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Founded | 1973 | ||||||
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Ceased operations | 1987 | ||||||
Hubs | Pago Pago International Airport Honolulu International Airport | ||||||
Focus cities | Pago Pago, American Samoa Apia, Samoa Agana, Guam | ||||||
Fleet size | 8 | ||||||
Destinations | 18 | ||||||
Headquarters | Honolulu, Hawaii [2] | ||||||
Key people | George Wray (CEO) |
South Pacific Island Airways (SPIA) was an airline operating flights in the Pacific including American Samoa and Hawaii with service to the west coast of U.S. and Canada as well as to Alaska, New Zealand, Guam and Tahiti from 1973 to 1987. [3] The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the carrier in 1984, when it almost flew a charter flight into the airspace of the Soviet Union. [4] [5] SPIA was allowed to continue operations after some management changes were made at the airline, but was grounded again in 1985 due to some allegedly questionable dealings involving engine hush kits for its Boeing 707 jetliners. South Pacific continued to operate limited services until it ceased all operations in 1987.
South Pacific Island Airways served these destinations during its existence primarily flying Boeing 707 jet aircraft although small de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops were used for feeder service as well: [6] [7]
As its peak South Pacific Island Airways fleet included: [2]
Type | Number |
Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander | 1 |
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | 3 |
Boeing 707 | 4 |
Oxnard Airport is a county-owned, public airport a mile west of downtown Oxnard, in Ventura County, California. The airport has not had scheduled passenger service since June 8, 2010, when United Express ended flights to Los Angeles International Airport. America West Express also served the airport with nonstop flights to Phoenix in the early-2000s via a code sharing agreement with America West Airlines.
Faaʻa International Airport, also known as Tahiti International Airport, is the international airport of French Polynesia, located in the commune of Faaa, on the island of Tahiti. It is situated 5 km (3.1 mi) southwest of Papeete, the capital city of the overseas collectivity. It opened in 1960. Regional air carrier Air Tahiti and international air carrier Air Tahiti Nui are both based at the airport.
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The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada in the mid-1960s and still in production today. Built by De Havilland Canada from 1965 to 1988, Viking Air purchased the type certificate and restarted production in 2008, before re-adopting the DHC name in 2022. In 2023 DHC restarted production of the 300 series, in addition to the Series 400 produced by Viking.
Samoa Airways, formerly Polynesian Airlines, is the flag carrier of Samoa.
Royal Tongan Airlines was the national airline of Tonga until liquidation in 2004. It was a government agency and operated interisland services and international routes.
Air Rarotonga is an airline based in Rarotonga, Cook Islands and is the flag carrier of the country, known by their slogan as ‘The Airline of the Cook Islands’. It operates inter-island and regional scheduled services throughout the Cook Islands and to Tahiti. It also operates chartered flights to French Polynesia, Niue, Samoa, Kiribati and Tonga. Its main base and hub is Rarotonga International Airport.
Air Tahiti is a French airline company which operates in French Polynesia. Its main hub is Faa'a International Airport. It is the largest private employer in French Polynesia.
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Pago Pago International Airport, also known as Tafuna Airport, is a public airport located 7 miles (11.3 km) southwest of the central business district of Pago Pago, in the village and plains of Tafuna on the island of Tutuila in American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States.
Faleolo International Airport is an airport located 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Apia, the capital of Samoa. Until 1984, Faleolo could not accommodate jets larger than a Boeing 737. Services to the United States, Australia, or New Zealand, could only land at Pago Pago International Airport in American Samoa. Since the airport's expansion, most international traffic now uses Faleolo.
Samoa Air was a scheduled and charter passenger airline based in Pago Pago, American Samoa.
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Fagaliʻi or Fagaliʻi-uta is a village on the island of Upolu in the Samoa archipelago approximately 5 kilometres south-east of Apia. It is in the electoral constituency of Vaimauga East which forms part of the larger political district of Tuamasaga.
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Star Marianas Air, Inc. is a U.S. commuter airline headquartered at Tinian International Airport in Tinian Municipality, Northern Mariana Islands. It operates scheduled and charter passenger service in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, both U.S. territories in the Pacific Ocean.