Air Tahiti, the regional carrier operating turboprop flights in French Polynesia, will soon be introducing an all-new way to travel. It’s mighty swanky, and tickets for the product are now on sale (thanks to MaxPower for flagging this).
Air Tahiti’s 26-seat, all-business class ATR 72-600
Air Tahiti operates a fleet of roughly a dozen turboprops, with the largest plane being the ATR 72-600. All of Air Tahiti’s current ATR 72-600s are configured with 70 seats, in an all-economy layout, with a 2-2 configuration.
Air Tahiti plans to continue to grow its fleet, and in late 2026, the airline plans to take delivery of an ATR 72-600 with a very special interior. Specifically, the airline is taking advantage of ATR’s collection of high-end cabin interiors, known as ATR HighLine.
This includes an all-new VIP layout, and the plan is for Air Tahiti to fly one of these planes that’s in an all-business class layout. The plane will just have 26 seats, spread across 13 rows, in a 1-1 configuration. The seats are specially designed by Geven for ATR, and will deliver incredible comfort. We’re talking 39″ of pitch, 21.6″ of width, 7″ of recline, a personal side console, dedicated storage, and USB-A and USB-C charging ports.
Exact details about Air Tahiti’s business class soft product remain to be seen, though given how short these sectors are, I wouldn’t expect all that much from the inflight service.
Here’s how Air Tahiti CEO Edouard Wong Fat describes this:
“We are not only renewing our fleet, we are launching a whole new travel experience, offering an exceptional service that reflects the natural beauty and unique spirit of our islands. Whether travellers are arriving from long-haul international flights or hopping between islands, they will enjoy an elevated experience both on the ground and in the air. With ATR, we have the ideal platform to deliver connectivity, reliability, premium service, and fuel efficiency – all in one.”
Air Tahiti’s all-business class routes & ticket cost
Air Tahiti’s plan is to offer this all-business class service on select frequencies from Papeete (PPT) to Bora Bora (BOB) and Raiatea (RFP). We’re talking short routes that cover a distance of 135-160 miles, which are blocked at around an hour.
I was very curious to see what pricing would be like for this new service:
- Inter-island fares in French Polynesia are already really high when you consider the short travel distances, due to the lack of competition; we’re talking fares that are generally $250+, and often even more than that
- While Bora Bora is of course a premium destination, when there’s not much competition, people will certainly tolerate uncomfortable cabins
- Since the product will just be available on a very limited number of frequencies (since only one plane will have these seats), I imagine most people will choose the most convenient flight, rather than waiting around for hours to be in a more comfortable seat for a 40-minute flight
With that in mind, Air Tahiti’s all-business class service is on sale for flights as of December 2026, and I currently see one-way fares starting at just over $500 per seat.
When you consider that Air Tahiti otherwise typically charges $250-350 for an economy seat, I suppose that’s actually lower than I would’ve expected.
On the one hand, spending up to double as much for a business class ticket is quite a premium to pay. On the other hand, we’re seeing a 70-seat plane configured with just 26 seats, so the airline needs to be able to command fares nearly three times as high for this to make any sense (of course that’s an oversimplification, since not all flights are always full, costs will differ a bit, etc.).
Bottom line
In late 2026, Air Tahiti will take delivery of an ATR 72-600 in an all-business class layout, featuring just 26 seats in a 1-1 configuration. It’s cool to see airlines trying new concepts, and this looks like it should be a very nice ride.
I am curious how successful this ends up being, especially given that capacity is being reduced by over 60% compared to the standard configuration, and the airline is also able to command some very high economy fares.
What do you make of Air Tahiti’s all-business class aircraft plans?
