Air Tahiti, the regional carrier operating turboprop flights in French Polynesia, has just taken delivery of a plane that will offer an all-new way to travel. It’s mighty premium, and tickets are on sale for flights launching in the coming weeks. I first covered this in late 2025, but we now have a lot more details, including real pictures of what this will look like.
Air Tahiti will operate one all-business class aircraft
Air Tahiti operates a fleet of roughly a dozen turboprops, with the largest plane being the ATR 72-600. Up until now, all of Air Tahiti’s ATR 72-600s have been configured with 70 seats, in an all-economy layout, with a 2-2 configuration.
That’s starting to change, as the airline has just taken delivery of a very special ATR 72-600. The plane does have an all-new livery for the airline, but that’s not the most exciting part (though it is very cool!).
Instead, it’s what’s on the inside that’s extra cool. The airline is taking advantage of ATR’s collection of high-end cabin interiors, known as ATR HighLine.
This includes an all-new VIP layout, and Air Tahiti will be flying one of these planes that’s in an all-business class layout. The plane has just have 26 seats, spread across 13 rows, in a 1-1 configuration. The seats are specially designed by Geven for ATR, and deliver incredible comfort.
We’re talking 39″ of pitch, 21.6″ of width, 7″ of recline, a personal side console, dedicated storage, and USB-A and USB-C charging ports. The aircraft also has streaming entertainment, not that you really need that on these short sectors, especially with the view out the window.
The airline is branding this experience as “Air Tahiti Signature,” and is promising a special experience both on the ground and in the air. This includes priority and personalized ground handling, along with dedicated lounges in Tahiti and Bora Bora.
Onboard, the airline is promising “exclusive refreshments that celebrate the flavors and culture of the islands,” and says that “every detail is crafted to create an immersive, premium experience from start to finish.”
Side note — it’s fascinating how this plane is being delivered. As you’d expect, getting from Metropolitan France to French Polynesia is quite the journey, so the plane has just started its delivery flight, which will take six days, and include a total of eight segments. How fun! If you’d like to track the plane, it has the registration code F-OPFO.
Air Tahiti’s all-business class routes & ticket cost
Air Tahiti’s plan is to offer this all-business class service on select frequencies from Papeete (PPT) to Bora Bora (BOB) and Raiatea (RFP). We’re talking short routes that cover a distance of 135-160 miles, which are blocked at around an hour.
As things currently stand, these business class flights are on sale for travel as of November 11, 2026. What’s pricing like for these business class flights? A few things to keep in mind:
- Inter-island fares in French Polynesia are already really high when you consider the short travel distances, due to the lack of competition; we’re talking fares that are generally $200+, and often even more than that
- While Bora Bora is of course a premium destination, when there’s not much competition, people will certainly tolerate uncomfortable cabins
- Since the product is available on a very limited number of frequencies (since only one plane has these seats), I imagine most people will choose the most convenient flight, rather than waiting around for hours to be in a more comfortable seat for a 40-minute flight
With that in mind, I currently see one-way fares starting at just under $500 per seat.
When you consider that Air Tahiti otherwise typically charges a minimum of $220 for an economy seat, I suppose that’s actually lower than I would’ve expected.
On the one hand, spending more than double as much for a business class ticket is quite a premium to pay for such a short flight. On the other hand, we’re seeing a 70-seat plane configured with just 26 seats, so the airline needs to be able to command fares nearly three times as high for this to make any sense (of course that’s an oversimplification, since not all flights are always full, costs will differ a bit, etc.).
Bottom line
Air Tahiti has just taken delivery of an ATR 72-600 in an all-business class layout, featuring just 26 seats in a 1-1 configuration. It’s cool to see airlines trying new concepts, and this looks like it should be a very nice ride. This plane will be entering service in the coming weeks, and I hope to fly this at some point.
I am curious how successful this ends up being, especially given that capacity is being reduced by over 60% compared to the standard configuration, and the airline is also able to command some very high economy fares.
What do you make of Air Tahiti’s all-business class aircraft plans?
I’m looking forward to your trip report on this new layout Ben!
They should fly this plane to Rarotonga.
Bora Bora makes sense but Raiatea? I personally love Raiatea and nearby Tahaa even more but no fancy resorts there… Unless it is just a quick stop in raiatea to/from PPT which does happen quite often on their other routes
I'm not sure what qualifies as a "fancy resort" but Le Taha'a is a Relais and Chateaux. We stayed there pre-Covid, and to get there you fly into Raiatea. That said, it is a fairly small resort, and not sure if there are other upscale hotels in the vicinity, maybe Vahine? They must have done their research to come up with the idea of having a fancy flight there. To me, it seems a little...
I'm not sure what qualifies as a "fancy resort" but Le Taha'a is a Relais and Chateaux. We stayed there pre-Covid, and to get there you fly into Raiatea. That said, it is a fairly small resort, and not sure if there are other upscale hotels in the vicinity, maybe Vahine? They must have done their research to come up with the idea of having a fancy flight there. To me, it seems a little silly to pay for business class for such a brief flight, but I am clearly not the targeted demographic for this flight!
