Virgin Samoa

Last updated

Virgin Samoa.png
IATA ICAO Callsign
VAVOZVELOCITY
FoundedOctober 2005
(as Polynesian Blue)
Ceased operations12 November 2017
Operating bases Faleolo International Airport
Frequent-flyer program Velocity Frequent Flyer
Fleet size1
Destinations4
Parent company Virgin Australia Holdings (49%)
Government of Samoa (49%)
Grey Investment Group (2%)
Headquarters Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Australia
Key peopleMark Pitt, CEO
Website virginaustralia.com/samoa

Virgin Samoa, formerly Polynesian Blue, was the flag carrier of Samoa. [1] It was owned by Virgin Australia Holdings (49%), the Government of Samoa (49%) and Grey Investment Group (2%). Polynesian Blue took over the long haul flights (those involving Australia or New Zealand) which were operated by Polynesian Airlines. In December 2011 Polynesian Blue was renamed Virgin Samoa. It ceased operations on 12 November 2017.

Contents

History

Polynesian Blue logo Polynesian Blue.svg
Polynesian Blue logo

In 2005 Virgin Blue Holdings signed an agreement with the Government of Samoa to operate a joint venture airline. The announcement came after several months of detailed discussions between the two parties and involved the Samoan government and Virgin Blue joining forces to set up a new company to operate jet routes previously flown by Polynesian Airlines. The name Polynesian Blue adopted in keeping with the Virgin Blue family of brands, which also included Christchurch based Pacific Blue Airlines. Its first flight was on 31 October 2005, between Apia, Auckland and Sydney.

The airline was owned by Virgin Australia Holdings (49%), the Government of Samoa (49%) and Grey Investment Group (2%). [2] [3]

Pacific Blue Airlines changed its ICAO code from PBI to PBN to prevent air traffic controllers confusing the I for a 1 in flight plans. This also applies to Virgin Samoa flights operated by Virgin Australia. The ICAO code PLB (Callsign: Polyblue) is currently reserved for the airline but not in use.

Virgin Blue Holdings rebranded its airlines under the new Virgin Australia name in 2011, later renaming itself Virgin Australia Holdings. [4] Polynesian Blue was rebranded Virgin Samoa and a new livery was unveiled for one of the Boeing 737-800s operated by Virgin Australia (NZ) - which features traditional Samoan tattoos on the engines, designed by Tuifa’asisina Tolouena Sua. Cabin crew uniforms were also redesigned to feature the new imagery. [5]

In 2015 Virgin Australia decided to relinquish its New Zealand Air Operators Certificate with all New Zealand registered aircraft, including the Virgin Samoa branded aircraft, transferred to the Australian register. [6]

In May 2017, the Prime Minister of Samoa, Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, wrote to Virgin Australia advising of the government's intention to withdraw from the joint venture. [7] This followed two years of the government's unhappiness that Samoan customers and government were not obtaining enough of the benefits from the joint venture. [8] Virgin Australia later confirmed that services would cease on 12 November 2017. [3] [9] The government proposes Polynesian Airlines resume operating long-distance flights [10] while Virgin Australia commenced operating services to Samoa on 13 November 2017 in its own right. [11]

Destinations

Pacific Blue Airlines' Polynesian Blue liveried Boeing 737-800 (ZK-PBF, Tapu'itea) in November 2005 Boeing 737-8FE, Polynesian Blue AN0964564.jpg
Pacific Blue Airlines' Polynesian Blue liveried Boeing 737-800 (ZK-PBF, Tapu'itea) in November 2005

Before its cessation on 12 November 2017, Virgin Samoa operated scheduled passenger flights from Apia to the following destinations:

CountryCityAirport
Australia Brisbane Brisbane Airport
Australia Sydney Sydney Airport
New Zealand Auckland Auckland Airport

Fleet

Virgin Samoa Boeing 737-800 wearing the last livery Virgin Samoa 737.jpg
Virgin Samoa Boeing 737-800 wearing the last livery

Virgin Samoa did not own any of its own aircraft. All flights were operated on behalf of Virgin Samoa by Virgin Australia International Airlines. One of Virgin Australia's Boeing 737-800 aircraft was painted in Virgin Samoa livery and named Tapu I'Tea. [12]

AircraftIn FleetOrdersJY
Boeing 737-800 108 [12] 168

See also

Related Research Articles

Air New Zealand Limited is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacific Rim. The airline has been a member of the Star Alliance since 1999.

Solomon Airlines is the national airline of Solomon Islands, based in Honiara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Vanuatu</span> Flag carrier of Vanuatu

Air Vanuatu is an airline with its head office in the Air Vanuatu House, Port Vila, Vanuatu. It is Vanuatu's national flag carrier, operating to Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and points in the South Pacific. Its main base is Bauerfield International Airport, Port Vila.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansett Australia</span> Former Australian domestic airline

Ansett Australia was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne, Australia. The airline flew domestically within Australia and from the 1990s to destinations in Asia. After operating for 65 years, the airline was placed into administration in 2001 following a financial collapse and subsequent organised liquidation in 2002, subject to deed of company arrangement. The last flight touched down on 5 March 2002.

