Air Tahiti Nui CEO sacked, airline compared to ailing bride

By Andrew Curran.

Air Tahiti Nui needs to get its house in order if it is serious about attracting a foreign investment partner, according to French Polynesian President Moetai Brotherson, who welcomed in the new year by sacking the airline’s CEO, Philippe Marie.

The move comes eighteen months after the French Polynesian Government tapped Marie to lead the ailing 85% state-owned carrier and make finding an investor, preferably a blue chip foreign airline, a strategic priority.

“When you're looking for that kind of partner, the bride has to be attractive,” Brotherson told Radio 1 Tahiti earlier this week. “Right now, she's a bit unwell. She needs to recover."

Brotherson’s comments come six months after management consulting firm Arthur D. Little handed over a report commissioned by the government. The report recommended restructuring Air Tahiti Nui’s network and fleet.

Air Tahiti Nui lost XPF2.8 billion (USD27.3 million) in 2024 and, since its inception in 1996, has accumulated losses of XPF22 billion (USD215 million).

After the report's release, Air Tahiti Nui announced it would suspend services to Seattle (SEA) after losing XPF1.68 billion (USD16.4 million) operating the route in 2024.

Brotherson picky about Air Tahiti Nui investor partners

Brotherson wants to re-invent Air Tahiti Nui. He says the overhaul of Fiji Airways is a template. But the president believes that if a investor stepped in now, they might be inclined to “dismantle” the airline, which Brotherson argues is an “instrument of sovereignty.” However, the president also admits this view made it harder for Marie to find an investor

Across 2024 and 2025, Marie and the government held some talks with some Asian and US carriers, but none progressed to a deal.

Marie, a Papeete-based executive with experience in banking, government, and aviation, was always less starry-eyed than the president about the chances of Air Tahiti Nui snagging the right kind of investor.

"We first need to be in a position to present a solid proposal,” Marie told local journalists last year, saying the airline was recovering but continued to lose money.

Brotherson now seems to accept that to find a suitable investor focused on re-invention rather than “picking up what's left of Air Tahiti Nui and then leave,” the airline needs to get its affairs in order.

Former Air Tahiti Nui executives take a slightly different view.

"A private company will never acquire a stake in a company whose governance depends on the whims of politicians,” Marie’s predecessor, Michel Monvoisin, told Radio 1 Tahiti in mid-2024, shortly after getting the axe.

Government will continue to support Air Tahiti Nui

But Brotherson says the government will continue to prop up Air Tahiti Nui and consider new aircraft and routes. The airline operates four B787-9s to Los Angeles (LAX) (its only profitable route), Paris (CDG), Tokyo (NRT), and Auckland (AKL). The president says the airline is likely to resume flights to Sydney (SYD) after the Seattle services stop on February 1, 2026.

The Arthur D. Little report recommended restarting flights to Sydney (suspended in 2009) and increasing frequencies to Auckland to tap into tourist traffic from that side of the Pacific, which has far less capacity into French Polynesia than from the American side.

French Polynesia depends heavily on tourism - one reason why Brotherson places so much importance on keeping Air Tahiti Nui in the air.

“This transformation must take place, we must breathe new life into Air Tahiti Nui,” he said this week. “I think what they need today is leadership that can mobilise (employees), train them, and give them a clear vision of where they want to go."

According to local media, Lionel Guérin, the current CEO of Air Moana and former Air France executive, is in the box seat to take over from Marie, whose last day at Air Tahiti Nui is January 8.

Photo: AI-generated.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com