Aircalin Arvostelua 5

Our flight SB600 was delayed due to a technical issue, and we were eventually left at the airport in the middle of the night with a baby and all our luggage. What made this even worse was the false information we were given. The ground staff in New Caledonia clearly called around, and I asked several times whether someone would be available in Tahiti to help us. I was reassured three or four times that someone would definitely be there and that everything would be taken care of. That turned out not to be true.
Instead of proper assistance, we received conflicting information and were left to figure everything out ourselves. The communication was terrible, the organization was chaotic, and the whole handling of the situation was completely unacceptable. For families traveling with a baby, this kind of treatment is especially frustrating and stressful.

Wir waren im Dezember von Nadi nach Papeete mit Aircalin geflogen.
Es war das 1. Mal mit dieser Airline und wir waren angenehm überrascht, da eigentlich alles gepasst hatte.
Wir hatten bequeme Sitze, sehr gutes Entertainment, der Flieger war recht neu und die Crew sehr nett mit tollem Service.
Die Verpflegung war völlig ok und es gab ausreichend und regelmässig zu trinken.

Tolle Airline, welche wir uns positiv im Gedächtnis behalten und gern wieder buchen werden.

Excellente compagnie aérienne.

On a voyagé avec 1 bébé et 1 enfant en bas âge lors d'un Paris-Bangkok aller et retour en direct.

Tout a été fait pour nous faciliter la vie.

Staff aux petits oignons, très professionnel.

Nourriture très bonne (sauf le petit-déjeuner, assez mauvais)

Bon tarifs
Avion moderne
Le personnel allait régulièrement nettoyer les toilettes (toutes les heures).

Good company, but very not transparent on the luggage allowance and meals

Aircalin is a new caledonian company which fly from or to french territories with very abusive rates as they have the monopoly to fly to/from Noumea and to/from Wallis and Futuna (french territories in Oceania). Flights are short and very expensive and i paid this flight the same rate than a Business flight in Europe for the same distance.
I am a Platinum frequent flyer and according to the level of the rate in Economy class, i requested before boarding a free upgrade as a Platinum member. They refused but they said i can buy it for 400 US$ ! and of course i refused such crazy rate for 90 minutes flight.
But when i was boarding the plane, in front of me, one staff member recognized one friend and said its friend can seat in the business class when the guy was on his way to the economy class. I eard all the conversation and it happened.
So the frequent flyer program is just a "mirage" as it is supposed to offer you, sometimes, free upgrades but on Aircalin : this advantage is reserved to the staff's friends and not for the customers which spend a lot money buying tickets.
Two years ago, i had already problems with Aircalin : when i wanted to check my flight 2 days before flying to Nadi, i realized there was no flight but i never received any email to cancel the flight and suggest me another flight. So i called in emergency the "customer service" (very inappropriate name for Aircalin) and the only solution was to advance my flight of 1 day. So i accepted because i don't have any choice and i loose 300 euros : i had a rental car for few days and the last day was paid and non refundable, as well as my hotel for 1 night. Also i loose 1 day vacations as i have to fly to Auckland, wait there and then go to Nadi, and i had to book a new hotel in Nadi when i had already paid a room in New Caledonia. I claimed the refund of 300 euros because Aircalin made a mistake when they forgot to send an email for the flight cancellation but they never answered. So it's how Aircalin resolved the problems : ignoring you.
For years, I used many times Aircalin associated with Airfrance (connection Tokyo) to reach the pacific area from Europe in business class.
But because of the very bad "customer service" and services, now i fly with KoreanAir which is more serious and confortable (real lying business class seats which was not the case with Aircalin) with better food.
So their rates are abusive and also the behavior of the staff who offers free upgrades to their friends "off-records" when they see them onboard. Normally free upgrades for travellers are decided by the manager of the airline in the airport before boarding and you have a boarding pass mentionning the upgrade and your new seat. So with Aircalin, rules are broken.
so i don't advice to fly with this company for expensive rates, bad behavior and unprofessional customer services.