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BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
19 June, 2005, Paris: Air Tahiti Nui has taken delivery of its 5th Airbus A340-300, christened “Nuku Hiva” after a French Polynesian island, at a function at the Paris Le Bourget airshow. Guests were invited to visit the plane which was tugged to a parking slot before the Airbus pavilion where it will stay on display till this Sunday. Airbus Vice President Guy Brunon handed over the plane to Air Tahiti Nui chairman Patrick Leboucher.
Air Tahiti Nui will use its new aircraft, which is its first Airbus A340-300 Enhanced, to inaugurate non-stop services from Papeete to New York in early July, helping the growth of Tahiti’s expanding tourism sector.
Air Tahiti Nui started flying in 1998 with the Airbus A340 and currently has an extensive network across the Pacific ocean, with services from Papeete to Australia, France, Japan, New Zealand and the United States.
The A340-300E in Air Tahiti Nui’s configuration seats 294 passengers in a three class layout. It is powered by an enhanced version of CFM International’s CFM56-5C engines, which has better fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs.
BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
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