When you think of paradise what comes to mind? Hawaii, Maldives, French Polynesia, Bali, Thailand, etc., right? All of those places are so beautiful that you have to visit some of them in your lifetime. While some of these places are easy to get to on miles and points, others can be more challenging… especially in Business Class. Depending on where you are in the world, some of these places can be closer to home while others can seem a lifetime away. Let’s review on how you can fly Business Class to French Polynesia with miles or points.
Today’s reader question is as follows:
Hello,
I would love to see articles on booking award flights to Bora Bora lay flat.
Thanks,
Melissa B.
Thanks for your question, Melissa! We are happy to discuss all of the options available to you.
The Difference Between Tahiti and Bora Bora
First let’s get something out of the way – all international flights arrive in Papeete on the island of Tahiti, French Polynesia.
From there you have to pay for a local, domestic flight on Air Tahiti to fly to Bora Bora (or any other island in French Polynesia). Some of these domestic flights are under an hour each but cost around $300 – which is fairly steep. The only way to use miles or points for domestic Air Tahiti flights is to book them through a bank travel portal like Chase Ultimate Rewards and apply some of your points towards a cash ticket.
There isn’t a way to book an award ticket outright on Air Tahiti, the domestic airline within French Polynesia. This is a different airline than Air Tahiti Nui, on which you can redeem miles (it is the international airline of French Polynesia).
Flying to French Polynesia with Miles
What airlines can you fly to French Polynesia with miles in Business Class? Thankfully, there are several options available to you. Below is the list of traditional airlines on which you can use miles or points to fly to Papeete:
- Air France
- Los Angeles
- Air New Zealand
- Auckland
- Air Tahiti Nui
- Auckland
- Los Angeles
- Seattle
- Tokyo
- Aircalin
- Nadi
- Noumea
- Delta Air Lines
- Los Angeles
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Honolulu
- United Airlines
- San Francisco
All of these airlines offer a Business Class product to Tahiti, and most of the time it will be a lie-flat seat.
If redeeming an award ticket, you will end your journey in Papeete (PPT) and then have to buy a separate, cash flight on to Bora Bora (or any other island).
Which Airline Has The Most Award Availability?
Taking a look at the airline list, you’d think that there would be plenty of mileage seats available since so many airlines operate flights to Tahiti. In Economy Class, generally, yes, you can find an award seat for a few people on one flight. However, Business Class is a little different.
Tahiti’s international airline, Air Tahiti Nui, offers the most award availability in Business Class to North America on their Seattle and Los Angeles routes.
United Airlines to San Francisco and Hawaiian Airlines to Honolulu occasionally do have award seats available in Business Class, but definitely less (at the saver-level) than Air Tahiti Nui. This is followed by Air France and Delta which operate flights to Los Angeles, but rarely have any award space available to partner airlines and if you want to book a flight in Business Class on this route you’d most likely have to use their own frequent flyer program through which they would charge you an insane amount of miles.
If you are planning a bigger trip to the South Pacific, you could also fly to Auckland on Air New Zealand or Air Tahiti Nui or perhaps to Nadi, Fiji or Noumea, New Caledonia on Aircalin and visit more of the beautiful region.
Finding Award Availability and Redeeming Miles
What’s the best way to search for award availability on these routes and what are the best miles to redeem?
- to search award availability, you will want to search for the nonstop flight from Papeete to where you want to fly on one of the routes above
the best ways to search for award space on these airlines is as follows:
- search via American Airlines or Alaska Airlines for Air Tahiti Nui flights
- search via Air Canada Aeroplan or United for Air New Zealand and United flights
- search via Air France/KLM Flying Blue for Air France, Aircalin, or Delta flights
- search via Delta for Air France or Delta flights
- search via Hawaiian for Hawaiian flights
If any of the airlines above make saver-level award space available, you can book it through one of their partner airlines.
Once you have found award availability, you will need to check what partner airlines’ miles you can use to book that flight. For example, you can redeem both American and Alaska Airlines miles for travel on Air Tahiti Nui in Business Class at great rates.
You can use any Star Alliance miles to fly Air New Zealand or United. If you want to book the Hawaiian Airlines flight to Honolulu, you can do so with Hawaiian Airlines directly or with one of their partners (like Virgin Atlantic) if there is saver-level space. The Air France and Delta flights will usually be only bookable through their own programs given the fact they rarely release saver-level award seats on these routes.
All in All: French Polynesia with Miles
The islands of French Polynesia are beyond breathtaking – whether you venture to Bora Bora or elsewhere, you are in for real paradise. If you plan ahead and have a diverse portfolio of miles and points, then it should be possible to redeem miles for a Business Class ticket to Tahiti – you may need to get creative with the route, but it should definitely be possible.
Remember that to hop from island to island, you will need to either take a ferry or fly Air Tahiti. If you are flying, you can use a bank travel portal and apply some of your points towards the cost of the (expensive) cash ticket within French Polynesia. When planning a trip, you have to book in advance as French Polynesia is very popular and award seats are limited. I recommend pairing the trip with another destination in the South Pacific – like Australia or Fiji.