Test : Air Tahiti Nui, the complete customer experience

As you may have read earlier, a business trip recently took me to French Polynesia.
The opportunity was too good not to write an article on TravelGuys: having no choice of airline, I say travel on Air Tahiti Nui.

And you will have the opportunity to discover the services offered by this company in the two classes it offers: the economy class, which it calls Maeva and the business class, which it calls Poareva.
This post is based on the site of our friends at Flight-Report: the titles of each section will take you to the detailed reports.

Paris – Papeete in Economy class Moana

Yes, you read correctly, 22 hours of economy class for a business trip. I think this is the first time a client has taken a long-haul economy ticket when I work for them. Anyway. This was the Genesis of the post!

Departure ground experience

At Charles de Gaulle, the airline operates its check-in at terminal 2A, with one line available for Business and High Contribution passengers, and several counters for Economy class.
Hoping to be upgraded, I head to the Business line. The stewardess immediately killed my desire to upgrade because only one seat was available and there were two of us traveling to Tahiti. I don’t take the risk of buying a paying upgrade (for 1100 €) while my colleague risks traveling ” at the rear of the bus “.
The stewardess found us two seats at the emergency exits which, although close to the toilets, will prove to be quite comfortable in this A340, a plane which provides a certain flight comfort anyway in Economy class.
Out of disappointment, the stewardess gave me an Access 1 ticket, the ADP Fast-Track, but no invitation to the lounge.
Once arrived Airside, it is not very comfortable, the terminals 2A and 2C not being the most spacious. I will pay for access to the American Airlines Admiral’s Club lounge, but I won’t mention it here since it’s not part of the TN experience.
The boarding is done from one of the satellites of the terminal 2A: the way to go is a bit long, and the place is quite crowded.

The boarding is carried out with strict respect of the priorities and then by ranks.

Flight experience

The emergency exit seat, as previously mentioned, was very comfortable, the pitch unlimited, and the nuisance of the toilets limited due to their large number.

The service is very attentive on both legs (Paris – Los Angeles and Los Angeles – Papeete): flowers distributed before departure, two complete services with hot dish.

On the other hand, it really lacks attention between the services (drinks and snacks). The service is friendly and warm, everything you would expect from a leisure airline.
The IFE is of very good quality, but clearly lacks content. It’s a shame because it’s really much more responsive than in many airlines and very easy to use.

Experience in transit

As many of you know, no airliner has enough range to reach Papeete non-stop from Paris. The CDG-PPT flight therefore has a stopover in Los Angeles in the United States, which also makes it possible to sell the two CDG-LAX and LAX-PPT sections separately.

Transit in the United States requires passing the immigration formalities similar to those for full entry into the U.S. territory, the reason being that my U.S. airports do not have a separate arrival circuit from the departure circuit: nothing prevents a passenger in transit from leaving the airport.
Immigration formalities at the Tom Bradley International Terminal in Los Angeles have been accelerated for American passengers or those eligible for the ESTA program: a large number of self-service kiosks make it possible to significantly speed up formalities. On both the outward and return journeys, these formalities took no more than 5 minutes, the equivalent of going through the PARAFE terminals in Paris for example.

Once I cleared immigration, there is no need to go through customs, just follow the Transit circuit after immigration, pick up a Transit card, and here I am again in the public area, just before passing the “classic” TSA security checks.

You wait near gate 131 at TBIT, at the very back of the terminal, and boarding is done with strict priority.

Experience on arrival in Papeete

In Papeete, there is no disembarkation bridge: two stepladders allow the passengers to leave the airport and reach the terminal on foot, greeted by a small band playing a few notes of local music. They then pass through immigration quickly and collect their luggage with good respect for the priorities.

Papeete – Paris in Poareva Business Class

Unlike the outbound trip, the return trip to Paris will be in Business class (not without difficulty), since we do not have a Business ticket but only a request for an upgrade from an Economy ticket.

Ground experience at departure

As my ticket was initially in economy class, I did not have access to the Business line, which was strictly filtered by an external security team.
So I waited about 25 minutes in the economy class lane.
The check-in agent gives us our boarding passes to Paris, for the moment in economy class. Néanmoins, elle nous reNevertheless, she also gives us two accesses to the lounge in Papeete.met également deux accès au salon de Papeete.

Security check is unique. The airport is quite small and the boarding area is therefore quite basic with a single Duty Free store.
The lounge is rather basic, the reception cold and the offer limited. All companies serving the airport use the same lounge. Very disappointing.

The boarding begins and the ground agent gives us our two new boarding passes in Business to Paris.

Flight experience

On both legs, a welcome drink is offered: pink champagne, Mai Tai or orange juice.

The service offered on departure from Papeete consists of a cold meal on departure, and a full breakfast on arrival.

The service is very caring and smiling.
The service offered from Los Angeles is a full 5-course lunch on departure, and a full breakfast on arrival.

The service is quite average on this leg, especially between services, the commercial staff lacking warmth (bordering on unpleasant).
The seat is an old generation lie-flat, similar to what Air France offers with its NEV2/3.

Transit Experience

Little difference with the economy class trip. The only difference is that a lounge access is given with the transit card.
The lounge is the only non-airline one at TBIT.
It is nevertheless of very good quality as far as spaces are concerned.

And the offer is quite extensive in this late morning, with a double breakfast and lunch offer.

Arrival experience in Paris

Before the arrival in Paris, fast-tracks are distributed. As the Air Tahiti Nui boarding gate is at the very end of the 2A satellite, it is necessary to walk for a while before reaching immigration and especially to pass through those watertight sluices that separate the boarding gates. Not very convenient.
Nevertheless, the process will be fast and the delivery of the luggage will be done with respect of the priorities.

Conclusion

The passenger experience with Air Tahiti Nui is quite solid. On the other hand, it has nothing to do with the luxury image of the destination: the Moana product (economy class) is in line with that of the big majors, and the Poareva product (business class) is rather at the back of the pack, both in terms of comfort and service.