Delta Air Lines has announced a few new international routes today, which I think are worth covering individually, since they’re pretty exciting. In addition to adding Atlanta to Cape Town and Atlanta to Tel Aviv flights, Delta will also start flying to Tahiti.
In this post:
Details of Delta’s LAX to PPT flight
As of December 17, 2022, Delta will launch a 3x weekly flight between Los Angeles (LAX) and Papeete (PPT) in French Polynesia. The flight will operate with the following schedule, and is already bookable:
DL119 Los Angeles to Tahiti departing 11:10AM arriving 6:10PM
DL118 Tahiti to Los Angeles departing 8:10PM arriving 6:40AM (+1 day)
The 4,095-mile flight will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, in both directions. The flight is blocked at 9hr westbound and 8hr30min eastbound.
Delta will use a Boeing 767-300ER for the route, featuring a total of 226 seats. This includes 26 Delta One seats (business class seats), 35 Comfort+ seats (extra legroom economy), and 165 Main Cabin seats (economy).
Delta’s Boeing 767s have a pretty underwhelming product in business class, as the seats are really tight. Then again, in economy it’s quite a pleasant experience, simply for the 2-3-2 layout, as at most 14% of passengers will be in middle seats.
Air service between the United States and Tahiti
It’s always cool to see more air connectivity between the United States and French Polynesia. How does this fit into overall air service between the regions?
- Delta’s SkyTeam partner Air France flies between Los Angeles and Tahiti, as part of a “direct” flight from Paris
- Air Tahiti Nui flies between Los Angeles and Tahiti; the airline isn’t part of an alliance, but has partnerships with Alaska and American
- United flies between San Francisco and Tahiti
- Ultra low cost carrier French Bee flies between San Francisco and Tahiti, as part of a “direct” flight from Paris
It’s cool to see Delta add this service, though frankly I’m kind of surprised that this is being added, given that Air France already operates the route. While Delta and Air France have a transatlantic joint venture, I’m not sure if this extends to the transpacific Tahiti service. So at a minimum Air France and Delta have a partnership in this market, which should help with selling tickets. Still, this seems to be coming out of left field…
Bottom line
Delta will be launching a new 3x weekly Boeing 767 flight between Los Angeles and Tahiti as of December 2022. It’s always nice to see a new route you’re not expecting, so I consider this to be a fun one. Delta’s Boeing 767s leave a bit to be desired in business class, but if you’re loyal to Delta and/or the price is right, this is a worthwhile option.
Are you surprised to see Delta add flights to Tahiti?
Delta's 767 ER is a premium product compared to other European airlines I have flown, above all Delta's excellent service compared to none...
It looks like the flights are only bookable through March of 2023. Any idea if they'll continue beyond that?
actually booked for 3rd week in March, get there in 16 hours from CVG, Nice!!! The 3rd week of March was latest to get special
Is this seasonal route cause in April I don’t see it operating
Great! I’m very excited to hear that. Maybe I’ll get there one day! Why all the negativity? Delta is the best in the business. I fly coach, so stop whining.
The JV may have felt that it was losing customers to other carriers on the days that AF wasn't operating. Perhaps DL and AF are operating on different days to capture more customers? AF also has some customers connecting onward to/fron CDG, while DL would only be capturing the LAX-PPT traffic.
What is not mentioned, is this flight complements the AF service quite nicely. When we went in March AF operated overnight LAX-PPT and daylight back. They had a crew issue so we got lucky and left 12 hours late (giving us a free day in Papeete) and went overnight to LAX. The new Delta flight has the opposite schedule which allows someone to travel overnight both ways which saves on hotel expense and in our...
What is not mentioned, is this flight complements the AF service quite nicely. When we went in March AF operated overnight LAX-PPT and daylight back. They had a crew issue so we got lucky and left 12 hours late (giving us a free day in Papeete) and went overnight to LAX. The new Delta flight has the opposite schedule which allows someone to travel overnight both ways which saves on hotel expense and in our case, makes traveling with a busy 3-year old much MUCH easier!
