| Airline: | Samoa Airways |
| Fleet Size: | 3 |
| Destinations: | 3 |
| Iata: | OL |
| Icao: | PAO |
| Callsign: | POLYNESIAN |
| Founded: | (as Polynesian Airlines) |
| Headquarters: | Apia, Samoa |
| Key People: | Peni (CEO) |
| Hubs: | Faleolo International Airport |
| Website: | https://samoaairways.com/ |
Samoa Airways, formerly Polynesian Airlines, is the flag carrier 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 Methodist Church Building on Beach Road and its primary hub at Faleolo International Airport. The airline presently operates short-haul flights within Samoa and American Samoa, however it no longer serves long-haul flights to Australia and New Zealand after the company stopped it's jet operations in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airline was established in 1959 as "Polynesian Airlines",[1] and started operations in August that year. By 1969 it was running daily flights to Pago Pago using a Douglas DC-3, as well as services to Tonga and Fiji using a chartered Hawker Siddeley HS 748.[2]
In 2005, 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.[3] 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.[4] In 2011, Virgin Blue announced a rebranding of its airline group, with its Samoan subsidiary being renamed "Virgin Samoa".[5]
In 2017, the Samoan government announced that it was closing down Virgin Samoa, citing a lack of competitive fare pricing and disappointing performance.[6] [7] In its place, Polynesian Airlines would resume international flights with the new name of "Samoa Airways".[8] The state-owned Samoa Airways partnered with Fiji Airways to assist with international flight operations,[8] and wet-leased a Boeing 737-800 from Italian airline Neos in a deal brokered by Icelandair.[9] International flights recommenced on 14 November 2017, with Samoa Airways flying from Apia to Auckland.[10]
As of October 2020, Samoa Airways operates to the following destinations (including former destinations):[11]
The Samoa Airways fleet comprises the following aircraft as of August 2021:[13] [14] [15]
| In Service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | Total | |||||
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter | 3 | 1 | - | 19 | 19 | ||
| Total | 3 | 1 | |||||
A Boeing 737 MAX 9 was ordered and was to be delivered in April 2019,[16] however the order was cancelled in the wake of the March 2019 worldwide Boeing 737 MAX groundings.
As Polynesian Airlines, the airline previously operated the following aircraft:[17] [18]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 727-200 | 1 | 1987 | 1992 | Leased from Ansett Australia |
| Boeing 737-200 | 1 | 1981 | 1987 | |
| Boeing 737-300 | 1 | 1999 | 1999 | Leased from Qantas |
| 1 | 2001 | 2001 | ||
| Boeing 737-300QC | 1 | 1993 | 1994 | |
| Boeing 737-800 | 2 | 2000 | 2006 | |
| Boeing 767-200ER | 1 | 1994 | 1994 | Leased from Kuwait Airways |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 1 | 1993 | 1994 | Leased from Air Canada |
| Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander | 3 | 1969 | 2011 | |
| de Havilland Canada 8-100 | 1 | 2004 | 2007 | |
| Douglas C-47 Skytrain | 3 | 1963 | 1970 | |
| Douglas C-54 Skymaster | 1 | 1968 | 1969 | |
| GAF Nomad | 1 | 1978 | 1987 | |
| Hawker Siddeley HS 748 | 2 | 1972 | 1982 | |
| Percival Prince | 3 | 1959 | 1963 | |