Air Tahiti...What was your experience

[Are we there yet?]

Hi Lauren, how are you?:)

 

I was just wandering why you are spending 2 days in LA before the flight? Is it to make sure you don't miss the Tahiti flight, or just to visit the city?

 

We are not sure if we should spend a night in LA also, or just hope for the best and spend 3 days instead of 2 in Tahiti before the cruise.

 

 

 

ArizonaRalphie........love your new picture!!:D

[ArizonaRalphie]

 

 

 

ArizonaRalphie........love your new picture!!:D

Would you believe that I was sober?

[Are we there yet?]

Would you believe that I was sober?

 

LMAO!!!!:D :D :D Good one:)

[ljtinney]

Hi Lauren, how are you?:)

 

I was just wandering why you are spending 2 days in LA before the flight? Is it to make sure you don't miss the Tahiti flight, or just to visit the city?

 

We are not sure if we should spend a night in LA also, or just hope for the best and spend 3 days instead of 2 in Tahiti before the cruise.

 

Hey Carol...I'm doing well.

 

Yes part of it is not to miss the flight. We were only delayed an hour last time in Buffalo, but missing the flight in Dallas and having to wait for the next one is why we only had 35 min to catch our flight on ATN. It was a bit stressful and such a very long day...18 hours. Everyone in my group has at least 3-5 hours of flying just to get to LA so we all decided to fly in at least the night before. So when I checked it out I was able to get a great deal on the Marriott and we decided to make it 2 nights:D We have been to LA quite a few times (headed there next month) and the only thing we haven't done yet is Disney!!!!! Let me know if you go early....I have a driver there that I use....he is fantastic!!!!

 

Hope you are doing well and having a great time planning your cruise:)

[Are we there yet?]

Lauren, thank you so much for the offer. We haven't quite made up our mind yet, but I will let you know when we do.

I am so jealous that you are going next month.....have a great time!:)

 

(I went to that Disneyland when I was about 9 or 10. We lived in Edmonton and drove down):eek:

[ljtinney]

Lauren, thank you so much for the offer. We haven't quite made up our mind yet, but I will let you know when we do.

I am so jealous that you are going next month.....have a great time!:)

 

(I went to that Disneyland when I was about 9 or 10. We lived in Edmonton and drove down):eek:

 

 

Don't think I could ever manage to drive that far. When to Columbus to visit some friends in July for the weekend.....and of course we flew:p

 

You have mail:)

[spate]

LJ,

 

I joined the roll call...... We too are thinking of staying a night in LA to break up the trip but not sure if it will be before or after.

[DANofNORTH]

We flew with ATN this last November 06.

 

Good - Food, service & entertainment. Overall not too bad a flight. However ...

Bad - Tight seating. I was ok (not great, but ok) but my wife was literally in pain after 4 hours into the 8 1/2 hr flight.

 

The seating is tight & if the person in front of you leans back you pretty much have to as well. It's expensive, but we would look into upgrading or a larger plane next time.

 

Having said that ... it was still worth all that going to FP.

 

And at LAX they DID cut off a few of our TSA locks! Whats the point of buying the special lock if they are so damn lazy that they can't just open it with THEIR key? Their was nothing of value in the suitecases so I didn't see anything missing, but it makes you wonder if unauthorized people were doing it!

 

Dan

[Are we there yet?]

 

Having said that ... it was still worth all that going to FP.

 

And at LAX they DID cut off a few of our TSA locks! Whats the point of buying the special lock if they are so damn lazy that they can't just open it with THEIR key? Their was nothing of value in the suitecases so I didn't see anything missing, but it makes you wonder if unauthorized people were doing it!

 

Dan

 

 

I agree that from what I have read so far about FP, anything is worth getting there! Maybe it's like childbirth........painful, but worth it once you see that Island!:D

 

Good point about the TSA locks. I wonder if it could be unauthorized people getting into them? Maybe I'll ask someone at the airport if that happens to me.

[chick geek]

ATN is a great airline. We have been to Tahiti the last 2 summers, first on the TP and this past July on the PG. Both times flew ATN direct from NYC. It was a 13 hour flight - yes coach is tight, but welcome to the new world of flying. Service was outstanding, food not bad, and lots of good French wine (no charge). Just relax and do it. It really is not a big deal....and if the flight is delayed because of mechanical problems, be glad that they are delaying it. The only thing I would strongly suggest is adding 1 or 2 days extra in front of the trip in case of delays as there are not a lot of flights going to Papeete.

