Off to Tahiti !
SYD AKL LA800 LAN eco - http://flight-report.com/en/report-9776.html
AKL PPT TN102 AIR TAHITI NUI business - this report
PPT AKL TN101 AIR TAHITI NUI business - http://flight-report.com/fr/report-9834.html
AKL SYD QF146 QANTAS AIRWAYS eco - http://flight-report.com/fr/report-9939.html
Pictures taken with Canon EOS 700D 18-200mn lense. Some pictures (cabin) were taken with iPhone 6 plus.
Following a very smooth and enjoyable accross the Tasman Sea between Sydney and Auckland, I am in transit in the City of Sails. I know Auckland Airport very well. It is a nice place for plane spotters. The green waters of the adjacent bay provides a dramatic background to some exotic liveries, including the various Air New Zealand fleet pain jobs.
Once I go through the security in the transfer area, I end up in the terminal departure hall. AKL is a small and friendly airport by world standards. The large glass areas make it easy to have a superb view on the apron, tarmac and runway.
I need to collect my boarding pass from the transfer desk. A very friendly French National Air New Zealand staff gives me my boarding pass. He usually looks after Air Tahiti Nui flights (3 frequencies a week between PPT and AKL.
This is what is shown on the monitor of the transfer desk. Great to see all the registrations listed.
Funny enough the flight indicates Los Angeles as our destination. In fact my plane will continue on to LAX. Do note also the multilingual flight board and the little advise to passengers….
Only in New Zealand….
My aircraft today is A340-313X F-OSEA, one of Air Tahiti Nui 5 A340. I have already flown on that aircraft. She is name after one of the many Island of French Polynesia Rangiroa
The other A340 are F-OSUN Moorea, F-OLOV Nuku Hiva, F-OJTN Bora Bora and F-OJGF Mangareva.
It is my lucky day. F-OSEA is one of the 3 aircraft retrofitted with the new business class. The two other are F-SUN and F-OJGF
Interestingly, I have flown only 4 of the 5 A340. I have never managed to fly on F-OJGF Mangareva….
See the first officer arm outside of the cockpit window…just like driving a car…:-)
Air Tahiti Nui has a very beautiful and appealing livery. The airline updated its branding/image last year, but that was a very subtle change. The color scheme was not update. Only the logo and the Tiare flower appear to have changed and are featured on the Air Tahiti Nui website.
A close up of the Tiare flower on the tail. Air Tahiti has a very small network, yet only made of long haul flights. Destinations served are Auckland, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Paris. New York and Sydney were discontinueda few years ago.
I have time to do plane spotting…..
One of the NZ B787….
The 767 with winglets looks sensational !
Vietnam Airlines 777
My inbound aircraft LAN A340-300. Note one of 3 Emirates A380 in AKL every day.
A nice painting. The Koru….and The City of Auckland with the distinctive SkyTower and The Harbour Bridge
And a welcome sign
Walking through the new apron, which has been built to accommodate the A380
Dubai ? No, Auckland in the afternoon, when the Emirates A380s get ready to fly back to DXB via Australia (SYD, MEL and BNE).
Today there is no less than 3 Emirates A380 at AKL Airport, all docked at gates. See two here:
The 3rd one is parked here, just next to our gate
Another view of Rangiroa, and a Virgin Australia 737-800
Time to board. Last shots before boarding:
The aerobridge
Greetings from the crew. Note the very enticing poster on the galley wall
The business class seat
The cabin with configuration 2 x 2 x 2
My seat is in the first row. The space is lavish….look at the monitor size…nearly twice as large as the ones in the other rows…
Amenities bag….a cute little box
Time to go. Take off to the West then 160 degre turn towards New Zealand East Coast.
View South of the Airport
The North-South Freeway, one of the few stretch of freeway in NZ…
Leaving the East Coast via Coromandel Peninsula
Flight time is just under 5hours
In flight. The blanket is well presented, in a little bag.
The menu and beverage list
Very unsual of me to drink alchohol on board an aircraft. But I just can't say no to French bubbles.
