Air Tahiti Nui’s Long Haul Guests Soar in 2014

PRESS RELEASE

Air Tahiti Nui’s Long Haul Guests Soar in 2014

20 August, 2014

Air Tahiti Nui is having a bumper year with total passengers from New Zealand up more than 64 per cent in the first seven months of the year.

The biggest winner in 2014 has been long haul travel with passengers up more than 156 per cent in total, led by a whopping 218 per cent increase to Los Angeles and a 214 per cent hike to Paris, albeit off a lower base.

Air Tahiti Nui General Manager New Zealand Mark Hutchinson said the hike reflected the airline’s aggressive sales and marketing drive in the wake of a network-wide overhaul.

The airline upped its weekly services between Auckland and Los Angeles to three in December and introduced an enhanced French Connection offering New Zealanders better access to Europe with increased frequencies to Paris and the option of exciting stopovers en route in Tahiti and the States.

“We knew there was demand for the extra service but we didn’t expect travellers to respond so quickly – we’re absolutely thrilled with these results,” Mr Hutchinson said.

“We’re the only carrier operating connecting services from New Zealand to mainland Europe via North America and it’s something that has appealed to Kiwis with LA stopovers up 37 per cent this year.”

Tahiti also performed well with a 15 per cent hike in the first seven months of the year, which Mr Hutchinson said was a welcome result for a mature market.

The airline’s new year-round Tuesday service compliments the Thursday and Sunday flights from Auckland to Papeete and onwards to Los Angeles and Paris.

Air Tahiti Nui’s enhanced French Connection offers a Paris to Auckland service in under 30 hours including transits, or the option of stopovers in sunny Tahiti and glamorous Los Angeles. Through codeshare agreements with Air France and France’s high speed national train network, the airline also offers extensions to 25 French cities including Bordeaux, Nice and Lyon.

Meanwhile Kiwi travellers can book with Air Tahiti Nui to reach 86 cities throughout the wider United States including Washington and Las Vegas through an expanded codeshare agreement with American Airlines. The airline’s Los Angeles services arrive and depart the USA via the newly upgraded Tom Bradley Terminal.

For more information visit www.airtahitinui.co.nz or call the airline on 09 972 1217.

About Air Tahiti Nui:
Air Tahiti Nui operates five A340-300 aircraft from its Tahiti base to Auckland, Tokyo, Paris and Los Angeles and code shares to 37 additional destinations with carriers including American Airlines, Air France, Air New Zealand, Qantas and the SNCF rail system in France. It’s the only airline that flies from New Zealand to Europe via Tahiti and Los Angeles and one of only two carriers with direct flights from Auckland to Papeete. The airline has headquarters in Papeete and operates from Faa’a International Airport on the island of Tahiti. Air Tahiti Nui was founded in 1996 and commenced flight operations in 1998.

ENDS

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