Air Tahiti Nui to Fly 8 Times Weekly Between Los Angeles and Papeete This Summer.

Business & Travel Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 23, 2002

In an unprecedented offer of capacity in the North America to French Polynesia market, Air Tahiti Nui announced today that it will offer 8 weekly flights between Los Angeles and Papeete for the peak summer months beginning June 29 and operating until October 27.

Flights will operate every day, with double-daily scheduled for Sunday, the peak travel day for Tahiti's large honeymooner market according to Wally Sumner, the airline's Vice President-North America. Sumner noted that returning flights from Papeete to Los Angeles will operate every day except Wednesdays, with 2 daily flights scheduled on both Tuesdays and Fridays.

"Never before has a carrier offered such a schedule between the U.S. and Tahiti," Sumner said. "Not only are we providing daily service from Los Angeles to Tahiti, we are giving passengers the option of departing both at 1:00 PM on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays or in the late evenings on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. With this expanded schedule, Air Tahiti Nui will be able to offer connections to passengers originating throughout Canada and the United States," he pointed out.

Air Tahiti Nui inaugurated service between Papeete and Los Angeles in November of 1998 using an Airbus A-340-200 aircraft. This summer, the airline will provide 8 weekly flights to French Polynesia on three of the modern high-technology aircraft and will also provide service from Papeete to Tokyo, Osaka, Auckland, and in code-share with Qantas, service to Sydney.

May 5th also represented another milestone in the history of the airline with the inauguration of its transatlantic service from Los Angeles to Paris which will operate three times this summer. Air Tahiti Nui has already registered heavy demand for these flights, from North Americans as well as Europeans.

The airline has earned an excellent reputation for on-time performance and in-flight service and is a vital part of the economy of French Polynesia. The airline's success in North America can be attributed in large part to the excellent relationship it enjoys with tour operators, travel agents and cruise operators who specialize in Tahiti, Sumner pointed out.

To contact Air Tahiti Nui for more information, the public is invited to call the reservations center at [phone] or visit the airline's web site at http://www.flyatn.com.