We were connecting same day from American Airlines, and unfortunately our flight was delayed significantly. As a result, we sprinted to Tom Bradley International Terminal to make our flight (or so we thought at the time).
Continue reading: Review: Air Tahiti Nui Business Class 787-9 Los Angeles To Papeete
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Do you know fo a fact it was real champagne served pre-departure?
That's an impressive wine list for a red-eye flight on a small airline. It's a shame that Delta can't offer similar quality wine, instead of the $8-12 bottle wines.
@FNT Delta Diamond: I could not agree more with you. and such a nice menu with information and pictures about each wine. Extremely well done. Delta's wine list is simply ridiculous and as you said you can buy those wines for $10 in any poor quality liquor store. Oh and they charge $10k for a round trip to Europe in Delta One. Problem is they are considered the best of all US airlines so that gives an idea on how bad US airlines are.
@FNT anyone I speak to refers Delta as the worst US airline for international travel. Poor food , poor seats (even the suites ) and the worst lounge arrangement.
@FNT Who in their right mind would EVER fly a US3 carrier internationally?!?!?!
Not entirely relevant to the review, but why do we always board through the left doors. I know the obvious answer is "because that's the door the jetbridges are set up for" but there must have been some reason at some point in history, all aircraft were boarded from the left door.
@adfer I'm flying US3 internationally by choice. Flying MAD to USA on AA in a few months with miles since the other option was BA using the same miles + over $500. Call me crazy, but I hear BA J isn't all that great anyway. Certainly not worth $500 more than AA J and I don't have to stop in London.
@JDS is it like getting on a horse? Always from the left side? 🙂 Now I am curious too.
Nice review and I like knowing this option exists and is worthwhile. So it seems they get you to PPT early enough to catch an inter-island flight the same day, correct? I know I read that some don't and you have to spend the night on Tahiti before going elsewhere. Am I remembering correctly? If so, Air Tahiti Nui would have a huge advantage over United or anyone else.
@Ryan I recently did a status match to DL from UA and flew 2 domestic and 2 international segments with DL. I was blown away by how much better DL's hard and soft products were on the domestic sectors. I was even more blown away by how much worse DL's hard and products were compared to UA on the international sectors. It was like flying 2 completely different airlines when switching sectors with DL...
@JDS
Like many conventions in aeronautics, it is product of aviation’s roots in the maritime industry. The practical reason behind this goes back millennia. Until the Age of Discovery, European ships were controlled by rear quarter mounted steering oars (The Chinese beat the West to center-mounted rudders by more than a millennium). As most helmsmen were right-handed, the oar extended from the right side of the ship. So that the steering oar would not get in the way, ships were loaded on docks/wharfs/piers from the left. This is the origin of the terms port/larboard (related to the Middle English lade meaning load) and starboard.
This convention likely also survived in aviation because captains controlling from the left seat had better spatial awareness on the left side of the aircraft, and planes historically taxied close to the terminal itself where passengers unloaded via stairs and then walked across the apron. It is safer and easier to control passengers who have a large aircraft hemming them into the terminal area, while cargo and service items can be loaded from the outside/starboard.
Odd that there are full-color glossy pages with effusive descriptions for each wine (I'm guessing these are sold as ads, to keep costs down), yet on the spirits and cocktails page they don'y even list the brands being served. Like, is your bourbon Woodford Reserve, or Early Times? Big difference there.
Also, no choice on the late-night snack? So if you're like me and find fish/seafood revolting, you're SOL unless you pre-order a special meal?
I work in the travel industry and attended an industry webinar on the new ATN 787, and you hit the nail in the head about the 2-2-2 configuration. They stated that Tahiti is by and large a leisure/honeymoon destination, so they purposely used this configuration to cater to couples! 🙂
Some absolutely stunning camera shots in this review. What are you using these days for in-flight photography?
Great and exotic review.
I notice that Air Tahiti Nui´s seats have a shoulder harness, while Ethiopian´s don't, despite the seats and aircraft being the same. I don't recall the Ethiopian seats having airbags either.
People do not "reach out" to yo, the contact you. Please cease using these silly HR type phrases.
Your reviews and information is awesome and greatly appreciated, thank you!
Is there a place to read about the points needed when you do the detailed review by carrier?
Having just flown this exact trip, I would say the review is predominantly spot on even almost a year later. I was less impressed with the meal service however, but really not a concern on a red eye. Slept better on this flight than any other... probably due to the 787's lower cabin altitude and more oxygen. The departure hall at LAX is a complete cluster... bus depot is a complement! As an aside, we were initially given access passes to the International lounge in Terminal B, only to have them taken away by the agent because we booked through American... so beware if you have a longer layover you will need to use the AA business lounge in Terminal 4 which is a long way from the departure gate! Also, this airline does NOT participate in TSA!
A brief comment on thd cost of WiFi. This is not the airline, this is Marisat. The cost related to having satellites to provide a continuous service wherever you are in the world. It is not cheap.