From the moment you arrive at the check in desks for your Air Tahtiti Nui flight to Papeete you know that this is no ordinary flight with a tattooed Dreamliner taking you to one of the most remote regions in the world, French Polynesia, an area larger than Europe but mostly covered in ocean and consisting of 75 inhabited and around 46 uninhabited islands and atolls, with a total population of just under 300,000.

The airline’s fleet of four Boeing 787-9’s are very pretty indeed and are arguably the most iconic of all the Dreamliners in service around the world. It’s also one of the newest fleets in the world, with the four aircraft coming into service in 2018. The shades of blue running the length of the fuselage representing the ocean, lagoons and perfect skies of Tahiti. The red and white flag of Tahiti is represented by the flowing red and white stripes that extend for part of the fuselage's length underneath the blue. The Tailfin features the country’s national flower, the tiare flower and circular waves of alternating light and dark blues emanate from the flower, resembling water ripples. It’s also the first aircraft we’ve ever seen to have a tattoo, reflecting the country’s culture and history.

Each of the four Dreamliners in Air Tahiti Nui’s fleet has a thoughtful registration number linked to Tahitian words. The first two letters, F-O, designate the country of origin and can't be changed, but the final three letters are unique to each plane. They are:

• MUA – forward

• NUI – big

• TOA – warrior

• VAA – canoe

When you put them all together, there's a little Easter egg from this fun-loving airline, in that they make a complete Tahitian phrase: Toa mua nui vaa – The warrior going forward in the great canoe!

The largest sections of the aircraft are taken up by the 232 Economy Class seats, which are arranged in a 3-3-3 layout. But we were lucky enough to be flying in Moana Premium, Air Tahiti Nui’s Premium Economy product, of which there are only 32 seats in a 2-3-2 Layout. What strikes you immediately about the cabin of this aircraft is the splashes of bright colour with everything around you sporting vibrant shades and vivid tones that cannot fail to put a smile on your face. This is a happy place right from the moment you step aboard and it puts you immediately in the mood for your upcoming Polynesian adventure!

The seats are 20.4 inches wide with a 36-38 inch pitch. They are well cushioned and have USB sockets and the headphone sockets conveniently placed behind your shoulder, so wires are not annoyingly in your visual line of sight. The headrests can be curved to your exact needs, doing away with the requirement for a separate travel pillow. The seat backs have some really handy storage pockets and are plush rather than hard plastic and we loved the ingenious and extremely convenient bottle holders in the column in the middle of the two seats in front of you.

Each seat has a footrest with a nice milled aluminium look to them and a wonderful seat leg extension which makes the experience more like business class than other premium economy seats we have travelled in. The seats also recline differently to others we’ve experienced. The whole seat slides forward and thus the reclining seatback moves downwards, which minimises the drastic recline effect for those behind you which is a much better design than those that simply recline the seat back only. The tables fold out from the arm rest in the centre and have a smart woodgrain inlay which gives it a premium look and feel.

The amenities are all various bright colours and thoughtfully mismatched well so avoid the same colours on adjacent seats, which adds to the cheerful aesthetic of the cabin. There’s a large pillow and a premium feel blanket. The lively coloured felt amenity pouch includes an eye-mask and ear plugs, miniature toothbrush and toothpaste, headphones, socks and a antibacterial wipe.  The entertainment screen is large, bright and modern with a good selection of things to do and watch. There are French and English language films and shows but not the hugest selection, so you may want to bring your own for backup. There’s also lot’s of information about French Polynesia to swat up on before you arrive in a section called Tiare TV. The in flight map system is good too, with plenty of viewing options.

Shortly after take off in traditional Air Tahiti Nui spirit, every passenger was given a white Tiare (T-air) flower, a sweet smelling embodiment of the airlines logo which we immediately struck behind our ear to give us that wonderful Tahitian vibe.  After that the friendly, cheerful cabin crew start the drinks service, making sure they take the time to stop and chat with each of the passengers. The first meal of the flight is around an hour in and on our outbound flight we enjoyed a delicious couscous and feta salad served with a meaty beef stroganoff and followed by a pineapple delice. Although we would prefer to see ‘proper’ cutlery, we have to acknowledge that at least the cutlery we were given was 100% recyclable.

Around an hour before landing the second meal was served which on our outbound flight, which landed late at night, was a delicious burrito and on our inbound flight was the most delicious hot breakfast I’ve ever had on a plane - a rather delicious banana rice pudding wrapped in crepes. Generally we found the food on board to be well above average for Premium Economy class and a highlight of Air Tahiti Nun’s excellent experience, although it would be good to see a vegetarian option as one of the two main choices, rather than a requestable option. Overall there was little we could fault about the flight experience. Air Tahiti Nui have a great reputation and the aircraft are beautiful inside and out. The food and beverages are better than we’ve experienced before in other premium economy flights and the flight attendants are absolutely lovely and really put you in the mood for your visit to these incredible islands. 

We were flying to Tahiti to join a Windstar 7 day Society island cruise on the Wind Spirit. If you liked this post then why not read our review of our four day stay at the Intercontinental Tahiti Resort and Spa and subscribe to our newsletter below so you will receive notification of our upcoming Windstar cruise blog. If you are interested in booking a cruise with these or any other luxury cruise lines then we would recommend contacting a connoisseur at our trusted cruise partners Panache cruises - please mention that you have been referred to them through Visit With Us.

If you enjoyed this blog why not take a look at some of our other airline reviews, such as our Virgin Atlantic or Emirates Business Class reviews.

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