[chick geek]

ATN is a great airline. We have been to Tahiti the last 2 summers, first on the TP and this past July on the PG. Both times flew ATN direct from NYC. It was a 13 hour flight - yes coach is tight, but welcome to the new world of flying. Service was outstanding, food not bad, and lots of good French wine (no charge). Just relax and do it. It really is not a big deal....and if the flight is delayed because of mechanical problems, be glad that they are delaying it. The only thing I would strongly suggest is adding 1 or 2 days extra in front of the trip in case of delays as there are not a lot of flights going to Papeete.

[dazee8]

We took ATN this past July for the Tahiti to Hawaii cruise on the TP. We flew in 3 days prior to sailing to use our American Airlines frequent miles for a free ticket and getting use to the humidity and temperature. We opted to upgrade to business on ATN (yes, they are partners with American Airlines) and we had lots of leg room, yummy meals, and nice pillows and blankets during our 8+ hour flight. If you can upgrade, take it.

 

We booked our arrangements ourselves including hotel (Radisson), and transfers from the airport and to the pier with Marama Tours. Here is their link: http://www.maramatours.com/services.html

 

Happy planning. You will have a wonderful time in the paradise of Tahiti.

:)

[swisskris]

We flew with ATN in June/July 2005 from LAX. Our experience was an excellent one. The crew is extremely friendly and very gracious. The food is very good and amenities in economy are also quite good compared to other airlines. We had absolutely no issues. On our way to Papeete there was a man who basically had his chair extended almost the whole flight, it was uncomfortable for my husband as he has really long legs. During dinner service we didn't even have to ask the flight attendant to ask the man to lift his seat, he did this while serving dinner.

 

When we flew back to LA from Papeete there was a couple from Italy infront of us in line. They didn't speak English or French and the agent at the desk was trying to explain to them that once in LAX they had to get their bags and re-check them. Since the agent couldn't speak Italian I offered to translate for both parties (I speak French and Italian). As a result of helping her out, the desk agent gave us the emergency exit in economy and we had tons of leg room. Excellent for my husband as he is your typical tall Dutchman! :p

[SJ Cruisers]

Air Tahiti Nui is a great airline! US carriers should take lessons from them on providing good customer service. We left LAX on 8/29/07 about 20 minutes late around 4:30pm, plane was approx. 60% full which provided us the ability to stretch out, 2 meals provided and free drinks arrived on time at 9:20pm got through customs in less than 10 minutes. Princess transfer to IC was about 10 minute wait and got to IC around 10:45pm. Great hotel/resort but very expensive.

 

Yes we would fly them again!:)

[candydane]

I have a note from an earlier cc posting that ATN gives out "goodie" bags with headphones, socks, a sleep mask, ear plugs, and a wet wipe.

 

Is this still true? Are the headphones any good or the typical airline issue?

 

Thanks.

[DANofNORTH]

Yes, they do give them out & they also included a small blancket & pollow as I recall. (pollow may have been blow-up type)

 

The ear phones may be slightly better than normal air lines but not a delux set if thats what your asking.

[k2cruiser]

DAZEE 8 STATES---We took ATN this past July for the Tahiti to Hawaii cruise on the TP. We flew in 3 days prior to sailing to use our American Airlines frequent miles for a free ticket and getting use to the humidity and temperature. We opted to upgrade to business on ATN (yes, they are partners with American Airlines) When my husband asked just the other day about an upgrade he was told that you cannot use your AA miles toward an ATN flight, that you would have to buy the ATN flight outright. We are considering either flying from JFK or LAX( which we have done before) So I am a little confused. Could you clarify this, please.

[SJ Cruisers]

We flew Air Tahiti Nui on 8/29/07 to Papeete to catch our 9/1/07 cruise. First time on A-340 airplane, left LAX 20 minutes late arrived on time in Papeete through customs in 10 minutes, food was very good, flight attendants very attentive (US carriers should take lessons from ATN on customer service). All in all good flight, ontime and would go again.

