The flag carrier of French Polynesia, Air Tahiti Nui (TN), appears to be bursting on the seams post-COVID, and the airline is mulling over expanding its small but modest fleet. TN is home to a fleet of 4 Boeing 787-9’s, with the airline searching for a fifth.
As noted by the carrier, its current Dreamliner is ‘being employed at their operational limits,’ with the airline demanding not less than 50% market share at its home of Papeete Faa’a International Airport (PPT), with a network including Auckland, Los Angeles, Paris, Seattle and Tokyo (from October thirtieth).
Source: GCMap
A321LR
On the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Istanbul recently, Air Tahiti Nui’s managing director, Mathieu Bechonnet, spoke with Aviation Each day, explaining that the Airbus A321LR could possibly be considered a part of the airline’s fleet expansion.
“We’re looking very much at the event of those ‘baby widebodies.’ I’m calling them baby widebodies since it is interesting to see, for instance, what JetBlue is doing with their product on the A321LR.”
Nonetheless, with Tahiti’s unique location, it is not quite so simple as it has been for JetBlue. The A321LR wouldn’t have the operational limits to stretch to Asia but could possibly be comfortable being deployed on Recent Zealand or South America routes. Flight inside a six-hour timeframe could be possible, with the aircraft type having the capability to fly between 4,000 and 4,500 nautical miles.
Photo: Air Tahiti Nui
The airline is already exceeding its pre-COVID levels, with tourism and VFR (visiting friends and relatives) driving up demand with TN, with the first source of travelers coming from Europe and the USA.
Competition on home soil
As noted earlier, Air Tahiti Nui currently demands over 50% of current operations at Papeete Faa’a. Nonetheless, it has seen increased competition from other international carriers operating in Tahiti. The airline goes face to face with Air Recent Zealand on its path to Auckland, Delta (seasonally), Air France, United to Los Angeles (year-round), and Air France and French bee to Paris.
Sources: Aviation Week
