday trip to Australia with a couple of days in Tahiti en route. I thought I'd give FT's a review of our Air Tahiti Nui flights.
LAX-PPT
ATN operates out of the Bradley International Terminal at LAX. Check-in was easy and took about 15 minutes. We arrived just under 3 hours before departure and got caught in some of the Paris bound passengers checking in. Had we arrived 30 minutes later the line would have been faster. It was nice to find that the seats I'd reserved some months back (16AB, 17AB) were still assigned to us.
The security lines at the international terminal can look scary. We wandered around outside of security to kill time for a bit. When we finally thought about getting into the line we were surprised how long the line was. Fortunately, we had time and after about 45 minutes we were through and able to walk to our gate. ATN on the day we flew operated via bus service to the far western pad at LAX. I like that method of boarding, though, as you get to see lots of planes up close!
Arriving at the ATN A340--which is just beautiful--we quickly boarded. We immediately noticed how clean the cabin was. We also found plenty of overhead storage. The seat pitch was pretty tight but the seat itself had good cushioning and support. I also appreciated the fact that my window was clean.
Our departure was delayed about 45 minutes as bags and a few straggling passengers were loaded. We then were underway. The A340 is such a quiet plane!
Just after takeoff paper menus and amenity kits, containing eyeshade, ear plugs, earphones and a handy wipe, were distributed. Both were a nice touch considering we were in economy.
About 30 minutes after takeoff the flight attendants were in the aisles with a beverage service. Soft drinks and alcohol were provided at no charge. Once they had run through the aisle they returned once more (quickly) to refill glasses.
Shortly thereafter the flight attendants were again in the aisles with lunch. I had a beef and rice dinner that was quite tasty. In addition to the entree my meal included a roll, small package of cheese, crackers, small salad and a jello/spongecake dessert. Drinks were also served with the dinner. My only "beef" with lunch was that they took too long to pick up the trays.
Every seat has a small screen (located in the seat back in front of you). It's small but adjusts vertically to allow changes when the seat in front of you moves forward/backward. There are several movies that cycle through continuously. There are also a host of games, including trivia, and the Airshow map. The trivia game was fun but after about 30 minutes I'd seen all the questions.
I spent the flight using my I-Pod Touch and reading a book so I cannot comment much on the movies.
Throughout the flight drinks were available in galley on a self-serve basis. After the lunch was cleared the flight attendants retreated to their chairs and read magazines, etc.
About 90 minutes before landing we were served another round of drinks and a snack (can't recall what it was).
We landed about 15 minutes late into a rainy Papeete. Since there are no jetways in Tahiti we used the stairs (fortunately the rain stopped) and walked to the customs area. All passengers are greeted by two Tahiti ladies who pass out flowers for your ears. Customs, baggage collection and immigration were easy but a little on the slow side.
The Papeete airport is not big and not fancy. The services are pretty limited and typically slow. We had hired a van to take us to the hotel and that worked pretty well.
PPT-SYD
After a couple of days in Tahiti we returned to the airport for our onward flight to Sydney. The flight departs at 2:15am so we arrived about 11pm. Check-in again took about 15-20 minutes. The problem, though, is that the airport doesn't open up access to the departure gate area until about an hour before the flight. So we sat around in the airport (all the shops were closed) for quite some time--very tired...
Because our flight to Sydney was not full we were able to trade in our window seats for 2 rows. My wife and I shared a row of 4 seats. It was ok, except the middle armrest did not fully retract. That made for some interesting body contortions throughout the flight. While they offered dinner I don't think many people took part. Everyone seemed to be sleeping once we were on board. About 90 minutes before landing they turned on all of the lights (arrgh) and began serving b-fast. Since I was a little hungry I decided to sit up and eat the french toast. It was pretty good!
Landed in Sydney right on schedule and taxied to our gate at the International terminal there. Bags came out by the time we made it through customs.
SYD-PPT
We had our 16AB and 17AB seats again on this flight, which was completely full. There seemed to be a lot of friends and family (of Air Tahiti employees) on this flight. This daytime flight was similar to the LAX-PPT flight in terms of service. The food, though, was not as good. I only ate part of the meal.
