What do you think

All going well, we are due to arrive in Papeete at7pm on Air Tahiti Nui. There is a flight to Moorea on Air Tahiti at 8:45pm that same evening. Other than say a flight delay on Air Tahiti Nui, do you think we could possibly make the connecting flight? Is customs and immigration usually long? Thanks for any assistance or thoughts!:confused:

You should have no problem at all. The airport is very small with few flights. Getting through immigration, picking up baggage, and then getting through customs is a breeze (less than 30 minutes). Getting checked in for the next flight is a short walk from baggage claim and the gates are all in the same small building. Enjoy your trip to paradise!

Even if you are late, the Moorea flights will wait for you (if there are no scheduled later flights).

Great info. Last time I was in Tahiti was about 15 years ago. I remember the airport being small, but was not sure about connections. We actually have the last flight of the day that I can see, so glad to know that they wait. Had a look at the itinerary, and actually arrive at 7:30. But with an hour and fifteen minutes, we should be safe!

You might want to let the cabin staff know you have a connecting flight--they might be able to expedite you through the Customs line, although this won't hurry up your luggage. The Moorea terminal is about a 5 minute walk down the far end of the main terminal, as I remember.

This past July our flight arrived at 6 and the line for customs was horrendous. Took us at least an hour - just 2 customs agents for our entire plane of 300+. But if you are at the front of the line, no problem. Hopefully anyone with connecting flights would be moved ahead.

Yes, our last trip October 06 the immigration and customs was much slower than our previous trips. Alot depends I suspect on whether you are ahead of other flights or behind, I guess. I certainly expect it to take longer than 45 minutes when we go to FP in Feb 08. Fortunately, we have to stay in Papeete over night before we transit to Ta'haa( or however you spell it).

I just did a bit of research into incoming flights into Papeete, and ours seems to be the only one to arrive about 7:30pm, or there abouts. Most others are arriving late night/early morning. At the present moment we are seated in row 16. I really do not want to wait until the next day, as we will have only 2 days in Moorea. I will ask about moving more forward. Does it make a difference what type of passport you have for the immigration lines? Are there separate lines depending on what type of passport you have?

When we arrived in Papeete, they had both doors of the plan open for exiting--one at the front of First and one at the front of coach. You are pretty close to the front of coach, so I wouldn't change seats--just be prepared to walk nice and fast from the plane to customs and have your forms filled out ahead of time.

I think the residents of French Polynesia and France get special treatment but I think the issue is more volume than procedure. The Baton Rouge Airport is bigger than Faaa.

In July there was one line for European passport holders and one line for US passport holders. The US line was about 10 x as long. We noticed many US passengers slipping into the European line and apparently they got through just fine. We ended up being just about the last ones through, but we weren't in a hurry so we didn't really mind.

Thanks for all the tips and info. I actually have a European Union passport as I am from Bermuda. This will add some time in my favor, if there is a separate immigration line. I think I will be okay for the late connection to Moorea. :)