South Pacific Island Airways served the airport during the early 1980s with nonstop Boeing 707 flights to Honolulu. Also during the early 1980s, Air New Zealand, Polynesian Airlines and UTA were all operating Boeing 737-200 service to Papeete from several South Pacific island locations including Apia, Nadi, Niue and Rarotonga while local Tahiti-based air carrier Air Polynesia (also known as Air Polynésie and now Air Tahiti) was serving a number of islands in French Polynesia with Fairchild F-27, Fokker F27 and de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprop aircraft . Hawaiian Airlines was operating nonstop Douglas DC-8 service from Papeete to Honolulu by the late 1980s. By 1987, Continental Airlines was operating nonstop McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 service twice a week from the airport to Los Angeles with this flight continuing on direct to Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH).