A regional turboprop designed for 20-minute island hops is currently crossing the world. Air Tahiti's newest ATR 72-600, registered F-OPFO, left the ATR factory at Toulouse-Blagnac in France on a ferry trip of roughly 14,450 miles to Papeete, stopping at eight airports along the way over about six days.

The routing reads like a round-the-world itinerary: Cairo, Muscat, Hyderabad, Subang in Malaysia, Lombok, Cairns, Nadi in Fiji, and finally Tahiti's Faa'a International Airport. That's impressive for a type with a published range of just 851 miles at full passenger load — these sectors stretch past 2,000 miles each, only possible because the aircraft is flying nearly empty with carefully planned fuel reserves. The longest leg, Fiji to French Polynesia, covers about 2,170 miles over open ocean.

What's waiting in Tahiti is the real story for travellers. This isn't a normal 68-seat ATR. Under ATR's HighLine All-Business Class concept — only the second airline to adopt it after Malaysia's Berjaya Air — the cabin holds just 26 seats in 13 rows of 1-1, meaning everyone gets a window and direct aisle access. The Italian-made Geven ETEREA seats are 21.6 inches wide with 39 inches of pitch and a generous 7-inch recline, plus a personal side console, storage and USB-A and USB-C charging. There are no overhead bins, giving the cabin an executive-jet feel, and the aircraft wears a Polynesian-inspired livery called Ānapanapa.

The aircraft will fly under the Air Tahiti Signature brand, launching November 11 after reservations opened earlier than the originally planned December 8 start. Expect five weekly morning triangular rotations of Papeete–Bora Bora–Raiatea–Papeete, plus afternoon flights and nonstops to Bora Bora. Individual legs run from 20 minutes (Bora Bora to Raiatea) to around 55 minutes (Papeete to Bora Bora). Signature passengers also get dedicated lounges in Tahiti and Bora Bora and priority ground handling.

The logic is straightforward: French Polynesia's luxury resorts — Bora Bora's overwater villas in particular — draw guests who've flown long-haul in business class, and Air Tahiti wants the final hop to feel like part of the same experience. The gamble is commercial, though: carrying 26 people instead of 68 means each ticket has to earn far more revenue, so premium fares and charters will need to fill the gap. The airline's wider network spans 47 destinations across French Polynesia, with a codeshare with Air Tahiti Nui linking international arrivals to domestic flights.

For anyone planning a splurge trip to the islands, this adds a genuinely new option to the Tahiti–Bora Bora route — a short flight that feels closer to a private charter than a commuter hop.