#92642 - 12/30/11 12:35 PM
Air France vs Air Tahiti Nui
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dukeford
Junior Member
Registered: 12/30/11
Posts: 15
Loc: Reston, VA
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We are planning our 1st trip to FP this Spring and are planning to use Delta miles from LAX to PPT. Having never flown on either airline, does anyone have any recommendations on which airline has the better amenities and comfort in coach class? Trying to make our honeymoon as nice as possible given what we can afford. Thanks!
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#92643 - 12/30/11 12:43 PM
Re: Air France vs Air Tahiti Nui
[Re: dukeford]
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DenverJoe
Expert Advisor
Registered: 09/10/02
Posts: 1878
Loc: Denver, Co.
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Coach is coach, they're all alike. We fly Air France Premium Voyager. Better seats but coach food.
Here is more info on Premium Voyager.
http://www.tahiti-explorer.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=1&Number=87786&Searchpage=1&Main=10038&Words=air+france+DenverJoe&topic=0&Search=true#Post87786
Edited by DenverJoe (12/30/11 01:08 PM)
_________________________
Nothing better than a Hinano in hand and toes in the sand.
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#92644 - 12/30/11 01:59 PM
Re: Air France vs Air Tahiti Nui
[Re: DenverJoe]
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Old Wife
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/21/03
Posts: 2369
Loc: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
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We flew Air Tahiti Nui last time and had such a bad experience (broken TV monitor/controls, awful food, no air venting on us to cool us down), that we're going to try Air France this time. I'm hoping it's better. We loved Air New Zealand and wish they'd fly LAX to PPT again!
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#92645 - 12/30/11 01:59 PM
Re: Air France vs Air Tahiti Nui
[Re: DenverJoe]
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dukeford
Junior Member
Registered: 12/30/11
Posts: 15
Loc: Reston, VA
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Thanks Denver Joe, that definitely sounds better than coach. Unfortunately, I have just barely enough miles on Delta to get us the free flights in coach.
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#92646 - 12/30/11 02:02 PM
Re: Air France vs Air Tahiti Nui
[Re: dukeford]
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dukeford
Junior Member
Registered: 12/30/11
Posts: 15
Loc: Reston, VA
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Thanks Old Wife. At the moment our tentative dates will force us to fly one way on each airline so we may very well end up getting the answer to our own question by the end of the trip. I am crossing my fingers our honeymoon doesn't start out that way!
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#92648 - 12/30/11 07:06 PM
Re: Air France vs Air Tahiti Nui
[Re: dukeford]
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Old Wife
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/21/03
Posts: 2369
Loc: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
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Well, no matter how you fly, you're heading to a totally amazing country!
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#92656 - 12/31/11 07:56 AM
Re: Air France vs Air Tahiti Nui
[Re: Old Wife]
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BarbiJKM
Supreme Advisor
Registered: 02/14/07
Posts: 6150
Loc: Mesa, AZ
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Both airlines attempt good service! I personally prefer the ambiance and service on Air Tahiti Nui, as well as their current schedule.
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#92658 - 12/31/11 11:55 AM
Re: Air France vs Air Tahiti Nui
[Re: BarbiJKM]
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Patti.
Expert Advisor
Registered: 03/28/04
Posts: 2460
Loc: Las Vegas, NV
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Here's a copy of the comparison of the 2 I posted on Trip Advisor a couple years ago....
“ Air France vs Air Tahit Nui.....a comparison. ”
Feb 11, 2010, 7:21 PM
Destination Expert
for French Polynesia, Moorea
I flew Air France to Tahiti this year, after many years of flying Air Tahiti Nui. Based on my experiences, here is my comparison of the 2 airlines. Strictly my opinion....this is not a scientific study! LOL!
Schedules...
I think Air Tahiti Nui is currently flying 6 days a week, has 7 or 8 flights a week with 1 being a red eye. Most flights leave LAX early afternoon or late afternoon, arrive in Tahiti in the evening or late night.....the red eye arrives the next morning.
Air France has 3 flights....all red eyes...Thu-Fri-Sat (returning Fri-Sat-Sun)....all leave at night and arrive in Tahiti the next morning
ATN pretty much requires you to spend the first night on Tahiti, unless you fly their red eye. AF requires you to spend your last night on Tahiti.