So a Boeing 767 - really ? No lipstick in the world can make this pig look good
DELTA , KLM , AIR FRANCE IS REQUESTED TO KINDLY START FLYING TO ATQ , AMRITSAR , INDIA FROM AMSTERDAM AND PARIS ON DAILY BASICS . OVER 10000 PASSENGERS TRAVEL TO DELHI FROM AMRITSAR , INDIA TO CATCH FLIGHTS .
Welcome Delta to Tahiti
This is a route that Pan American flew for years in the 1970's and early 1980's. After the sale of Pacific routes to United, Tahiti was scrubbed. It's nice to see the route being restored from Los Angeles to PPT, on a U S carrier.
Kudo's to United, who started service from SFO several years ago.
It's a leisure route fellow travellers, so keep the off comments to yourself. Air France has done...
This is a route that Pan American flew for years in the 1970's and early 1980's. After the sale of Pacific routes to United, Tahiti was scrubbed. It's nice to see the route being restored from Los Angeles to PPT, on a U S carrier.
Kudo's to United, who started service from SFO several years ago.
It's a leisure route fellow travellers, so keep the off comments to yourself. Air France has done an amazing job keeping the route alive, from Paris - Los Angeles - Papeete, their longest flight number, AF 076/078...
Economy with a 2-3-2 configuration for long haul flights is ideal for me. Is there an easy way to find out which routes have this configuration for long haul flights? Thanks!
All DL and UA 767 flights have 7 abreast. As much as some people dish on the 767, it has a more comfortable coach seat than 9 abreast 787 or 10 abreast 777 - which is all the rest of AA and UA's international fleet. The 767 seat in coach is pretty comparable to the A330 or A350 in terms of space but the 767 and 330 configuration means no more than 1 seat from the aisle.
What's the VS redemption rate for this flight going to be, I wonder.
400,000 skypesos to board the flight in LAX and another 400,000 to fly to PPT.
VS likely much better.
I was hoping that Delta (or anyone) would start service to PPT out of Seattle. And that would give ol' Alaska and their partnership a run for their money.....and maybe a cheaper fare. Just sayin'......would also like to see SEA to either Australia or New Zealand.
Air Tahiti is starting service PPT-SEA-PPT beginning on Oct 5th.
Confirm for French reasons , French Polynesia is part of France in fact at least one seat on the Paris Council is elected by Tahitians.
When can you start booking Delta’s flights. I can see I can book the Air France flights. But not the delta yet, thru delta.
Sort of disappointed that you didn't mention the ONLY US based carrier which has been flying to Tahiti for three decades: Hawaiian Airlines. Wide body A332s with a good lie-flat product.
Yes, but a whopping ONCE a week service from HNL
And its incredibly expensive, we looked at doing it as part of a triangle LAX-PPT-HNL-LAX, but opted to just do roundtrip on AF LAX-PPT-LAX
Adam
This is a popular destination for cruise passengers. I wonder if Delta has negotiated a deal with one or more of the operators.
Actually, DL and AF do have a JV to Tahiti... take a look at their fares, completely aligned. Believe this is because PF is technically part of France so the TATL JV covers it
Good use of Skymiles in Economy. Free bump up to comfort as a plat. Solid chance of an upgrade to First as a leisure route. Lots of frequency to connect if you live in a hub city & a great new lounge in LA.
i have plat and im flyijng the inagural flight, how do i get free upgrade?
For what it’s worth…Air France’s LAX-PPT flight is covered in the JV with Delta…
AA will shortly respond by launching a 1x monthly service from DFW, as always.
what an ignorant reply. When has AA ever done that?
Do your homework. They are infamous for adding markets that look great on their route map but make no sense. Then they drop them. Dallas Tel Aviv, LAX-HKG to name a few
Learn to read, the comment replied to was that aa somehow copies delta on routes. Delta never flew lax-hkg. That was an aa route that they flew for a few years before covid ended it. I believe the route started in 2015?
