HOW AIR TAHITI NUI BECAME AN ICONIC AND PROFITABLE BOUTIQUE AIRLINE By Shashank Nigam, CEO, SimpliFlying
The airline industry is a very competitive one. The traditional airline models – legacy and low cost – don’t always succeed, as we can see in the aftermath of any global crises. Air Tahiti Nui offers a glimpse into an alternate business model – a boutique airline that is also profitable. In good times and bad, airlines often struggle to turn a profit. Air Tahiti Nui is a boutique airline that has carved a profitable niche for itself – one that’s deeply ingrained its Polynesian culture across touchpoints. Post-COVID-19, the aviation industry needs to look beyond traditional business models to thrive and Air Tahiti Nui provides a promising alternative. I travelled to Tahiti to find out. The result is this mini-documentary that we are releasing today based primarily on interviews with key executives.
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AMM - July 2020
What It’s Like To Fly Air Tahiti Nui After a long late-night trek through the security and retails shops at Los Angeles Airport’s Tom Bradley International Terminal, both the kids (and us too!) were exhausted. It totally did not help that there were five or six international flights boarding from the same gate areas to cities ranging from Singapore to Hong Kong. The kids were now cranky. But as we squeezed through the crowds, we were pleasantly surprised to see the bright and cheerful uniforms the Air Tahiti Nui ground crew were wearing. After getting bussed to the aircraft, we finally boarded an aircraft adorned with tattoos! As we stepped into the Tahitian Dreamliner, our stress melted away. The unique fragrance of a tropical flower emanated