Pretty much a toss up depending on which days you need to fly.
The ATN flights home are all red eyes and land at LAX in the morning, making it easy to catch a connecting flight to points around the country.The AF flights land at 6:30pm and make it more difficult to catch connections around the country...you may have to stay a night at LAX and get your connection the next day. Advantage ATN...unless you live in Southern California....then it's a toss up.
In the coach cabin...
The seating on ATN is 2-4-2, on AF it's 3-3-3. The rows of 4 are nice on ATN if no one is in them with you, so you can stretch out and sleep. If the flight is packed, it can be very tight. The row of 2 is nice for a couple to have their own space with no one in your row, but it's tight, and you have no chance of elbow room. The 3-3-3 on AF is nice if you have just the 2 of you in the row. Gives you some extra elbow room. If the plane is full, it'd be tight and there would be a stranger with you in your row. But if the plane is not very full the 3 seats is not quite enough to fully stretch out and sleep like you can in ATN's rows of 4. Slight advantage to ATN.
The padding on the seats seemed to be slightly thicker on AF. Seat width and leg room seemed the same. The AF seats had foot rests on all seats on this plane. ATN has them on most...but I've been on a few flights that didn't have them. The ATN seats have wrap around head rests, AF are out at a bit of an angle, but not adjustable like on ATN. Toss up.
Coloring on the airplane interior is much nicer on ATN. Bright blues and aquas, and turquoises...really bright and inviting...gets you in the mood for Tahiti. AF is a more drab navy. Advantage ATN.
Pillows on AF had a nicer fabric cover...sort of a rust orange color.. But the actual pillows themselves were equal. Blankets...I liked then beige AF fabric better...but it's hard to beat that beautiful bright blue blanket on ATN. Toss up.
Temperature control. ATN always seems to be to hot or too cold. AF seemed to have a more consistent temp. Cool, but not quite as cold as ATN gets sometimes. Advantage AF.
Both hand out little in-flight travel packs. Both had ear plugs, an eye mask, a hand wipe, and ear phones. ATN also includes a pair of socks (nice for your feet if they get cold). Slight advantage ATN.
Food....
Both serve 2 meals. The food on AF was better. ATN is hit or miss. I've had some fairly good dishes on ATN and some pretty yucky ones. Everything I tasted on AF was fairly good. Paul and I always choose different dishes just to sample the different meals. The fresh mini baguettes on AF were better than the bread on ATN. Overall, when all is said and done, it's STILL airline food...it's NOT 5 star dining! Both serve free alcohol. AF has little individual bottles of wine with the meals. AF serves Heineken, ATN serves Hinano. AF serves an aperitif....mini bottles of cognac or pear liquor, I don't recall ATN doing that...although they might. Advantage AF...now if they could only serve Hinano. :-)
Entertainment systems...
AF wins this hands down. They both have individual entertainment systems at each seat. ATN has about 7-8 movies to choose from. They are not on-demand. They all start at the same time (after the first meal) and when one finishes, you have to wait for all of them to finish before they re-start the cycle again. On AF, they are on-demand. You can start and stop them any time you want. You can pause them and go back to them later. There are MANY more movies to choose from. Probably closer to 30-40 choices. There are TV series and news programs on AF to choose from too. Both have games to play and travel programs. AF travel programs are mostly about France and Europe, ATN's travel programs are about French Polynesia (advantage to ATN, considering the destination). They both have music...but on AF they have whole albums to listen too and you can choose up to 20 songs to make your own individual play-list. AF entertainment are touch screen (ATN's are not). Much easier than using the remote (although they do have a remote to use if you prefer). Overall we thought the AF entertainment system was far superior. BUT...ATN's was still very nice.
Noticed a little bit of turbulence, but nothing serious, usually occurs when crossing the equator, on both airlines. Toss up.
Rear cabin restrooms had more room on AF. You actually have space to move around a bit in them. Did not check the mid cabin restrooms. ATN has the little bottles of Tiare scented spray to take away the odors in their restrooms...AF does not. Toss up.
