Air Tahiti Nui is adding another US destination this fall. From October, the Papeete-based airline will begin its non-stop service to Seattle. The airline is slowly rebuilding its network, resuming previously scrapped routes due to COVID and adding newer ones such as Seattle.

Increasing presence on the West Coast

From October 4th, the French Polynesian island of Tahiti will be connected with Seattle through Air Tahiti Nui with twice-weekly flights. The flights will have the following schedule:

The Port of Seattle website quotes Mathieu Bechonnet, Air Tahiti Nui Managing Director, as saying,

“North America is a key market for our destination. So, when we decided to open a second gateway on the West Coast, Seattle was a natural answer for us. I would like to thank our partners at Alaska Airlines and the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for their warm welcome and support in making this happen.”

The carrier, which already flies to Los Angeles, will deploy its Boeing 787-9 airplane on this route, which features 294 seats divided into 30 business class, 32 premium economy, and 232 economy class seats. The main cabin will have a standard 3-3-3 layout, with premium economy featuring a 2-3-2 layout and business class a 2-2-2 configuration.

Tahiti will also be the southernmost destination to be connected directly with Seattle.

Partnership with Alaska Airlines

Air Tahiti Nui’s flight announcement also comes with a new partnership with Alaska Airlines, which has its primary hub at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. From April 1st, it will be possible for Alaska’s Mileage Plan members to earn miles on all Air Tahiti Nui flights. However, the airline has asked customers to allow 6-8 weeks for miles to post in Mileage Plan accounts.

Mileage redemption for Air Tahiti Nui flights is expected to be available later this spring. Nat Pieper, senior vice president of fleet, finance, and alliances for Alaska Airlines, commented,

“Who hasn’t dreamed of visiting Bora Bora? We’re delighted to have Air Tahiti Nui join our array of global airline partners, further connecting the West Coast to the South Pacific.”

Getting back on track

The announcement of Air Tahiti Nui’s Seattle route follows close on the heels of its announcement of the resumption of New Zealand flights. The carrier will restart services to Auckland from May 4th, initially with one flight a week and increasing to three a week during the busy July - August peak season.

Last year, the airline also resumed its flight to Los Angeles with a daily service and started operating the very popular fifth freedom flight between LAX and Paris.

According to ch-aviation, the airline currently operates a fleet of four Boeing 787-9 airplanes, which are a great fit for Air Tahiti Nui’s long-haul routes to the US, Europe, and New Zealand.

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