I was recently invited by Air Tahiti Nui (TN) to experience their Boeing Dreamliner 787-9 on a ferry flight from Boeing’s assembly site in Charleston, South Carolina (CHS) to Los Angeles, California (LAX) with a one-hour layover in Oklahoma City (OKC). Excited by this opportunity, I made my way down to Charleston to see their Dreamliner in person and experience what Air Tahiti Nui had to offer passengers flying from the West Coast of the US to Tahiti.
Aircraft Overview
Air Tahiti Nui’s 787-9 comfortably seats 294 passengers, which is the same passenger count as Air Tahiti Nui’s A340-300, which is being retired next year after over 15 years flying. One of the main differences from the A340 is that Air Tahiti Nui introduced their Premium Economy product, “Moana Premium” on the Dreamliner. Poerava Business is made up of 30 lie-flat seats, Moana Premium has 32 recliner style seats and Moana Economy has 232 standard seats.
Moana Premium
After spending part of my flight in Poerava Business, I made my way back a couple of rows to check out Air Tahiti Nui’s Premium Economy product, Moana Premium. Thirty-two recliner style seats are arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration with 36–38 inches of pitch, 20.4 inch seat width and a recline of 8 inches. Sitting in the bulkhead seats, I noticed right away that they had additional legroom compared to the rows behind plus a slide-out footrest. The down side to this, however, is that the 13” touch screen display is a bit further away. I also had a difficult time with the seat recline buttons since it is located on the side of the armrest, making it hard to read which button controlled which feature.
Passengers in Moana Premium are able to take advantage of USB power ports, as well as standard universal power outlets at all seats. Similar to Poerava Business, electronically dimmable windows are found throughout Moana Premium. Passengers sitting at seats 12A and 12L get to enjoy two windows instead of one, which is the case with all of the other seats in this cabin.
During my conversation with Yves Wauthy, the airline’s 787 program manager, he pointed out that seats in row 10 are usually reserved for passengers who require bassinets during their flight. I also noticed that the location of the lavatories and galleys in front of row 10 may be bothersome since there is a lot of space for other passengers to congregate while waiting to use the lavatory or to stretch. These are important facts to keep in mind before reserving your seat!
Food
For those traveling in Moana Premium, Air Tahiti Nui provides a variety of meals that reflect both the Polynesian and French culinary influences that you will find in Tahiti. To match these selections, there is a wide selection of wine available, focusing on the French and New World.
Air Tahiti Nui is able to accommodate food allergy and dietary restriction on all their flights. They strongly recommend reaching out to them when booking or at least 48 hours prior to departure in order to submit your request and choose from one of 11 different alternative meal options.
Overall
I was extremely comfortable in Moana Premium and think that Air Tahiti Nui knocked it out of the park with this new product. I believe that passengers on the 8+ hour flight to Tahiti will feel at home, relaxed and refreshed before they even step foot on the Tahitian beaches.
I would like to thank Air Tahiti Nui for inviting me to review an aircraft of which not only they, but the people of Tahiti, are extremely proud. Make sure you read my review of Poerava Business and Moana Economy.