Air staff....both seemed very nice, friendly, and helpful. We had no issues at all. AF were all French. ATN are mostly Tahitian. The ladies on AF change to the Tahitian style dresses for the flight as do the the ATN ladies. The ATN dresses are much more colorful though, as are their regular uniforms. Slight advantage to ATN considering the destination.
Other passengers...
There are many more French (and Europeans) on AF...tend to be more Americans on ATN. Not really an issue. Just less chance of the person sitting near you speaking English on AF. Toss up.
Seemed to be fewer children (I only saw 3) on the AF flight than on past ATN flights (or maybe just quieter children). But that may change considerably depending on what season it is and the school vacation schedules. Probably a toss up.
This next point is a very touchy one. I will address it as carefully as I can. Several people have commented in the past that many passengers on AF tend to have body odor. So I purposely paid attention to any body odors I encountered. I did not notice anyone being particularly odoriferous on our flight from LAX. But on our return flight I encountered 2 young men who did smelled like they had not showered in a couple days. One was sitting right across the aisle from me, and I could absolutely smell him. He did move to another seat further back after take off, so it was not an issue for us for the duration of the flight. If he has been seated right with us in our row of 3 seats, it would have made an impact on my flight. I have never encountered a body odor issues on an ATN flight....(although I ahve on other flights around the US). Sooo....personally.....I think it just depends on the particular person who happens to sit next to you...it's luck of the draw. Obviously the same situation could happen on ATN, but if you were in a group of 2 seats, there would be less chance you'd be directly impacted by it. Overall, I did NOT find the AF flights full of smelly people...but I did encounter a couple of young men in need of a shower. Take that for what it's worth. I suppose advantage ATN.
At LAX...
ATN leaves from Bradley International Terminal at LAX, AF leaves from Terminal 2. Although the Bradley Terminal tends to be very crowded and utterly chaotic...the actual checking in process was about equal, as was security. Shopping and eating at the Bradley Terminal has many more choices before security....and very few choices after security. AF has NO choices before security (save a Starbucks down in the arrivals area), but does have more choices after security than at the Bradley Terminal does after security. Gate area and bathrooms were nicer at Terminal 2 than at the Bradley terminal. A toss up, depending on where you prefer to shop or eat prior to your flight.
Getting through passport control was quicker on AF because most of the passengers had EU passports. This was especially true on the return trip because there were very few Americans and many more US passport windows than non-US windows....and there are very few international arrivals at terminal 2 (we were the ONLY one) as compared to the Bradley terminal...which can have several arrivals being processed at the same time. Our luggage seemed to arrive much quicker on AF....possibly because so many bags were being checked through all the way to Paris. Advantage AF.
Overall.....mostly a toss up. AF came out ahead in food and entertainment system, but not enough to make it significantly ahead. I'd say, given a choice between the two...pick which ever has the best price and best schedule for your needs. In the future I wouldn't hesitate to fly either one. They both have their advantages and their issues. Biggest issues to me being the length of the flight and the general lack of comfort and room in the seats. It's just hard to be comfortable in those seats for 8 hours. Nothing is going to help that, except moving up to business class.
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#92660 - 12/31/11 12:53 PM
Re: Air France vs Air Tahiti Nui
[Re: Patti.]
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Old Wife
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/21/03
Posts: 2369
Loc: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
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Thanks for posting that again, Patti! We're flying AF this time so it was good to read a few key points (I had it in my head we were heading to Tom Bradley and I'm sure I would have caught that before we left, but it's good to know). And now I'm looking forward to my aperitif (I know "they" say not to drink on a flight, but, gosh, I find it helps so much)!
By the way, if you ever get to fly British Airways, you'll change your mind about "airline food". We flew BA to Paris a year ago and the food was magnificent!
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#92662 - 12/31/11 01:18 PM
Re: Air France vs Air Tahiti Nui
[Re: Old Wife]
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DenverJoe
Expert Advisor
Registered: 09/10/02
Posts: 1878
Loc: Denver, Co.
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Try the Pear brandy after dinner. I'm sold on it now. It's really good with coffee.
_________________________
Nothing better than a Hinano in hand and toes in the sand.
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