Samoa Air was a small airline from Samoa that operated scheduled flights between the domestic islands as well as to American Samoa. It also provided charter flights and medical transfer flights. The airline appears to have become dormant in 2015; its website is blank and its Facebook page is no longer updated.[2][3]
| |||||||
| Founded | 2012[1] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 2015 | ||||||
| Hubs | Faleolo International Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Asau, Salelologa | ||||||
| Fleet size | 2 | ||||||
| Destinations | 10 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Apia, Samoa | ||||||
| Key people | Chris Langton (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Incidents
editOn 21 June 2012, a Samoa Air aircraft almost collided with a Polynesian Airlines aircraft near Fagali'i. Both aircraft were on the same flight path.[4] Civil Aviation issued a stern warning to Samoa Air for failing to follow standard operating procedures.[5] Samoa Air's CEO, Chris Langton, disputed the outcome of the investigation.[6][7]
Pay by weight
editSamoa Air gained global press coverage by becoming the first airline in the world to charge customers by body weight plus luggage.[8][9]
The fare is calculated by multiplying a base fare (depending on the route flown) by the total weight of the passenger plus their luggage. So a passenger flying from Apia to Asau weighing 80 kg (180 lb) and carrying 20 kg (44 lb) of luggage would pay US$132 for the flight (100 kg x US$1.32 base fare[10]), while another passenger weighing 60 kg (130 lb) and traveling without luggage would pay US$79.20 (60 kg x US$1.32 base fare) for the same flight. Children are charged in the same way at a 75% rate.[11]
Fleet
edit| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Britten-Norman Islander | 0 - Decommissioned | — | 9 |
| Cessna 172 | 2 | — | 3 |
| Total | 2 | — |
References
edit- ^ "New airline to service Samoa's Savai'i". Radio New Zealand International. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ^ "Welcome to Samoa Air". Archived from the original on 2015-12-12. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
- ^ "Samoa Air". Facebook. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
- ^ Netzler, Jasmine (25 August 2012). "Near mid air collision in Samoa investigated". samoanews.com. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ^ "Samoa Air Issued Stern Warning For Near Collision". Pacific Islands Development Program. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ^ "Report "flawed and smacks of incompetence"". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ^ "Samoa Air boss says near air collision findings flawed". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ^ Haroon Siddique (2013-04-02). "Samoa Air says charging passengers by weight is 'concept of the future'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
- ^ a b Marnie Hunter (2013-04-03). "Pay-as-you-weigh airfares the 'next step'". CNN. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
- ^ "Flight Schedule". Archived from the original on 2013-04-06. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
- ^ "Samoa Air defends 'pay-as-you-weigh' pricing". Al Jazeera. 2013-04-04. Retrieved 2013-04-09.