Original Air France travel poster issued in 1973 to promote the airline’s newly opened Tokyo–Tahiti–Lima route, featuring a photograph by French photographer and filmmaker Christian Zuber.
Introduced in cooperation with UTA on 1 April 1973, this pioneering transpacific service operated twice weekly using Boeing 707 Intercontinental aircraft. Connecting Japan, French Polynesia and Peru, it established a direct link between Asia and South America while allowing the Air France network to extend completely around the globe.
Zuber’s photograph presents Tahiti as an unspoiled tropical paradise. Tall coconut palms lean dramatically across a secluded white-sand beach, bordering a calm turquoise lagoon beneath an expansive blue sky. A couple walking beside the water provides a discreet human presence while emphasizing the scale, tranquillity and apparent isolation of the landscape.
The restrained photographic composition is contrasted by the poster’s bold typography. The classic blue Air France name dominates the upper margin, while Tokyo, Tahiti and Lima appear at the bottom in flowing pink, orange and purple lettering. These saturated colours and rounded letterforms give the poster a distinctly early-1970s character while clearly identifying the three destinations served by the new route.
Christian Zuber was a French photographer, documentary filmmaker, writer and explorer known for travelling extensively through Africa, the Galápagos Islands, Polynesia and other remote regions. He later became widely recognised for his television series Caméra au poing and for his commitment to wildlife and environmental conservation. His familiarity with Polynesia enabled him to create an image that is both an attractive piece of airline advertising and a compelling travel photograph.
Printed in Paris by IROPA, this original poster is an evocative document from an important moment in Air France’s international expansion. Combining aviation history, tropical photography and unmistakable 1970s graphic design, it is particularly appealing to collectors of original airline posters, travel memorabilia and vintage photographic advertising.
Original Poster
Airline - Tourism - France
Palm tree
Printed by Iropa in Paris
Good condition, creases
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