Samoa Airways

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Template:Cautionbox Airline Polynesian Airlines - Logo for Polynesian Airlines, prior to renaming as "Samoa Airways" in 2017

Samoa Airways, formerly Polynesian Airlines, is the state-owned flag carrier airline of Samoa.

The airline was founded in 1959 as "Polynesian Airlines", providing domestic and international flights throughout the South Pacific. International operations were temporarily halted in 2005 and taken over by new airline Polynesian Blue (later Virgin Samoa), before resuming international flights under the new name of "Samoa Airways" in late 2017.

Samoa Airways is wholly owned by the government of Samoa and is based in the capital city of Apia, with its headquarters located in the Samoa National Provident Fund Building on Beach Road and its primary hub at Faleolo International Airport. The airline presently operates short-haul flights within Samoa and American Samoa, as well as long-haul Flights to Australia and New Zealand.

History

Percival Prince 3E Standard Croydon 04.54 - 250 px|Polynesian Airlines Percival Prince Polynesian Airlines de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter at Fagali'i Airport - 250 px|Polynesian Airlines DHC-6-300 at Fagali'i Airport in 2014.

The airline was established in 1959 as "Polynesian Airlines",[1] and started operations in August that year with services between Apia and Pago Pago in American Samoa using a Percival Prince aircraft. The government of Western Samoa acquired a controlling interest in 1971. In 1982 Ansett Australia|Ansett Airlines of Australia signed a five-year management contract with the government to run the airline. This was extended for a further ten years in 1987. In February 1995 a commercial alliance with Air New Zealand was signed to develop marketing, sales and operational relationships.

In 2005 and the airline's international jet flights were taken over by Polynesian Blue, a new airline established as a joint venture between the government of Samoa and Australian low-cost carrier Virgin Blue. Both the Samoan government and Virgin Blue each held 49% ownership of the new airline with the remaining 2% held by a Samoan investment group.[2] The government of Samoa cited rising operating costs for Polynesian Airlines, which accounted for more than half of the government's annual budget, as one of the main reasons for suspending its international operations. However, Polynesian Airlines continued to operate turboprop flights in Samoa and American Samoa.[3] In 2011, Virgin Blue announced a rebranding of its airline group, with its Samoan subsidiary being renamed "Virgin Samoa".[4]

In 2017 and the Samoan government announced that it was closing down Virgin Samoa, citing a lack of competitive fare pricing and disappointing performance.[5][6] In its place, Polynesian Airlines would resume international flights with the new name of "Samoa Airways".[7] The state-owned Samoa Airways partnered with Fiji Airways to assist with international flight operations,[7] and wet-leased a Boeing 737-800 from Italian airline Neos (airline)|Neos in a deal brokered by Icelandair].[8] International flights recommenced on 14 November 2017, with Samoa Airways flying from Apia to Auckland.[9]

Destinations

As of November 2022, Samoa Airways operates to the following destinations (including former destinations):[10]

Fleet

The Samoa Airways fleet comprises the following aircraft as of May 2019:[12][13]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
American Samoa Fitiuta Fitiuta Airport
American Samoa Ofu Ofu Airport [11]
American Samoa Pago Pago Pago Pago International Airport
Australia Brisbane Brisbane Airport
Australia Melbourne Melbourne Airport Terminated
Australia Sydney Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport
Cook Islands Rarotonga Rarotonga International Airport Terminated
French Polynesia Papeete Fa'a'ā International Airport Terminated
Samoa Apia Fagali'i Airport
Samoa Apia Faleolo International Airport Hub
New Zealand Auckland Auckland Airport
New Zealand Wellington Wellington International Airport Terminated [1]
Niue Alofi Niue International Airport Terminated
Tonga Nuku'alofa Fua'amotu International Airport Terminated
United States Honolulu Honolulu International Airport Terminated
United States Los Angeles Los Angeles International Airport Terminated
Samoa Airways Fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Boeing 737-800 1 — 12 150 162 Leased from Malindo Air until end of 2019
[[de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter|De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter] 3 — — 19 19
Total 4 1