We landed in PPT about 9pm (on time) and were routed back through security (though not customs) for return to the boarding gate for our flight to LAX. By the time we got to the gate area we only had about 15 minutes before they began boarding the flight to LAX.
PPT-LAX
This is an overnight flight that departs at 10pm. We had an on-time departure and the flight was completely full. When we boarded our menu and amenity kits, with a fleece blanket, were neatly placed on our seats.
Once airborne we had a consolidated dinner and drink service. Again, the food on this flight was not particularly good, except for the dessert. After dinner the lights were turned out and everyone went to sleep. It was interesting because not a single reading light was left on. The flight attendants came around and closed all of the window shades to prevent the sunrise to interrupt us some hours later.
The same French Toast meal was served just prior to landing in LAX...again, it was tasty. Arrived into LA about 30 minutes early. We taxied, though, for a good half-hour so in the end we got to the gate on time. Customs, baggage claim and immigration were reasonably fast. One thing we noticed--as we were connecting to a domestic United Airlines flight--is that we were directed to walk from the international terminal with all of our bags down to the United terminal (about a 15 minute walk with kids and stuff). In the past I've always been able to recheck our luggage for the domestic United flights at the international terminal...though maybe that was a while ago.
All in all, I'd give Air Tahiti Nui a solid B+. The service was good, the planes were clean and quiet and every flight was either on time or close to it. I would definitely recommend flying ATN to anyone who is visiting Tahiti or wants to break up the flight from the USA to Australia or New Zealand.
^^^^
LAX-PPT
ATN operates out of the Bradley International Terminal at LAX. Check-in was easy and took about 15 minutes. We arrived just under 3 hours before departure and got caught in some of the Paris bound passengers checking in. Had we arrived 30 minutes later the line would have been faster. It was nice to find that the seats I'd reserved some months back (16AB, 17AB) were still assigned to us.
The security lines at the international terminal can look scary. We wandered around outside of security to kill time for a bit. When we finally thought about getting into the line we were surprised how long the line was. Fortunately, we had time and after about 45 minutes we were through and able to walk to our gate. ATN on the day we flew operated via bus service to the far western pad at LAX. I like that method of boarding, though, as you get to see lots of planes up close!
Arriving at the ATN A340--which is just beautiful--we quickly boarded. We immediately noticed how clean the cabin was. We also found plenty of overhead storage. The seat pitch was pretty tight but the seat itself had good cushioning and support. I also appreciated the fact that my window was clean.
Our departure was delayed about 45 minutes as bags and a few straggling passengers were loaded. We then were underway. The A340 is such a quiet plane!
Just after takeoff paper menus and amenity kits, containing eyeshade, ear plugs, earphones and a handy wipe, were distributed. Both were a nice touch considering we were in economy.
About 30 minutes after takeoff the flight attendants were in the aisles with a beverage service. Soft drinks and alcohol were provided at no charge. Once they had run through the aisle they returned once more (quickly) to refill glasses.
Shortly thereafter the flight attendants were again in the aisles with lunch. I had a beef and rice dinner that was quite tasty. In addition to the entree my meal included a roll, small package of cheese, crackers, small salad and a jello/spongecake dessert. Drinks were also served with the dinner. My only "beef" with lunch was that they took too long to pick up the trays.
Every seat has a small screen (located in the seat back in front of you). It's small but adjusts vertically to allow changes when the seat in front of you moves forward/backward. There are several movies that cycle through continuously. There are also a host of games, including trivia, and the Airshow map. The trivia game was fun but after about 30 minutes I'd seen all the questions.
I spent the flight using my I-Pod Touch and reading a book so I cannot comment much on the movies.
Throughout the flight drinks were available in galley on a self-serve basis. After the lunch was cleared the flight attendants retreated to their chairs and read magazines, etc.
About 90 minutes before landing we were served another round of drinks and a snack (can't recall what it was).
We landed about 15 minutes late into a rainy Papeete. Since there are no jetways in Tahiti we used the stairs (fortunately the rain stopped) and walked to the customs area. All passengers are greeted by two Tahiti ladies who pass out flowers for your ears. Customs, baggage collection and immigration were easy but a little on the slow side.