Note the Tiare flower on the glass and everywhere really…
The little cone shaped appetizer is just divine…
Dinner is served
Let's watch a French movie…sadly only one is shown…but it features one of my favorite actor Fabrice Luchini…
I have two monitors as the seat next to me is vacant. It is pretty decadent to be able to watch the movie and the airshow at the same time…
Nearly there
The airshow map is full of exotic names….actually 4 of the 5 A340 names are shown here….Only Moorea missing
Papeete Airport
AirCalin A330
Traditional Polynesian welcome
Immigration
Bonus: The Intercontinental Beachcomber Tahiti Airport
And my all time favorite Salade Tahitienne (raw tuna marinated in cocount milk) specially ordered (as room service is closed by the time I get to the hotel) is waiting for me…
Hello,
Thank you very much for sharing this perfect flight report !
Your pictures are awesome and your comments too.
I really do like this cabin. It is very warm and it smells summer-time !
I'm really surprised about the catering which looks like very nice (and appetizing).
Livery is nice.
You spotting at AKL is beautiful. 3 A380 in one day, what a lucky spotter you are !
See you,
You are welcome Mathieu, thank you for your compliments. Pictures taken with Canon EOS 700D 18-200mm lense. Some cabin photos are taken with my iPhone 6 plus. Yes the cabin is very spacious and has a feel good feel to it. it wasn't full either, which added to comfort.
Catering was very good indeed.
Yes AKL is a busy airport these days. They are now getting a Singapore Airlines A380 as well, so it is not unusual to see 4 x A380 on the tarmac at any time. Just wish that aircraft was better looking...:-)
hi
thanks for nice report and lovely spotting; I love that picture with your TN aircraft in the foreground and a NZ aircraft in the background. food seems very unsophisticated but nice and fresh.
if we consider local times you arrived on the eve of your departure? is that right? I'ld love to cross over the date changing line.
I'll fly to NZ next december and feel very excited about that.
Thank you Bernard for your comments.
it is indeed fun to play with the international date change line. I left SYD on Thursday morning and arrived in PPT on Wednesday night. Thus I had two full work day (Thu and Fri) on the ground. Then I left PPT Sat morning but arrived in SYD on Sunday late afternoon. I lost my week-end in the process :-) .
I once flew back from PPT to SYD when Air Tahiti Nui was operating the direct flight and missed a day altogether (left on the 14 before midnight, arrived on the 16). That day was my birthday (15) actually. Thus no birthday that year lol ! I should be one year younger!
Thank you very much for this nice report.
AKL is a very pleasant airport.
TN Business hard product is good enough for that kind of journey, not too long and by day, but this angled bed seat is not so good for very long haul, TN have to do better with new 787 in 2018.
Catering is simple but good. Pack of pre landing snack.
See you
You are welcome thank you. I do like your FR very much too. See you one day I hope
Very nice report as usual. AKL does look like a nice airport. I love any airport that is spotter-friendly! TN service looks good overall, I like the champagne flutes. The cabin looks like and fresh, and I like the modern airshow. I am also surprised that the IFE only has one French movie...on a French airline! Sounds like the IFE content needs some work. Can't wait to see what the cabins of the 787s will look like--hopefully some details will come out soon. Have mostly just read a lot of speculation. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you. You are welcome
Nice pictures
Thank you
Thanks for sharing this report and beautiful spotting at AKL!
What does the OBK stand for? It looks like actual departure time, but I can't piece together that acronym. That's cool that they put the flight information in the respective language of it's destination, although maybe not useful if you don't speak that language. I like the Japanese ”??????????” not quite the same meaning as relax :)
I hope you and the girl boarding before you have matching backpacks.
The cabin has got a nice tropical theme and I really like forward facing seats.
Pen in the amenity kit, nice. I don't like how the water bottle is under the monitor, almost impossible to reach from your seat without getting up. Also, the blanket looks really small, or you just threw it across the cabin before taking the photo.
Two champagnes on the menu is impressive, but I would have expected three meal options on a flight of more than 4 hours.
Meal presentation looks nice except for the salad and the cheese plate (can we even call it that?).
Overall a good performance on this holiday route.
OBK ? Not sure, will find out. The cabin looks very fresh and invigorating that's for sure.
Hi thanks for the great review. I know this is a long time ago, but do you recall if your bags were checked the while way through from SYD to Papeete?
Hi Skimegheath, it is just like it was yesterday... I was in PPT in May actually and yes as always my luggage were checked through all the way from SYD to PPT and same when returning ex PPT to SYD (both time via AKL).
Awesome thanks! On QF flight numbers the whole way, but out of Mel on Emirates and then Air Tahiti Nui. Thanks heaps for your response!
No problem with QF/EK/TN...enjoy French Polynesia