Flight check: Papeete to Auckland on Air Tahiti Nui

The plane:

A rather tired Airbus A340. Interior quite scruffy.

Class: Economy.

Price: $705 one way.

Flight time: Scheduled for 5hr, 50mins. Our flight was on time.

My Seat: 26A. Window seat with very limited leg room. The seating is 2-4-2 on this aircraft, which is very cramped.

Fellow passengers: Mainly Kiwis returning home from holiday. Some other passengers connecting with ongoing flights.

How full? About 95 per cent.

Entertainment: There was a small screen with a very limited choice of viewing options.

Food and drink: Very poor considering this was an early morning departure on an almost six-hour flight. A very basic breakfast with no choice was served shortly after take-off. The crew then made one further circuit of the cabin, offering water only. We never saw them again until landing.

Toilets: Tired and not particularly clean. The soap ran out halfway through the flight and was not replenished.

Luggage: Economy Class passengers are allowed a bag weighing up to 23kg - no problem.

The airport experience: Adequate, considering Tahiti is a very small airport.

Would I fly this again? Definitely not. This is a Code Share with Air New Zealand who offer a much better flight experience, even on their elderly B767 on this route.