Holy sht, what sort of sorcery is that. That's one good looking cabin.
Love this! Great idea.
"This plane will be entering service in the coming weeks, and I hope to fly this at some point."
Seems like the perfect time to combine it with the Island Hopper ;) Plenty of carriers in the Pacific to try out that you either haven't gave a go like Air Niugini or something that you haven't flown in years like Royal Brunei.
Adding SYD in December 2026. Seems strange they took almost a year to start utilizing the a/c from the SEA route. Did they send them for maintenance?
When I was there a few years ago, the fares were region based. They were several hundred dollars when looking from abroad, but when looking from an on-island connection I paid something like $80. They aren't resident only fares either.
For routes like PPT–BOB, this actually makes sense given the luxury market. If you’re already paying premium resort prices, a quieter 1-1 cabin for a short hop feels like a reasonable upgrade rather than overkill.
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What's the new Air Tahiti Nui route going to be? Only a month away from SEA being axed and still no announcement how those aircraft will be utilized going forward
I’ve taken Air Tahiti on the PPT-BOB flights; while the ATR is cramped in 2-2 ‘economy’ it’s tolerable because of the shorter flights (1-2 hours usually). This 1-1 ‘business’ recliner concept is a welcomed improvement for the high-end clientele going to Bora Bora, so it seems like a good idea if they can justify it.
It does seem a little OTT for the quick hop from BOB to PPT.
Naw, mate. It seems like the perfect route for something nicer like this. On the other hand, if it were random hopper flights elsewhere, say, Indonesia, between lesser airports, without high-end clientele, then, yeah, don’t bother. Like, I’ve taken Garuda’s ATR from Bali (DPS) to Labuan Bajo (LBJ), and 2-2 economy was just fine for that. They couldn’t possibly sell 1-1 business at double rate; locals couldn’t afford it. Personally, I’d pay, but, I’m a...
Naw, mate. It seems like the perfect route for something nicer like this. On the other hand, if it were random hopper flights elsewhere, say, Indonesia, between lesser airports, without high-end clientele, then, yeah, don’t bother. Like, I’ve taken Garuda’s ATR from Bali (DPS) to Labuan Bajo (LBJ), and 2-2 economy was just fine for that. They couldn’t possibly sell 1-1 business at double rate; locals couldn’t afford it. Personally, I’d pay, but, I’m a foreigner who just wants to go to a nice resort or visit the Komodo national park, etc.
makes a lot of sense...
If you're about to spend a couple grand+ at the St Regis, Conrad, or Four Seasons in Bora Bora, spending more on a 30 minute flight seems like a low bar even though I doubt I'd do it
Bingo. If you’re headed to the Four Seasons or St. Regis, a couple hundred extra dollars for a nicer seat is probably quite reasonable if you’re already dropping $2,000+/night already anyway. Besides, gotta keep hubby or wifey happy. Most folks don’t take mere ‘friends’ to Bora Bora…
You want ridiculous fares, check MIA-TPA on AA. $389 for a 200 mile trip. Thankfully JBLU and WN offer an alternative.
Another Florida laugh is WN's fare between SRQ and MCO. Pushing $300 rt
Looks like a nice ride!
You are missing on the inter Island pass, which is a great deal for a vacation!
I wish there were some US domestic equivalent of these for shorthaul flights like LAX to SFO or something
Majestica or whatever they want to call themselves seems to think they'll be launching in a couple years. Perhaps that will be an option, though I am very dubious that they will ever come to fruition!
They are doing transcons, which the option already exists to fly premium transcon with 1-1 or 1-2-1 direct aisle access, all-business class doesn't do anything unique.
But domestic shorthaul like these 2 hour flights are always narrowbody recliner.
Magnifica. Majestica is a drag queen.
just curious Yolo, does JSX in their Embraer or new ATR layout not qualify?
I guess certain JSX aircraft do, some are still 1-2 config though.
Some favour a stretched limo ride, just a few blocks around that New York town, etc. Yet, when it comes to a comfortable short flight they find it to be OTT. I’m intrigued.
Silver (now bankrupt) used to fly ATR within Florida and in the Caribbean, but they were notoriously unreliable. Like, tops, it’s a 4 hour drive from FLL-TPA/MCO, and just a 30 minute flight, but if Silver would delay 3-4 hours, just better to drive.
That would be my concern with this, 1 single premium aircraft? So any disruption and you're stuck with a delay or a downgrade... not ideal
This happened to me once on a flight from St. Pete to FLL. By the time the plane eventually took off, I could have gotten there by car already. Can't remember which airline this was (it was back in the 1990s), but I remember the misery of sitting around the PIE airport for hours on end, kicking myself for not driving.