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As the islands of French Polynesia lay a fair distance
apart, flying is by far the fastest and most convenient way of travel.
Between the Society Islands (Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Huahine and
Raiatea), count on a flighttime of 20 to 50 minutes.
Air Tahiti
has flights several times daily between Papeete and Bora Bora, Moorea
(also serviced by Air Moorea), Huahine, Raiatea, Rangiroa and many of the
Tuamotu Islands with several flights a week. They feature a fleet of
comfortable and well maintained ATR 45/75 passengers planes which are
reliable and always on time.
From Tahiti to the
Tuamotu Islands (Rangiroa and Manihi) count on 1,5 hours. Flights to
Marquisas Islands (Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa) typically take 3 hours. A flight
to Easter Island from Tahiti will take about 6 hours. We offer the
following Airlines for local flights.
The network includes 38 islands scattered over
the full dimension of Polynesia : by superposing the map of the network
with that of Europe, we would find Tahiti at Paris, Nuku-Hiva at Oslo,
Mangareva at Bucarest and Rurutu at Marseilles.
The shortest route is 15
km (Tahiti-Moorea), and the longest 1600 km (Tahiti-Mangareva). Traffic
varies from several hundred passengers per day on certain routes and just
a few dozen per month on others.
Airports
& Airstrips
The
38 runways of the network have different characteristics which have an
influence on the choice of aircraft scheduling and also on payload. Most
of these runways are paved and offer the best landing conditions today.
Still, the most rudimentary airstrips are
unpaved and built with coral soup : this
is the case for some of the geographically isolated airfields in the
Eastern Tuamotu, which are operated by the Dornier .This is the reason why
the aircraft have to be fitted with special protectors against coral
projections.
Refueling To
increase the merchant load for flights departing from Tahiti, Air Tahiti
makes use of kerosene stocked in the islands. These refueling points
permit the carrier to transport extra passengers on the outbound flight
instead of the fuel necessary for the return. The 200 liter barrels are
delivered by schooner to far off islands with a shipping time that can
take up to several weeks, and they are administered taking into account
that the stock life of the fuel is a year from the time it is barreled.
The adjustment of fuel prices between Tahiti and the islands, a result of
the government policy to develop the islands, helps support this refueling
system without affecting fares.
For more
information on domestic flights in French
Polynesia, go to:
For
more general information
on French Polynesia, go to: |