[micked10@earthlink.net]

We just returned this week from an ATN flight to

Papeete. The flight both at LAX and in the airport in Tahiti were both on time and actually arrived at their final destinations 15 mins. early. We had the 1:00 flight of LAX and the 10:00PM flight out of Tahiti. The food was ok--pretty typical airline food. Yes, they do give out the "goodie" bags. The earphones are your regular type earphones. I didn't think the flight was that bad--with a good book, the TV monitors on the seat in front of you with numerous movies and several computor games, some napping it didn't seem that long. We did spend 3 days on LA prior to the cruise ( our son lives there) so that broke up the flight a little. We live in Missouri and flew out of St. Louis. We did not do a post cruise but spent the day at the Radisson in a day room and got to the airport around 7:00 that night. It wasn't too bad but it is hot--no AC. Maybe if we are lucky and do this trip again I might do a post cruise for several days and avoid some crowds. We were served dinner and breakfast plus drinks on both flights.

micked10

[joyride]

First, let me start off by saying that my DH and I are spoiled because we have always been fortunate to upgrade to Business Class on any flights we have had that were over 5 hours long. For our ATN flight to Tahiti, we just could not spend the $$$ and we did Princess air (coach).

 

I tried before the trip (way in advance) to call ATN and try to get bulkhead or exit row seats. NO GO, they will not do it. I was told that you can try at airport check-in and that the bulkheads are reserved for families with babies, but they may also give these to tall or big people who ask. My DH and I are both tall - he's over 6' and I'm 5'10".

 

We showed up early for both flights and were pretty much first in line. We requested exit row or bulkhead, but didn't have any luck at LAX check-in. It backfired on us because we were the first to check in and they wanted to wait to see if people with babies showed up. Also, for the exit row seats they actually told my DH that they preferred to place people there who could speak French in case of emergency. We tried again at the gate and we succeeded to get bulkhead - which had great leg room and was totally a good move. No one else was sitting next to us, so another couple we had met on CC were able to move up and sit with us once on the plane.

 

On the flight back we did the same thing - requested bulkhead at the airport and got it. We did fly back a couple of days after the cruise, so we were not with the "masses".

 

Another note about TSA locks. We had 4 pieces of luggage with TSA locks and they were cut off and gone before we even left for Tahiti. 3 of the 4 locks were cut from Oakland to LAX and they didn't even leave a note in the luggage. The security guys at LAX told us that the Oakland TSA probably cut them off instead of getting the key from their supervisor because they were just being lazy. So much for the locks...

 

I didn't think these flights were too bad. We kept ourselves entertained with movies and the video games. I agree with some of the other posters - it got FREEZING on the plane. Definitely bring a sweatshirt or something - those blankets are too thin and they do not do the trick!

 

On a final note - remember when flying ATN - you are heading for PARADISE, so it really can't be that bad!!!! :):):)

[nikita]

I was wondering - we have a 9pm flight back from Tahiti to JFK after the cruise so how early should we get to the airport? Thanks.

[candydane]

We tried again at the gate and we succeeded to get bulkhead - which had great leg room and was totally a good move

 

Were there individual monitor screens for each bulkhead seat, just like in the regular rows of seats? If so, were they close enough to see clearly? I expect they're pretty small if they're individual screens.

[joyride]

Yes, we each had our own screen that came up from the armrest. It was not a bad size and you could move it into a good position. I do not have the best eyesight and I wear reading glasses - I had no problems with the screens. All of the controls for music, movie channels, etc. are on your own personal remote. It is really a pretty nice system.

 

Nikita - we arrived a bit earlier than we needed to on our flight out of Tahiti. I would say 2 hours is plenty (unless you want to change seats or to try to upgrade). You don't go thorough customs until you arrive back in the USA.

 

Have a great trip!!

[candydane]

Thanks.

[Tricia724]

However, if you don't get bulkhead seats and the person in front of you fully reclines his/her seat, it's not a fun flight! The people in the row in front of me reclined their seats almost the entire flight, and because the man behind me was a big guy, I wouldn't recline my seat and make him even more miserable. Really tight little quarters there. Fortunately for us, we only had to take ATN one way since our cruise ended in Hawaii.

 

All other aspects of the flight were OK for me, though......the food, service, and treatment by the airline.