Air Tahiti Nui, the leading international carrier to French Polynesia, has announced plans to renovate the interior of their aircraft by 2013 with cabin and in-flight entertainment (IFE) upgrades.
Upgrades within the PoeravaBusiness class will include an increased capacity to 32 new 160-degree reclining shell seats, from the current 24 standard seats that recline to 154-degrees. Air Tahiti Nui’s coach class, or MoanaClass customers will have new lighter seats in the 264-seat cabin. Both classes will get an enhanced Audio-Video on Demand (AVOD) system that will offer a selection of first-run movies, music, and games.
These upgrades have two other benefits: The lighter seats mean less jet fuel is needed for flights, which both reduces the planes' carbon footprints and means lower fuel surcharges. (The planes will reportedly be 3.5 tons lighter, and the annual savings are estimated to be around $2 million.)
Air Tahiti Nui also announced an extension of their lease contract with International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) through 2018-2020, allowing Air Tahiti Nui to service their flight routes to Tahiti and Her Islands with their fleet of four Airbus A340 planes. With the renewal and terms of this lease, the board announced a projected saving of $8 million in revenue over the next four years, with $1.4 million applied to the 2011 fiscal year.
Air Tahiti Nui’s plans in the coming years also include replacing the Airbus A340 fleet between 2018-2020 with the new generation of long-range aircrafts.
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