Flight and ferry
pp. 37-38 · Read in the full issue
Western Samoa
Has An
Airways Boom
From R. F. RANKIN, in Apia If present trends continue, the airlanes of Western Samoa will soon be as crowded as any modem airport overseas. The days of 20 years ago, with a fortnightly air service with the outside world by TEAL flying-boat, are a thing of the past.
Polynesian Airlines has now been established for 10 years and is using a DC3 for daily flights to Pago and a chartered Fiji Airways HS 748 for services to Tonga and Fiji. The company is looking for another DC3 and comtemplating purchasing its own jet prop plane.
Now Western Samoa’s first internal airline has set up business, using a 10-seater BN 2A Islander aircraft.
Impetus for getting Air Samoa Ltd. established by former chief engineer for Polynesian, John Best, came from Potlatch Forests Inc., who will need an air service to their headquarters for a multi-million dollar timber industry at Asau in Savaii.
Flight and ferry
In addition to this new airline, Pa’upa’u Elisaia, a Samoan who has two light aircraft in operation at his Elisaia Flying School at Faleolo, has applied for landing rights at Salelo loga, in Savaii, to complement the present ferry boat service between Savaii and Upolu.
Landing strips are under con struction at Asau and at Fagalii just a mile or so out of Apia. Air Samoa has also negotiated for two more strips at Lalomalava and Safotu in Savaii. Its plane will operate out of Fagalii a 10 minute flight to Faleolo and 35 minutes to Asau.
Its network will put the majority of Samoa’s population within 30 minutes of Apia and will be engaged in ambulance work, freight, sight seeing and general schedule. Chief pilot is Captain J. McNeely, also formerly with Polynesian.
Apart from Fiji Airways, who also run flights from Fiji to Faleolo, at least two outside airline operators
are trying to get regular landing rights at Faleolo.
In Pago a company also named Air Samoa has been running an air taxi service using a light aircraft between Tafuna and Faleolo.
This company is not getting much help from the Western Samoan Government and has been operating under highly restrictive conditions.
This is an unexpressed fear that once granted rights Air Samoa will be snapped up by PanAm, or one of the other major airlines who have been eyeing the Pago/Apia service for the past couple of years.
PanAm made formal application for landing rights at Faleolo last year, offering a twice daily service with prop-jet aircraft, but the Western Samoa government while not giving an outright negative answer has so far managed to stall off the decision.
Despite the profits in the Pago/ Apia service, Polynesian Airlines last year made a loss of $91,000, blamed by managing director E. F.
Paul on the difficulties experienced with their DC4 aircraft which was finally repossessed in August by the owners, Charlotte Aircraft Corpora tion.
Revenue for the year was $416,901, up almost 13 per cent, on the pre vious year. There seems no doubt that this trend in increased air travel and freight will continue. The fear in the Samoan Government and among Polynesian shareholders is that the giants may step in and grab the profits.