Air Tahiti

The company was founded in July 1950 by Jean Arbelot and Marcel Lasserre, : 95  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.: 95  In May 1951 it inaugurated a fortnightly mail service between Papeete and Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, only for the first flight to be turned away due to concerns about Polio. 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.: 95  In October 1953, the first flight to the Marquesas islands took place with a sea-landing at Taiohae / Nuku Hiva.