11 October, 2017

Air Tahiti and ATR celebrate 30 year partnership

There was much celebration as Air Tahiti and plane maker ATR celebrate 30 years of working together.  Since the very beginning, Air Tahiti has been one of the cornerstones of the ATR programme, with the arrival of its first ATR 42 in Tahiti on January 21st, 1987. At the time, the airline chose the ATR as the most efficient solution to the problem of connectivity presented by Polynesia’s islands.  Air Tahiti operates a huge network in a space as large as Europe. The ATR quickly proved itself, with its flexibility allowing it to be the optimal tool on the atolls’ short runways as well as for much longer journeys.


ATR and Air Tahiti have grown together, with the success of one creating new opportunities for the other. Throughout all of the technical evolutions of the aircraft, Air Tahiti has enriched its flight operations and opened new routes, with the longest connecting Tahiti and Mangareva (1,600 km). The reliability of the ATR, its easy maintenance, high comfort and low operating costs have continuously convinced the airline to expand its fleet with new aircraft.


The Air Tahiti fleet in operation today is comprised of two ATR 42-600s, six ATR 72-600s and two ATR 72-500s. The airline’s 33 ATRs have clocked 484,170 flight hours between January 1987 and the end of August 2017, equivalent to 4,842 circumnavigations of the Earth.

Two liveries inspired by Polynesian tattoos have been created for the occasion of this 30-year partnership. Symbolising an essential link between people, islands and archipelagos, they will adorn the two ATRs received by the airline in 2016 and 2017



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