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Aircalin Airbus A320-200neo
Operating Aircraft
Aircalin's first Airbus A320-200neo; F-OTIB "Tibarama", operated this flight. The aircraft was three years old when this flight was flown, and is powered by two Pratt and Whitney PW1127G engines. The aircraft was built and first delivered to Aircalin in December 2020, where it still island-hops to this day. The aircraft is still quite a young aircraft, and this showed with how clean it was and appeared to have been very well looked-after.
Cabin
The cabin was quite full with the occasional spare seat here and there spread throughout. The cabin was pretty quiet on this flight. It was very nice and clean and was in great condition. The cabin had mood lighting, and was used throughout the entire flight.
Seating
I pre-paid for a seat on this flight. I selected to sit in seat 6F for this flight; this seat is in the 'Standard' seating zone, costing AU$8. Onboard Aircalin's Airbus A320-200neo there are 168 leather seats total in 28 rows in an all 3-3 configuration, despite having a premium economy class and main economy class cabin. Rows 1 and 2 are in premium economy, and have the middle seats blocked off. Rows 3-29 are in economy class (row 13 does not exist). On the aircraft, Aircalin advertises having eight premium economy seats with four 'additional space' seats (these are the four middle seats in premium economy class). In economy class there are six 'comfort' seats (row 12), there are 18 'preferential' seats (rows 3-5) and the remaining 132 are standard economy class seats. Seat pitch across all seats is 30 inches with a width of roughly inches. Seat 6F was very comfortable. I found the legroom in this seat to be very generous.
Inflight Customer Service
Aircalin flight attendants carried out the inflight service. They were very bubbly and friendly, and carried out the service with great professionalism. They greeted everyone in French, but also reverted to English if needed. Still, it was great to try and converse in French with them. They were very appreciative of some positive feedback I gave them, and they were happy to take a photo with me after the flight, which I was very thankful for.
Inflight Entertainment
The seat pocket contained the safety card and air sickness bags. There is no physical inflight magazine offered, but there is literature on the electronic inflight entertainment system. Personal electronic inflight entertainment is on hand with a large touch screen in front of the passenger on the back of the seat infront. There is a very wide array of movies, books, music, television and games available from all genres and all cultural backgrounds. Aircalin is an airline where you can purchase gifts and gadgets such as model aircraft other gifts which is a great thing to see, and I geeked out and bought both model aircraft options available. There is a headphone jack and a USB charging port under the screen. There is inflight Wi-Fi is available, but I was having issues connecting. The lack of inflight magazine can be a slight downside to those who do not have means of inflight entertainment, but there are a myriad of options availavle on the system at their fingertips, and I found the touchscreen to be very responsive.
Photos
The operating aircraft taxiing to terminal 1 gate 55 at Sydney Airport after flight SB140 from Nouméa
Views from the jetway whilst boarding
Premium economy class seats
Economy class seats
Massive IFE screens!
Legroom
Seat 6F
Taxiing for takeoff
Takeoff from runway 34R
Cleaning up on takeoff. Photo by Grahame Hutchison
Cabin inflight with incredible mood lighting
Inflight meal - poisson (fish) with mashed potato and vegetables, and a box with a TimTam, bread, cheese and crackers, bottle of water and cutlery
Inflight at 39,000 feet
Gorgeous winglet
Cabin inflight
Drinking cups I asked to keep as souvenirs
Duty-free purchases
Seat 26A
Seat 27F
Descending into Nouméa's La Tontouta Airport
Landing on runway 11
Parked up at gate 2
Economy class cabin
Seat 20A
View from the jetway whilst disembarking
The day is done for F-OTIB
Final Verdict
First off, I must say that some very well-known aviation reviewers have not put Aircalin in a positive light, unfortunately. But I did not let these opinions sway my views and I went with an open mind, keen for a new experience and the excitement of trying a new airline. I was very, very impressed with what was offered with this flight. I feel that Aircalin has a great product on their Airbus A320-200neo aircraft. The aircraft seat was comfortable and the cabin was very clean with very good mood lighting. The inflight catering was superb with a delicious meal offered. The inflight entertainment system had a lot of very good options available, I enjoyed the external cameras that were able to be viewed. The biggest highlight for me was the cabin crew, who were very friendly from the moment we stepped onboard the aircraft. I enjoyed practising my French skills with them, and they were very patient with me and we had some good conversations (mostly in English) about Nouméa (it was my first time there). Merci beaucoup Aircalin!
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