Input on Air Travel from US West Coast to Papeete

We're looking at a cruise that starts & ends in Papeete....flying from Seattle (or another West Coast airport).....would appreciate any input or traveler experience that anybody has.....airline/prices/comfort/extras....TIA

Air New Zealand gets great reviews even for it's coach class seats. We haven't flown them, but friends did and loved it.

Air Tahiti Nui flys from LAX but have heard their seats are kind of cramped

7.5 to 8 hour flight from LAX

Your choices are limited, basically Air France or Air Tahiti Nui with a connection at LAX, or Hawaiian Airlines with a connection at Honolulu. I'd personally pick Hawaiian, since their coach seats are slightly wider and legroom equal or an inch more than on either AF or TN, and total flight time from Seattle (counting the layover) is roughly the same as the quickest combo through LAX (but without the hassle of LAX.)

Hawaiian also has "comfort" economy seating - more legroom, similar to "Economy Plus" on United or "Main Cabin Extra" on American. This is NOT a "premium economy" product like that offered on Air France's 777s from LAX, but the additional cost is considerably less than the PE flights on AF metal. If you're up for business class, then the Air France option is definitely better; Hawaiian's premium cabin is more like domestic first class than international business class. But that comes at a price that's a lot higher than economy or "comfort" economy as well as Premium Economy.

Hawaiian doesn't fly HNL-PPT every day, so you'll need to look at your dates to be sure that's an option. However, they allow a free stopover in Hawaii in both directions, so you might use that option to reduce the impact of jetlag on this long-distance trip.

Thanks for the replies....we're looking at an October, 2018 cruise & it's too early (or late) to check prices.....anybody have a ballpark idea of airline fares?