Samoa Airways

IATA ICAO Call sign OL PAO POLYNESIAN
Founded	1959 (1959) (as Polynesian Airlines)
Hubs	Faleolo International Airport
Fleet size	3
Destinations	5
Parent company	Government of Samoa
Headquarters	Apia,Samoa
Key people	Peni (CEO)
Website	https://samoaairways.com/

Samoa Airways, formerlyPolynesian Airlines, is theflag carrier ofSamoa.

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 the new airline Polynesian Blue (laterVirgin 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 ofApia, with its headquarters located in the Samoa Methodist Church Building on Beach Road and its primary hub atFaleolo International Airport. The airline presently operates short-haul flights within Samoa andAmerican Samoa, however it no longer serves long-haul flights to Australia and New Zealand after the company ceased 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 toPago Pago using aDouglas DC-3, as well as services toTonga andFiji using a charteredHawker Siddeley HS 748.^[2]

In 2005, the airline's international jet flights were taken over byPolynesian Blue, a new airline established as a joint venture between the government of Samoa and Australianlow-cost carrierVirgin 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 operateturboprop 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 withFiji Airways to assist with international flight operations,^[8] andwet-leased a Boeing 737-800 from Italian airlineNeos in a deal brokered byIcelandair.^[9] International flights recommenced on 14 November 2017, with Samoa Airways flying from Apia to Auckland.^[10]

As of February 2025^[update], Samoa Airways operates to the following destinations (including former destinations):^[11]

Samoa Airways hascodeshare agreements with the following airlines:Fiji Airways^[13]

The Samoa Airways fleet comprises the following aircraft as of August 2021:^[14][15][16]

ABoeing 737 MAX 9 was ordered and was to be delivered in April 2019,^[17] however the order was cancelled in the wake of the March 2019 worldwideBoeing 737 MAX groundings.^[18]

As Polynesian Airlines, the airline previously operated the following aircraft:^[19][20]

• On 11 May 1966 at around 18:10 local time, the three crew members operating a Polynesian AirlinesDouglas DC-3 with theregistration 5W-FAB on a training flight lost control of the aircraft over theApolima Strait after the cabin entry door detached and hit thetail. The aircraft was on a training flight, the three crew members were the only people on board; all three were killed in the subsequent crash.^[21]
• 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 fromFaleolo International Airport on an international non-scheduled passenger flight toPago Pago International Airport, American Samoa, killing the 29 passengers and three crew on board.^[22]
• On 20 August 1988, a Polynesian AirlinesBritten-Norman BN-2A Islander (registered 5W-FAF) was damaged beyond repair when it overshot the runway upon landing atAsau Airport; there were no fatalities.^[23]
• On 13 September 1994, a Polynesian AirlinesBoeing 737-3Q8 operating Flight PH844 fromFuaʻamotu International Airport toFaleolo International Airport discovered the body of a deceased male stowaway was jamming the starboard carriageway. At 6:00, after 3.5 hours of maneuvers attempting to dislodge the body, the flight made an emergency landing at Faleolo using only the nosewheel and port undercarriage. All 72 occupants survived with minimal damage to the aircraft.^[24][25] Eyewitness and authorRuperake Petaia wroteThe Miracle^[26] based on a number of passenger accounts of the event.
• On 7 January 1997 at around 11:00 local time, a Polynesian Airlinesde Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter crashed intoMount Vaea in Samoa during bad weather conditions, a so-calledcontrolled flight into terrain. The aircraft had been operating Flight 211 fromPago Pago toApia, 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.^[27]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSamoa Airways.

• Samoa Airways
• Information about Polynesian Airlines

• Airlines of Samoa
• Airlines established in 1959
• 1959 establishments in Oceania
• Government-owned companies of Samoa

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