Malindo Air

Samoa Airways plane cleared to fly

  The airline said the Boeing 737-800NG aircraft has been leased from Malindo Air which is owned by the Indonesian Lion Air Group and based in Malaysia.

It has now gained regulatory approvals from the civil aviation authorities in Australia, New Zealand, Samoa and Malaysia.

Samoa Airways CEO, Tupuivao Seiuli Alvin Tuala, said he was delighted to resume international jet services between Samoa, New Zealand and Australia.

Samoa Airways working with Malindo Air on replacement lease

Several flights have been cancelled this week and passengers re-routed after the lease expired on a Boeing 737-800 aircraft at the end of March.

The airline said efforts to secure a suitable replacement aircraft started as a result of the global grounding of MAX 8 aircraft in the first half of March, triggered by the air crash in Ethiopia.

It said there is a huge shortage of narrow-body aircraft as airlines scramble to consolidate their schedules using existing fleets and short-term leases.