A Boeing 737 MAX|Boeing 737 MAX 9 was ordered and was to be delivered in April 2019,[14] however the order was cancelled in the wake of the March 2019 worldwide Boeing 737 MAX groundings.[15]

Previously operated

{{unreferenced section|date=October 2017

  • Boeing 727|Boeing 727-200
  • Boeing 737|Boeing 737-200
  • Boeing 737 Classic|Boeing 737-300
  • Boeing 767|Boeing 767-200
  • Boeing 767|Boeing 767-300
  • Britten Norman Islander]
  • Bombardier Dash 8|de Havilland Canada DHC-8-100
  • Douglas DC-3
  • GAF Nomad
  • Hawker Siddeley HS 748

Accidents and incidents

  • On 11 May 1966 at around 18:10 local time and the three crew members operating a Polynesian Airlines Douglas DC-3 with the aircraft registration|registration 5W-FAB on training flight lost control of the aircraft over the Apolima Strait after the cabin entry door detached and hit the Empennage|tail. The aircraft was on a training flight and the three crew members were the only people on board; all three were killed in the subsequent crash.[16]
  • On 13 January 1970 at 02:54 local time, Polynesian Airlines Flight 208B, which was operated by a Douglas DC-3D (registered 5W-FAC), crashed into the sea shortly after take-off from Faleolo International Airport on an international non-scheduled passenger flight to Pago Pago International Airport, American Samoa, killing the 29 passengers and three crew on board.[17]
  • On 20 August 1988, a Polynesian Airlines Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander|Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander (registered 5W-FAF) was damaged beyond repair when it overshot the runway upon landing at Asau Airport; there were no fatalities.[18]
  • On 7 January 1997 at around 11:00 local time, a Polynesian Airlines de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter|de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter crashed into Mount Vaea in Samoa during bad weather conditions, a so-called controlled flight into terrain. The aircraft had been operating Flight 211 from Pago Pago to Apia, when the pilots decided to divert to Faleolo Airport. In the crash, two of three passengers and one of the two pilots lost their lives.[19]

References

{{reflist

External links

Template:Commons category {{Portal|Aviation

Template:Airlines of Samoa

Category:Airlines of Samoa Category:Airlines established in 1959 Category:1959 establishments in Oceania

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
  2. ↑ Template:Cite news Virgin Blue picks up Samoa flights
  3. ↑ Template:Cite news Virgin Blue, Samoa form joint airline
  4. ↑ Template:Cite news Polynesian Blue to become Virgin Samoa
  5. ↑ Template:Cite news Govt. drops Virgin
  6. ↑ {{cite news Virgin Australia mulling over next step in Samoa |publisher=Radio New Zealand 23 May 2017 |accessdate=7 March 2018}}
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
  8. ↑ {{cite news Samoa Airways eyes B737 MAX equipment down the line |publisher=[[ch-aviation 21 September 2017 |accessdate=7 March 2018}}
  9. ↑ {{cite news Samoa Airways adds maiden aircraft, launches |publisher=[[ch-aviation 14 November 2017 |accessdate=7 March 2018}}
  10. ↑ Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
  11. ↑ Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
  12. ↑ Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
  13. ↑ https://ews/articles/samoa-airways-to-wet-lease-737-800-from-malindo-457028/
  14. ↑ Template:Cite web Samoa Airways to lease one B737 MAX 9 from ALC
  15. ↑ https://eflying.com/samoa-airways-737-max-cancellation/
  16. ↑ Template:Cite web ASN Aircraft accident Douglas R4D-5 (DC-3) 5W-FAB Apolima Strait
  17. ↑ Template:Cite web Douglas C-47B-45-DK (DC-3D) 5W-FAC accident description
  18. ↑ Template:Cite web ASN Aircraft accident Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander 5W-FAF Asau Airport (AAU)
  19. ↑ {{cite web ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 5W-FAU Apia-Fagali'i Airport (FGI)|website=Aviation Safety Network|publisher=|accessdate=14 August 2022}}
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