Air Tahiti Nui holds out

We had left Air Tahiti Nui at Spring 2019at a turning point in its history. The carrier acknowledged receipt of its first Boeing 787-9a new working tool that would enable it to face up to the challenges of the future. competitive environment Less than a year later, it has to be said that the airline has shown a remarkable resilience. By the second quarter of last year, Air Tahiti Nui had returned to the results it achieved in 2017. In the meantime, players such as French Bee and United have come and gone, and capacity on the Paris - USA - Tahiti route has jumped to 39%. The arrival of the new aircraft is no stranger to the Polynesian airline's good results. Seduced by the format and operational performance of the Boeing 787-9 long before the arrival of new competitors, Air Tahiti Nui's managers have been largely reassured in their choice at a time when they have to compete on the transatlantic route. " A choice of genius! "Christopher Korenke, the airline's Commercial Director, even saluted the decision - without forgetting to point out that he had no part in it. The management of Air Tahiti Nui, which presented its results in Paris on Thursday, even confided that the aircraft's good performance had exceeded their expectations. Fuel savings are indeed being achieved, and this is a major factor in the airline's success. "Tahitian Dreamliner has a "technical punctuality" of 98.92 %.

The renewal of the fleet has even enabled Air Tahiti Nui to rethink its commercial offer, by integrating a new range of products and services. new Premium Economy. This new intermediate offer has clearly found its audience, bridging the gap - probably too wide - between the eco and business offers. The new, more balanced cabin mix has enabled us to keep up with the competition without having to abandon our 'full service' positioning. A winning choice on long flights - very long in fact - which require a certain level of comfort, and particularly with business customers, even if they remain in the minority. While corporate contracts often block the use of business class, the door is more regularly open for premium tickets...

READ ALSO : "TAHITI and its islands: Dive into a picture postcard

Encouraged by these good results - which are also based on the network of partnerships forged with players such as American Airlines, JAL, Latam and Qantas - Air Tahiti Nui's managers are looking forward to 2020 with confidence. The airline is even going to allow itself a small increase in power with a 12% increase in capacity between Paris and Tahiti. Weekly frequencies should be revised upwards, including in the low season.

Confident in its business model, the Polynesian carrier intends to capitalise on its areas for improvement. Starting with the technology A mobile application is about to be launched, which could be followed by a "travel companion" for booking ground services. As for the connectivity Air Tahiti Nui's in-flight business model could well evolve and move closer to the approach adopted by Air France in particular. Air Tahiti Nui could thus, in addition to the paid wifi already offered on board, open up free access to the least data-hungry applications, such as messaging tools. An additional - and always welcome - argument to stand out in these busy skies...