Tahiti Air Fare Sale Alert

To those of you traveling/thinking of traveling to Tahiti to take a Windstar Tahiti cruise,

who don't think Air Tahiti Nui fares ever go on sale,

think again.

I just received notice Air Tahiti Nui has dropped its round trip fares from/to LAX/PPT to $998 for travel from October 4, 2017 to January 31, 2018. I understand this doesn't help KathiB, however, maybe it will help someone else?

So when you purchase an all inclusive cruise package from Windstar and you're trying to determine the fair value of the air fare component which is included, now you know what number to plug in; $1,000.

Hope this helps someone(s) out there!

Thanks for the email. I was going to post the same. Very good deal. Sometime it is better to pay this price than to use your CC miles. If I had more vacation time i would go anytime at that price.

Thank you Dandee. I agree with you that sometimes it's better to pay for air transportation, rather than to use frequent flyer miles. Depending upon what it cost KathiB and her husband in AAdvantage miles, I cannot form an opinion insofar as her situation is concerned. And besides, she and her husband are not traveling until a year from now so this fare does her no good. But it is emblematic of the fact there WILL be future air fare sales.

Just in case anyone else is reading, after I made my post I read the "fine print." Maximum stay is 10 days, 9 nights. Although that may be just right for a week long Windstar cruise, it's NOT long enough for a 10 day cruise. And it may not be long enough if you want to spend more than 9 nights in Tahiti. And it may not be long enough if you can't get the days of travel you require to in order to take advantage of a Tahiti cruise.

What I am getting at is that most of the Air Tahiti Nui sales I have seen in the last four years are intentionally structured to limit your flexibility. That means booking some ground package with them or their travel partners. Kind of like the free stopover in PPT for up to a maximum of 5 days so you can't go to Bora Bora. Or the quick getaway that includes 3 nights in PPT where Air Tahiti allegedly "throws in for free."

Very, very rarely are you offered the option to stay or stopover in PPT for any extended length of time so you can actually do what you want to do. That is unless you pay full fare. Very calculated.

Notwithstanding, hopefully others on this Board will be able to take advantage of the sale fare and slip in a Windstar cruise.

Great sale, but as posters have mentioned it won't help us as we are going on our cruise July 1 -12 and pan to arrive in Tahiti June 26. We got our flights to Tahiti with miles...40,000 each for the one way fare. Later this month I will try to get our return flights with miles.

Air Tahit Nui seems to have this sale every year. It's a good price.

Agreed to a certain point BUT between going in Dec. and NEVER going to polynesia, I would still go :-) I"m very fortunate that my DW and I can take our vacation at the same time in the summer month.

Update -

Received an e-mail today from Air Tahiti Nui re: a new air sale. And this one IS worthy of consideration by all because according to the fine print, there is no artificial time limitation imposed on your stay in Tahiti. So here are the particulars:

LAX/AKL - $1,048/pp. Up to TWO free stopovers in PPT (conceivably one in each direction to/from AKL). Dates of travel - November 18, 2017 - May 31, 2018 (still not good enough for KathiB, but we're getting closer). Three nights of free accommodations in PPT (this is a good deal). First morning free breakfast in PPT (this is a good deal). Length of stay - minimum 7 days, maximum 45 days. Maximum stay in PPT - conceivably, 40+/- days (this is a good deal).

This is the fare my wife and I booked nearly nine months ago with the exception we didn't get three nights of free accommodations in PPT thrown in for free [but we didn't pay $1,048/pp either (our fare was less)].

I definitely like the free stopover in PPT (actually, conceivably two of them). I like the three free nights of accommodations in PPT (you definitely need at least one, and could do two nights in one direction, and a one in reverse - or vice versa). This makes up somewhat for the generally crappy arrival/departure times to/from PPT. I like the virtually unlimited stopover time in Tahiti. This gives you plenty of time for a 10-21 day Tahiti cruise, or an extended excursion to BOB. I like the continuation travel to AKL. If you haven't been to New Zealand, you really should. AKL is a wonderful city and from there it's easy to travel to New Zealand's South Island where you can visit Christchurch, Queenstown and world renowned wine country - Marlborough. There's just so much to see and do, the Kiwis speak English, they're refined and the currency exchange rate still favors the U.S. And at this price (I also like the price) you're basically getting a decent round trip fare to AKL with Tahiti thrown in for free! The only negative, and I really don't consider it much of a negative, is that you don't accrue frequent flyer mileage credit by taking advantage of this promotional fare.

If we weren't already traveling to Tahiti next month, I would definitely be taking advantage of this fare because IMO it really doesn't get much better! So for all of you out there on the fence, it's time to get off!

That is a great price. I am happy to report that yesterday we were lucky to get our 2 seats with miles on the return flight from Papeete to LAX. So now we have confirmed bookings of 2 round trip economy (ah well) flights to and from Tahiti for our Windstar cruise next July. Total cost for 2 tickets about $120. I have already made hotel reservations in Papeete for 2 days when we first arrive, then 3 nights on Moorea. Then we have our 11 day cruise followed by 3 nights on Bora Bora and 2 final nights in Papeete. So excited for this trip to Paradise! Thank you all for the various tips I have picked up already.

Cant't wait for retirement LOL

That is a great price. I am happy to report that yesterday we were lucky to get our 2 seats with miles on the return flight from Papeete to LAX. So now we have confirmed bookings of 2 round trip economy (ah well) flights to and from Tahiti for our Windstar cruise next July. Total cost for 2 tickets about $120. I have already made hotel reservations in Papeete for 2 days when we first arrive, then 3 nights on Moorea. Then we have our 11 day cruise followed by 3 nights on Bora Bora and 2 final nights in Papeete. So excited for this trip to Paradise! Thank you all for the various tips I have picked up already.

Good job KathiB! You were very fortunate to secure frequent flyer seats, especially for the dates you were looking for!

Yes, we are thrilled to have snagged frequent flyer seats. I was very diligent and called everyday for a few days before the dates I thought were the right booking dates (330 days prior to travel). I think if I had waited a week or two we would have lost out as Air Tahiti Nui only releases a few free seats.