Air Tahiti Nui (TN, Papeete) is considering either the A330neo or the A350 Family of aircraft as potential replacements for its fleet of five A340-300s. The Tahiti Infos news site says the carrier is looking to acquire either four upgraded A330s or A350-900s. Given order backlogs with manufacturers Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) and Boeing (BOE, Washington National), Air Tahiti Nui will likely only take delivery of its first new aircraft in 2019/2020 at the earliest.
"It is not we who define the schedule, it is the manufacturers," CEO Michel Monvoisin said. "At this point in time, we have to consider that the best possible delivery date [for new jets] will be in either 2019 or 2020."
The renewal plan has taken on a strong degree of urgency given that the expiration in 2017 of a French law exempting tax on investments in France's overseas territories (Loi de Développement économique des outremers - Lodeom) could result in each aircraft costing EUR67million (USD83.9million) more. To help improve planning in its territories, Paris has promised to issue a final decision concerning the law's future next year.
