Early seaplane operations The company was founded in July 1950 by Jean Arbelot and Marcel Lasserre, operating between
Papeete,
Raiatea, and
Bora Bora using a 7-seater seaplane, a
Grumman Widgeon J-4F. In 1951, the French Ministry for the Overseas purchased on behalf of the Territory a
Grumman Mallard amphibian aircraft, which the airline was allowed to use. The route was discontinued in June 1952 when
TEAL extended its service to Papeete. The airline temporarily ceased all operations in July 1952 after a crash injured its only pilot, but services resumed in April 1953 after an Australian pilot was recruited. Gradually, Air Tahiti spread its wings to all the islands of French Polynesia. In 1953, the first landing in the Gambier archipelago was achieved. Originally operating in an orange livery, these aircraft later adopted green and blue. The construction of Papeete's
Faa'a International Airport in 1960 was followed by a vast construction program of runways across French Polynesia, and RAI's fleet shifted away from seaplanes towards conventional aircraft.
Air Polynésie In 1970, RAI rebranded again as Air Polynésie. the company asserted more of its Polynesian identity and implemented regular services throughout French Polynesia and especially to the more remote islands. The airline had a "virtual monopoly" due to a convention with the territorial government. In late 1984, faced with a need for new capital to purchase modern aircraft, it threatened to wind itself up unless a loan was guaranteed by the territorial government.
Air Tahiti again In 1985, the former
UTA (by then absorbed by Air France) sold a majority of Air Polynesia shares, with 25% being given to the French Polynesian government and the remaining 45% sold to local investors. In 1987, the airline was again rebranded as Air Tahiti, using a fleet of
ATR 42 regional turboprop aircraft. Between 1987 and 2007, it quadrupled its passenger-kilometres travelled, from 75 million to 315 million. == Destinations ==