Samoa Airways

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Samoa Airways
IATA code : OL (previously PH)
ICAO code : PAO
Call sign : POLYNESIAN
Founding: 1959 as Polynesian Airlines
Seat: Apia , SamoaSamoaSamoa 
Home airport : Faleolo airport
Company form: State company
IATA prefix code : 162
Management: Seiuli Alvin Tuala ( CEO )
Fleet size: 4th
Aims: international
Website: samoaairways.com

Samoa Airways , until November 14th 2017 Polynesian Airlines , is the national airline of Samoa , based in Apia and based at Faleolo Airport .

history

De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter of Polynesian Airlines

The company was founded in the spring of 1959 under the name Polynesian Airlines by the Australian businessman and pilot Sir Reginald R. Barnewall in Apia . At that time, Western Samoa was still under New Zealand administration, which meant the company initially had a New Zealand Air Operator Certificate . Barnewall transferred a long-term leased Percival Prince from Australia to Apia, which arrived there on July 12, 1959 and was given the New Zealand license plate ZK-BMQ . Initially, the machine was used for occasional charter services. On March 7, 1960, Polynesian Airlines opened its first scheduled service between Apia-Faleolo and Pago Pago ( American Samoa ), where Pan American World Airways offered international connecting flights to New Zealand and Hawaii . Flight operations had to be temporarily suspended on December 3, 1960 after the Percival Prince was irreparably damaged in a landing accident. As a replacement, Polynesian Airlines acquired two identical planes in Tanganyika that same month , with which they resumed scheduled services between Apia-Faleolo and Pago Pago in April 1961.

The company replaced its two Percival Prince on June 18, 1963 by a Douglas C-47 (DC-3), which continued on the route to Pago Pago and on new weekly scheduled flights to Aitutaki and Rarotonga ( Cook Islands ) and a fortnightly connection to Nadi ( Fiji ) was used. In the summer of 1968 the company had 50 employees and flew to Nadi, Pago Pago, Fuaʻamotu ( Tonga ) and the Wallis Islands on schedule with two Douglas DC-3s and one Douglas DC-4 . The Samoan government acquired a 51 percent majority stake in March 1972 and then commissioned the Fijian Air Pacific , which owned 10 percent of the company, to manage the company. The fleet at that time consisted of a Douglas DC-3 and a Hawker-Siddeley HS 748 . To decommission the Douglas DC-3, Polynesian Airlines took over another Hawker-Siddeley HS 748 on November 27, 1972. In the same year, the Samoan government increased its stake to 70 percent. The remaining company shares were held in early 1973 to 10 percent each by Air New Zealand , Air Pacific and private investors.

In November 1977, Polynesian Airlines started liner services between Apia-Faleolo and Auckland (New Zealand) with a Boeing 737-200 rented by the New Zealand NAC in wet lease . At the same time she also flew internationally to Fuaʻamotu, Nadi, Niue and Pago Pago. With the acquisition of the private air taxi company Air Samoa , which was merged with Polynesian Airlines in 1978 , national connections between the islands of Upolu and Savaiʻi could be established at the end of 1977 . In addition to the leased Boeing 737 and the two own Hawker-Siddeley HS 748s, the fleet at that time consisted of a Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander and a Cessna 172 operated by Air Samoa . On March 31, 1981, a brand-new Boeing 737-200 was delivered to the company as its first jet aircraft . In the following year, Polynesian Airlines entered into a five-year cooperation with Ansett Australia , which at the same time took over the management of the state-owned company. The cooperation with Ansett Australia , which at the time also managed Air Vanuatu , led to the start of scheduled flights from Apia-Faleolo via Port Vila ( Vanuatu ) to Sydney (Australia). A Boeing 737-200 from the Australian company, which was also rented as a wet lease, was used on this connection. In the early 1980s, Bodas Limited , which belongs to the Ansett Group , acquired the 30 percent stakes previously held by Air Pacific , Air New Zealand and private investors. In the spring of 1987, the cooperation with Ansett Australia was extended and a Boeing 727-200 was leased to Polynesian Airlines on a long-term basis , with which it opened a new connection to Tahiti ( French Polynesia ). In addition, international flights continued to Auckland, Fuaʻamotu, Nadi, Pago Pago, Rarotonga and Sydney.

The Ansett Group ended its collaboration with the company at the beginning of 1992. The Samoan government acquired its 30% stake, making Polynesian Airlines a purely state-owned company. To replace the Boeing 727 provided by Ansett , the company leased a Boeing 737-300 from April 1992 ; another followed in September 1992. For a new line connection from Apia-Faleolo via Honolulu (Hawaii) to Los Angeles , a Boeing 767-200ER each from Air New Zealand and Air Canada and from August 1993 a long-term Boeing 767- 300ER wet lease from Air Canada . Polynesian Airlines gave up this connection in 1995 due to lack of capacity . In early 1996, the company's fleet consisted of a Boeing 737-300, a Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander and two De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300s. As a replacement for the Boeing 737-300, the first Boeing 737-800 was taken over in November 2000 . A second machine of this type followed in September 2001.

On 30 October 2005, the Republic of Samoa established in cooperation with the Australian Virgin Blue Airlines , the virtual company Polynesian Blue in the form of joint ventures . At the same time, Polynesian Airlines had to cede its scheduled routes to Australia and New Zealand to this virtual company, whose flight operations were carried out by New Zealand's Pacific Blue Airlines . Afterwards, Polynesian Airlines only flew domestic routes and international connections to neighboring American Samoa.