Lax is an aa hub. Hkg is a oneworld hub. And the route makes no sense to you? Lol
Dfw-tlv…? If anything, delta is copying aa on this by going after unique...
Learn to read, the comment replied to was that aa somehow copies delta on routes. Delta never flew lax-hkg. That was an aa route that they flew for a few years before covid ended it. I believe the route started in 2015?
Lax is an aa hub. Hkg is a oneworld hub. And the route makes no sense to you? Lol
Dfw-tlv…? If anything, delta is copying aa on this by going after unique markets that jfk and Miami can’t do well.
AA never actually flew it after seeing they didn’t need it given their position in the two largest USA> Israel markets; NYC and Mia (or in the top 4. I don’t recall Miami’s exact demand.
Some of the ignorant delta fanboyism on the internet never ceases to amuse.
And to even more the point from the post replied to, when has aa ever done a 1xMonthly from Dfw, much less even weekly.
LMAO. Then cancel it two months later
Evening arrival means a forced night in PPT. Sucks.
Not if you take a cruise, some leave after 8pm
I actually prefer an evening arrival if I'm visiting. Means I can go straight to my lodging upon arrival and not have to try to negotiate an early check-in, try to kill 6-8 hours before check-in while being half awake the whole day, or pay for lodging for the night before my arrival to ensure I have a room when I get there.
Delta does have premium select on some 767-300ERs. They don't say which version of the 767 they will use but most of their transatlantic flights that use the 767 are scheduled with the premium select versions by this winter. Half of their 767-300 fleet is used on JFK to LAX and SFO transcons. Until the flights are for sale, it might be premature to say that there will be no premium select
Nobody gives AF, man….
Obviously Delta’s product on the route matters since several people brought it up
The way DL leans on their 767-300s you'd think they might make the same investment in D1 that they did on their -400s on at least *a few* younger frames. Even if the 763 prem cabin is outdated it's still tops in econ experience.
AGREED. the 764 D1 cabin is NICE. the 763 cabin is HORRID lol
Beat up 763 with old delta one and no premium select? Weak.
Agreed. Cool new route but there are much better hard product options to ppt.
To say nothing of lounge access before if you are in business class: Polaris lounge in sfo, star alliance lounge in lax for air Tahiti Nui, or a sky club that delta may or may not let you into based on whether an Amex customer beat you there.
Air France's offering does not allow Delta to maximize connection. AF LAX-PPT is an overnight flight, and connecting to it is not a problem. PPT-LAX is daytime flight arriving at LAX at around 7pm (I flew it earlier this year), and that's not ideal to connect to the rest of Delta's domestic network. I know someone, who was on my PPT-LAX flight, had a tight connection on Delta to ATL. Keep in mind, they are...
Air France's offering does not allow Delta to maximize connection. AF LAX-PPT is an overnight flight, and connecting to it is not a problem. PPT-LAX is daytime flight arriving at LAX at around 7pm (I flew it earlier this year), and that's not ideal to connect to the rest of Delta's domestic network. I know someone, who was on my PPT-LAX flight, had a tight connection on Delta to ATL. Keep in mind, they are in different terminal and he barely made it. I think this Delta's offering complement AF's offering very well.
There are plenty of connections after 7pm to the midwest and East Coast out of LAX of Delta. When looking for a PPT-ORD ticket (for March) last month, there were dozens and dozens of options that connected through ATL, DTW, and MSP out of LAX...there were even two options for PPT-LAX-JFK-ORD. Either way, you have to take a redeye somewhere along the line - now, SkyTeam folks have the option to do PPT-LAX as their redeye, not just the LAX-onward legs.
It’s not that long of a flight … even if AA/UA have better hard products on the route, I’d much rather spend 9 hours being served by a Delta FA than AA/UA FA. I’ll sleep fine either way…
AA doesn’t fly the route. They have a partnership with Air Tahiti Nui where you can accrue and redeem points.