A Look At International Flights From Papeete’s Faa’a International Airport

The French overseas collectivity of French Polynesia is located in the southern Pacific Ocean. Covering 121 dispersed islands and atolls, French Polynesia is home to just over a quarter of a million people. For locals and tourists, any international travel to and from French Polynesia is via the Faa’a International Airport (PPT). Based on the main island of Tahiti, the airport is located 3.1 miles (5km) southwest of the capital, Papeete.

Air Moana and Air Tahiti provide most domestic flights around the islands, with Air Tahiti also providing its sole international service to the Cook Islands (RAR) once a week.

Source: GCMap

Also based at Faa’a International Airport is the flag carrier, Air Tahiti Nui, which runs a modest international operation providing direct services from New Zealand, the United States, New Caledonia, and Japan. Popular among the over 200,000 tourists that visit French Polynesia each year. International connectivity is also boosted by the multiple foreign carriers serving Papeete; with that, let’s dig a bit deeper below as to who is flying where during November.

Air France

Paris-based Air France operates between Charles de Gaulle (CDG) to Papeete via Los Angeles (LAX), with five weekly flights, all served by the Airbus A350-900. The flight time between LAX and PPT is around eight hours. You can find flights on this route here.

Air New Zealand

Kiwi flag carrier Air New Zealand deploys its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to and from Auckland to PPT. Operating twice weekly, the service takes just over four hours. Find flights from Auckland here.

Photo: EQRoy | Shutterstock

Air Rarotonga

This unique connection is provided once a week between Avarua and Papeete. The Saab 340B operates the service to Tahiti on a Tuesday, where the aircraft then rests at Fa’a overnight before returning to the Cook Islands on a Wednesday morning.

Air Tahiti

As mentioned above, while the carrier provides extensive domestic coverage, the sole international route for the airline is to the Cook Islands, operating a return trip on Saturdays.

Air Tahiti Nui

Unsurprisingly leading the pack in regards to international destinations served, the Papeete-based carrier, Air Tahiti Nui, utilizes its new fleet of Boeing 787-9 to shuttle passengers between Auckland, Los Angeles, Paris (Charles de Gaulle), Seattle Tacoma, and Tokyo (Narita). The services to Paris include either a stop in Los Angeles or Seattle. However, with borders firmly shut during the pandemic, TN made the record books, flying the world’s longest domestic flight between Papeete and Paris. The carrier currently has four 787-9 aircraft but is rumored to be looking for more.

Read more: Air Tahiti Nui Considering New Widebody Aircraft

Aircalin

Another French collectivity in the South Pacific is New Caledonia, where its home carrier, Aircalin, connects Noumea with Papeete. As the flight crosses the dateline, the Airbus A330-900 departs Noumea La Tontouta International Airport (NOU) on a Saturday. Still, it returns from Papeete on a Friday, with the aircraft usually only sitting on the apron at Faa’a International Airport for just 90 minutes.

Delta Air Lines

A seasonal service launched just last December, Delta operates between Los Angeles and Papeete up to five times weekly with the Boeing 767-300ER. This is the carrier’s third Oceania route after Sydney and Auckland.

Photo: French bee

French bee

The French low-cost, long-haul carrier first launched services to French Polynesia in May 2018 and now operates between Paris Orly (ORY) to Papeete via San Francisco International Airport up to three times a week. French bee deploys an Airbus A350-900 on the route. Find those flights here.

Hawaiian Airlines

Another island-hopping service in the South Pacific is Hawaiian Airlines once a week between Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) and Papeete. The service, which takes around five and a half hours, departs from HNL on a Saturday afternoon before returning as an overnight service from Papeete later that evening. HA uses its Airbus A330-200 on the route.

United Airlines

Relaunched in June 2021, United Airlines links San Francisco and Papeete five times a week with a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Get a flight from SFO to Papeete here.