Air Tahiti brings forward launch of all-business class ATR72

By Andrew Curran.

Air Tahiti has brought forward the start of its all-business class ATR72-600 flights to November 11. The airline had previously planned to debut the service in mid-December.

Air Tahiti’s recently delivered ATR72-600, F-OPFO (msn 1821), is configured with 26 seats rather than the 68 seats installed in the airline’s nine other ATR72s.

Air Tahiti says it will become the first scheduled airline in the world to operate an all-business class ATR aircraft.

As reported by AeroRoutes, the aircraft will start flying a Papeete (PPT) – Bora Bora (BOB) – Raiatea (RFP) – Papeete rotation five times weekly from mid-November, with the same variation of frequencies and rotations continuing over the remainder of the year.

The flights will primarily serve well-heeled travellers shuttling between French Polynesia’s main airport and its many resorts.

The 55-centimetre-wide seats, manufactured by Italy’s Geven, are similar to recliner-style business class seats available on jet aircraft. F-OPFO has 13 rows of seats in a 1-1 layout.

The aircraft is one of four ATR72s ordered at the Farnborough Airshow in 2024. The first, F-OPFN (msn 1718), was delivered in mid-2025. F-OPFO was the second aircraft delivered from the order. The remaining two aircraft will be delivered in 2027 and 2028.

With the addition of F-OPFO, Air Tahiti operates 13 ATRs, including two ATR42-600s and 11 ATR72-600s. Air Tahiti is French Polynesia’s domestic airline and should not be confused with Air Tahiti Nui, which is French Polynesia’s international airline. Both airlines are majority-owned by the Government of French Polynesia.

Photo: Air Tahiti.
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com