Samoa Airways

The Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi says the airline can't continue to operate with just one plane.

Tuilaepa says the airline needs to look at the larger scale of economy to survive.

He says there are routes that the airline needs to look at and it cannot do it with one plane.

The prime minister says a group from Brisbane Airport had recently asked for direct flight into the Australian city.

Tuilaepa has also revealed that Fiji Airways officials are in the country this week to discuss aspects of their code-sharing agreement.

Flights out of Sydney were full in the last couple of weeks, and this was mainly credited to travellers coming over for the Methodist conference. 

A visit to the Church’s headquarters at Faleula last week attested to this, with many delegations from Australia and New Zealand saying they came over on Samoa Airways.

It is this kind of support that the CEO of Samoa Airways, Tupuivao Seiuli Alvin Tuala, said is highly valued by the airline.

Samoa Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, told his radio audience that is what he would like to see.

He was answering questions about his flight on Samoa Airways Twin Otter plane to Tuvalu for the Polynesian Leaders Group meeting.

The flight had to take on fuel at Wallis and Futuna, a 2 hour stop over.

Tuilaepa said he would like a bigger plane that may be able to seat up to 70 passengers, possibly a Chinese plane.

Samoa Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, told his radio audience that is what he would like to see.

He was answering questions about his flight on Samoa Airways Twin Otter plane to Tuvalu for the Polynesian Leaders Group meeting.

The flight had to take on fuel at Wallis and Futuna, a 2 hour stop over.

Tuilaepa said he would like a bigger plane that may be able to seat up to 70 passengers, possibly a Chinese plane.

It comes just under a month out from when the airline first became accessible on Expedia, a one-stop travel shop for consumers looking for the best deals in travel experiences. 
“Expedia has traditionally been a significant producer of bookings for Samoa and with Samoa Airways’ availability on the popular online travel agency (OTA), reservations have flowed through”, said Chief Executive Officer, Tupuivao Seiuli Alvin Tuala.

Expedia is the world’s largest online travel company that operates out of Washington, USA. It brings together a collection of the world’s leading travel brands. 

It books airline tickets, hotel reservations, car rentals, cruises, vacation packages and various attractions and services via the World Wide Web and telephone travel agents.

This is the latest, exciting development to the National Carrier’s line-up of milestones in its brief, revamped history. 

This has far reaching benefits not just for the airline, but for Samoa as well as a tourist destination.

According to the Samoa Observer, Samoa Airways, launched only last year, is seeking the waiver but is unlikely to get it.

Minister of Transport Papaliitele Niko Lee Hang confirmed the request which has yet to be sent to Cabinet for approval.

Papaliitele said the Samoa Airport Authority's biggest revenue earner was landing fees and if the request was to be considered, it would be a smart move to reduce it rather than waive it.

The minister said the SAA needed the revenue to maintain the airport and pay bills.

This is the latest addition to Samoa Airways’ range of services in a bid to ensure that its customers enjoy the full benefits of supporting the airline.

“Cargo is an important part of the Samoa Airways’ business. In addition to the transportation of people, the movement of cargo is a key revenue stream”, said Chief Executive Officer, Tupuivao Seiuli Alvin Tuala.

“Our cargo service covers business to business shipments, as well as the air transportation of personal effects, including human remains”.

Samoa Airways took part in the STE which saw many players from the travel and hospitality industry converge on Apia for three days last week.

Samoa Airways was the official carrier for the STE and provided support in this area to the Samoa Tourism Authority, which coordinated the event. 

This enabled the participation of many executives from travel companies such as Flight Centre, Helloworld, House of Travel, Expedia, STA Travel and others.

One was the fact that this was her first time back in Samoa from Australia for a while, and secondly, when she heard on the PA system the standard Samoa Airways touchdown message, in Samoan, “Faafetai I le alofa o le Atua ua taunuu ma le manuia le tatou faigamalaga I Samoa” which translates to “Thank God for His love that we have arrived home safely”.