The Papeete airport is not big and not fancy. The services are pretty limited and typically slow. We had hired a van to take us to the hotel and that worked pretty well.
PPT-SYD
After a couple of days in Tahiti we returned to the airport for our onward flight to Sydney. The flight departs at 2:15am so we arrived about 11pm. Check-in again took about 15-20 minutes. The problem, though, is that the airport doesn't open up access to the departure gate area until about an hour before the flight. So we sat around in the airport (all the shops were closed) for quite some time--very tired...
Because our flight to Sydney was not full we were able to trade in our window seats for 2 rows. My wife and I shared a row of 4 seats. It was ok, except the middle armrest did not fully retract. That made for some interesting body contortions throughout the flight. While they offered dinner I don't think many people took part. Everyone seemed to be sleeping once we were on board. About 90 minutes before landing they turned on all of the lights (arrgh) and began serving b-fast. Since I was a little hungry I decided to sit up and eat the french toast. It was pretty good!
Landed in Sydney right on schedule and taxied to our gate at the International terminal there. Bags came out by the time we made it through customs.
SYD-PPT
We had our 16AB and 17AB seats again on this flight, which was completely full. There seemed to be a lot of friends and family (of Air Tahiti employees) on this flight. This daytime flight was similar to the LAX-PPT flight in terms of service. The food, though, was not as good. I only ate part of the meal.
We landed in PPT about 9pm (on time) and were routed back through security (though not customs) for return to the boarding gate for our flight to LAX. By the time we got to the gate area we only had about 15 minutes before they began boarding the flight to LAX.
PPT-LAX
This is an overnight flight that departs at 10pm. We had an on-time departure and the flight was completely full. When we boarded our menu and amenity kits, with a fleece blanket, were neatly placed on our seats.
Once airborne we had a consolidated dinner and drink service. Again, the food on this flight was not particularly good, except for the dessert. After dinner the lights were turned out and everyone went to sleep. It was interesting because not a single reading light was left on. The flight attendants came around and closed all of the window shades to prevent the sunrise to interrupt us some hours later.
The same French Toast meal was served just prior to landing in LAX...again, it was tasty. Arrived into LA about 30 minutes early. We taxied, though, for a good half-hour so in the end we got to the gate on time. Customs, baggage claim and immigration were reasonably fast. One thing we noticed--as we were connecting to a domestic United Airlines flight--is that we were directed to walk from the international terminal with all of our bags down to the United terminal (about a 15 minute walk with kids and stuff). In the past I've always been able to recheck our luggage for the domestic United flights at the international terminal...though maybe that was a while ago.
All in all, I'd give Air Tahiti Nui a solid B+. The service was good, the planes were clean and quiet and every flight was either on time or close to it. I would definitely recommend flying ATN to anyone who is visiting Tahiti or wants to break up the flight from the USA to Australia or New Zealand.
^^^^
Jan 21, 2009, 8:38 pm
#4
Join Date: Feb 2007
Programs: Delta DM, Hyatt Globalist, AA Plat
Posts: 236
Great post. How were the economy seats? What did you do on your 2 day Tahiti layover?
My wife has family in Sydney, and I think this might be the way to go on our next visit. Please update us on your trip back to the States.
Thanks,
My wife has family in Sydney, and I think this might be the way to go on our next visit. Please update us on your trip back to the States.
Thanks,
Jan 26, 2009, 8:10 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: DSM
Programs: AA Platinum, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum, Fairmont Platinum, United Silver, National Exec
Posts: 1,035
Economy seats are decent--not overly roomy but clean.
With regard to layover:
Day 1= Lounged by the hotel pool (Radison Plaza Tahiti Resort)
Day 2= Took ferry to Moorea
With regard to layover:
Day 1= Lounged by the hotel pool (Radison Plaza Tahiti Resort)
Day 2= Took ferry to Moorea
Jun 1, 2010, 3:28 pm
#6
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Idaho
Programs: Alaska MVP
Posts: 144
Papeete to LAX
Found your post, thanks for taking the time to write it. We are on a cruise that ends in Papeete and will be flying to LAX. Really expensive airfare, got a better deal booking PPT-LAX round trip and just letting the return flight go to waste.