In autumn 2017, the Republic of Samoa ended its collaboration with the virtual company Virgin Samoa , which was created in 2010 when the company was renamed Polynesian Blue . Virgin Samoa ceased operations in November 2017. At the same time, Polynesian Airlines was renamed Samoa Airways and commissioned to take over the international scheduled flights to Australia and New Zealand. In the same month she rented a Boeing 737-800 from the Italian airline Neos in wet lease. The aircraft was to be replaced by a brand new Boeing 737 MAX 9 leased from Fiji Airways at the end of March 2019 , but which was not available due to an accident-related operating ban . Samoa Airways therefore temporarily rented a Boeing 737-800 from Indonesian Malindo Air in April 2019 .

Destinations

Samoa Airways operates international scheduled flights from Apia-Faleolo to Auckland (New Zealand) and Sydney (Australia). In addition, Pago Pago in American Samoa is served from Apia-Fagali'i .

fleet

Current fleet

As of April 2019, the Samoa Airways fleet consists of four aircraft:

Aircraft type number Remarks Seats
De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 / 320 3 19th
Boeing 737-800 1 leased from Malindo Air 162
total 4th

Previously deployed aircraft

Polynesian Airlines Boeing 727-200 in 1988

In the past, the company has operated the following types of aircraft:

Incidents

  • On December 3, 1960, a Percival Prince ( license number : ZK-BMQ ) had to be written off as a total loss. A puncture caused the right landing gear to break on landing in Apia-Faleolo . The aircraft came off the runway to the side and slipped into a parallel drainage channel. All inmates were uninjured.
  • On May 11, 1966, a Douglas DC-3 ( 5W-FAB ) crashed into the sea between the islands of Upolu and Savaiʻi after a demolished entrance door hit the tail unit . The plane exploded on impact. The three crew members who were supposed to complete a training flight were killed.
  • On January 13, 1970, a Douglas DC-3 ( 5W-FAC ) got into a windshear shortly after taking off from the airport in Apia-Faleolo . The machine crashed as a result of a stall and hit the sea. All 32 occupants, three crew members and 29 passengers were killed.
  • On August 20, 1988, a Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander ( 5W-FAF ) rolled over the end of the runway when landing in Asau on the island of Savai'i . The machine was written off as a total loss.

See also

Web links

Commons : Polynesian Airlines  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Geoff Goodall, Percival P. 50 Prince in Australia, The Polynesian connection, 2016 (in English), accessed February 12, 2018
  2. ↑ Flight International, April 13, 1961 , accessed February 11, 2018
  3. ↑ Flight International, April 12, 1962 (accessed February 11, 2018)
  4. ↑ Flight International, April 2, 1964 (in English), accessed February 11, 2018
  5. ↑ Rzjets, Douglas C-47, 5W-FAA (in English), accessed on February 21, 2018
  6. ↑ Flight International, April 11, 1968 (in English), accessed February 12, 2018
  7. ^ Flight International, March 30, 1972 (in English), accessed February 12, 2018
  8. ^ Flight International, May 18, 1972 (in English), accessed February 12, 2018
  9. ↑ Rzjets, Hawker-Siddeley HS 748, 5W-FAO (in English), accessed on February 16, 2018
  10. ↑ Flight International, March 22, 1973 (in English), accessed February 16, 2018
  11. ^ Flight International, April 22, 1978 (in English), accessed February 16, 2018
  12. ↑ Rzejts, Boeing 737-2U9, 5W-PAL (in English), accessed on February 17, 2018
  13. ^ David Stanley: Moon Handbooks Tonga-Samoa . Moon Publications Inc., Emeryville 1999, ISBN 1-56691-174-5 .
  14. ↑ Flight International, March 31, 1984 (in English), accessed February 18, 2018
  15. ↑ Flight International, March 26, 1988 (in English), accessed February 18, 2018
  16. ↑ Flight International, March 31, 1992 (in English), accessed February 20, 2018
  17. ^ Pacific Island Report, Polynesian Airlines wiping out its debts, June 23, 1998 , accessed February 20, 2018
  18. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 93/94
  19. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 94/95
  20. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 96/97
  21. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 2002/03
  22. ↑ Flightglobal, Samoa Airways to wet-lease 737-800 from Malindo, April 1, 2019 (in English), accessed April 18, 2019
  23. ↑ Samoa Airways, Destinations and Schedule , accessed March 29, 2018
  24. ↑ Ch-Aviation, Samoa Airways fleet, as of April 2019 (in English), accessed on April 18, 2019
  25. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, various annual issues
  26. ↑ Flight International, issues of various years
  27. ^ Aviation Safety Network, Accident Summary: Polynesian Airlines, Douglas R4D-5 (DC-3), 5W-FAB, May 11, 1966 , accessed March 30, 2018
  28. ^ Aviation Safety Network, Accident Summary: Polynesian Airlines, Douglas C-47B-45-DK (DC-3D), 5W-FAC, January 13, 1970 , accessed March 30, 2018
  29. ^ Aviation Safety Network, Accident Summary: Polynesian Airlines, Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander, 5W-FAF, August 20, 1988 , accessed March 30, 2018
  30. ↑ Aviation Safety Network, accident summary: Polynesian Airlines, de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300, 5W-FAU, January 7, 1997 (in English), accessed March 30, 2018