Flying to Bora Bora
 

Not sure if this is the right forum, please move if not.

I'm looking for honeymoon spots for early-mid November and Bora Bora/Tahiti came up pretty high on my search. We were thinking of going to Madagascar and/or Seychelles but the flights there were too long for a week-long trip.

Anyway, we wanted to get there on *A but United.com doesn't show anything, is there a way to get there on United or *A? Would highly prefer it either to earn miles and/or use upgrade certs. Thanks!

The *A is very weak in the south Pacific... UA does not fly there on its own metal and other options would require you to fly to Auckland first. It's probably not a realistic option if you want to upgrade or use miles. However.. there are tons of beautiful tiny islands in Micronesia where UA does fly out of its hub in Guam. You might check out those options instead.

Yeah but it's even longer then the Seychelles. You must fly to AKL first, then NZ has 2 weekly flights from AKL-PPT. They used to fly LAX-PPT (around 4000 miles) but they cancelled that (So now from LAX it's a 9000 mile o/w trip)

Go to the Seychelles & stay at the Four Seasons. After the Maldives you won't find a nicer spot

Or take the weekly NZ flight LAX-RAR. Rarotonga has its own considerable charm and beauty, and you could hop on a local flight from there to Aitutaki. I've never been to Bora Bora but if Aitutaki is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places on Earth - and much cheaper to stay and eat in than French Polynesia as well. Watch your booking class though if earning miles is important to you - NZ doesn't give you miles for anything below T.

I've been to Aitutaki and Bora Bora both... Bora Bora is probably more beautiful, but Aitutaki is much more peaceful and relaxing and less expensive! The Cook Islands (raro included) are fabulous!

But getting there takes a l-o-o-o-n-g time.... :D

Keep in mind that getting to Bora Bora requires a rather expensive flight on Air Tahiti (which is not Air Tahiti Nui) that as far as I can know can not be redeemed with UA miles.

It does - 10 hours, in addition to NYC-LAX - but NZ's 767's are paradoxically more comfortable in Economy than their brand new 777 cabins, and the service is decent. I'd say it's worth it!

I totally agree about that $1k rtn per person:eek:
NZ does cover a lot of the South Pacific but you do need to connect through AKL, although RAR is different with a flight from LAX and also SYD.
For LAX-PPT NZ has a codeshare, are you able to book on that?

Awards cannot be booked on codeshare partners as a general rule. This definitely applies in the case of United points on the LAX-PPT flight which is not operated on NZ metal.

But the OP wishes to earn miles, not redeem them (other than for an upgrade, if possible). I have no idea whether this is possible on the NZ codeshare LAX-PPT operated by TN, but my gut feeling is it isn't. Maybe if the thread hadn't been moved from the UA forum somebody would have been able to answer.

OP, the only way to get to PPT is via AKL on NZ. No other way with *A and then you have to pay for the expensive Air Tahiti flight from PPT to BOB. The cheaper option if you choose this route is to fly to PPT and take a boat to Moorea, also a beautiful island with overwater bungalows.

Seychelles is accessible from JFK via Turkish through IST with a connection Ethiopian in ADD- takes the same time to get there as flying all the way to AKL and back (fyi AKL-PPT is 6 hours).

I suspect that if the OP suggests to his/her fiance(e) to book an itinerary with changes in IST and ADD, the wedding will be off.

Ha, maybe. It's the flight time she's concerned about which is why going to AKL first is a no-no as well. Flying LAX-RAR is better than LAX/SFO-AKL-RAR/PPT but the flight times (16+ hours) and schedule (not flown everyday AFAIK) are pretty bad.

There is a codeshare LAX-PPT on Air Tahiti through NZ but I'm not sure if it earns on UA. Usually UA credits based on operating carrier, which would mean I'm out of luck.

I really do like the idea of SEZ but if we're going all the way out there we want to do something else as well, potentially Madagascar (we've been to Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe together already...we can continue visiting Africa :-) ).

Actually, you wouldn't need to go all the way to Guam. You could fly to HNL and catch the island hopper. The EWR flight doesn't connect with the departure time, so you'd need to stop over in HNL, but you could probably live with that - you can connect directly on the way back. Consider Kosrae, for example (I hear Pohnpei is pretty amazing but it's even further away). Although it's a long flight it's all upgradable domestic stuff, and the island hopper should be quite a memorable experience.

Ok for mileage earning on MileagePlus.
Fly to PPT on Hawaiian, it gets you points but not Premium Qualifying Miles IIRC.
Book at Paul Gauguin cruise on United Cruises and Vacations.

Also note the PG can go to/from Cook Islands so you can get NZ RAR-LAX.

Oh congratulations on the upcoming nuptials Yobz it is all worthi it and FP is a gorgeous place to visit.:D