Virgin Australia, the trading name of Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd, is an Australian-based airline. It is the largest airline by fleet size to use the Virgin brand. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 as Virgin Blue, with two aircraft on a single route. It suddenly found itself as a major airline in Australia's domestic market after the collapse of Ansett Australia in September 2001. The airline has since grown to directly serve 32 cities in Australia, from hubs in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

Nauru Air Corporation, trading as Nauru Airlines, is the flag carrier of the Republic of Nauru. It operates scheduled international services to other Pacific islands and Australia. Its main base is Nauru International Airport. Its head office is on the property of Nauru International Airport, Yaren District and its operations office is in Brisbane in the Australian state of Queensland. In August 2014, the airline changed its name from Our Airline to Nauru Airlines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SilkAir</span> Defunct Singaporean regional airline (1989—2021)

SilkAir Singapore Private Limited, operating as SilkAir, was a Singaporean airline with its head office in Changi, Singapore. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines and in 2017, operated scheduled passenger services from Singapore to 54 cities in Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, East Asia, and Northern Australia. As the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, it served the short to medium-haul destinations in the Singapore Airlines Group network.

Fiji Airways is the flag carrier of Fiji and operates international services from its hubs in Fiji to 13 countries and 26 cities including, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands (Oceania), Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Canada and the United States. It has an extended network of 108 international destinations through its codeshare partners. The Fiji Airways Group brings in 64 percent of all visitors who fly to Fiji, employs over 1000 employees, and earns revenues of over FJD$815 million (US$390m).

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.

Xiamen Air also known as Xiamen Airlines, is an airline based in Xiamen, China. Xiamen Air has its northern headquarters in Beijing and eight branches in Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Hunan, Beijing, Quanzhou, Chongqing and Shanghai, and two subsidiaries in Hebei Airlines and Jiangxi Airlines. Founded on July 25, 1984, Xiamen Airlines is the first airline in China to operate independently as an enterprise. It was established as a joint venture between the Shanghai Administration of Civil Aviation Administration of China, Xiamen Special Economic Zone Construction Development Company and Fujian Investment Enterprise Company. The shareholders are China Southern Airlines Corporation (55%), Xiamen C&D Group (34%) and Fujian Investment and Development Group (11%). The current chairman of Xiamen Airlines is Zhao Dong and the general manager is Wang Zhixue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ASL Airlines Belgium</span> Belgian cargo airline

ASL Airlines Belgium, (ASLB) formerly TNT Airways, is a Belgian cargo airline operating chartered flights mainly to European destinations. It has its head office and hub on the grounds of Liège Airport. The airline used to be a subsidiary of TNT Express but was acquired by ASL Aviation Holdings DAC and subsequently rebranded in 2016. ASL Aviation Holdings DAC, the parent company of ASL Airlines Belgium, is headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ASL Airlines Ireland</span> Irish cargo airline

ASL Airlines Ireland (ASLI), formerly Air Contractors, is a cargo airline with an extensive operations network. It operates scheduled freight services throughout Europe on behalf of major parcel integrators such as Amazon, FedEx Feeder and DHL Express; and some wet lease services for scheduled airlines. ASL Aviation Holdings DAC, the parent company of ASL Airlines Ireland, is headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TUI fly Deutschland</span> German airline

TUI fly Deutschland, formerly TUIfly, is a German leisure airline owned by the travel and tourism company TUI Group. It is headquartered at Hannover Airport with bases at several other German airports. TUI fly Deutschland is part of TUI Group's airline unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faleolo International Airport</span> Airport

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Australia Holdings</span>

Virgin Australia Holdings Limited is the holding company that owns and operates Virgin Australia, Virgin Australia International Airlines and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines. It previously operated Pacific Blue Airlines, Tigerair Australia and joint-venture airline Polynesian Blue which were absorbed into Virgin Australia in December 2011. Its head office is located in South Bank, Brisbane. After being placed in administration in April 2020, it was purchased by Bain Capital in August 2020.

V Australia was a long-haul international airline owned by Virgin Australia Holdings that commenced operating on 27 February 2009. As part of a rebranding of all of Virgin Australia Holdings' subsidiaries, on 7 December 2011 it was subsumed into Virgin Australia.

The history of Air New Zealand, the national carrier of New Zealand, began when the amalgamated East Coast Airways and Cook Strait Airways began operations in January 1936 as Union Airways of New Zealand, the country's first major airline. Union Airways was the sole New Zealand aviation partner in Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), which made its inaugural flight in 1940. The New Zealand Government bought full ownership of TEAL in 1961 and the airline was renamed Air New Zealand in 1965. New Zealand's domestic airline, National Airways Corporation (NAC), was merged with Air New Zealand in 1978. Air New Zealand was privatised in 1989 but in 2001 the New Zealand Government took up 80% ownership in return for injecting $885 million after the airline ran into financial difficulty. In November 2013, the National government sold down its share in Air New Zealand from 73% to 53% as part of its controversial asset sales programme.

Virgin Australia Regional Airlines is an Australian regional airline based in Perth, servicing key towns in the state of Western Australia. The airline also flies interstate to destinations such as Adelaide, Darwin, Melbourne and Alice Springs. Formerly known as Skywest, in April 2013 the airline was purchased by Virgin Australia Holdings as its new regional offshoot. On 21 April 2020, Virgin Australia Regional Airlines' parent company, Virgin Australia Holdings went into voluntary administration due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Australia Airlines (NZ)</span> Airline based in New Zealand

Virgin Australia Airlines (NZ) Limited formerly Pacific Blue Airlines (NZ) Limited, was an airline based in New Zealand. It was established as the New Zealand subsidiary of Australian airline Virgin Blue. It was a fully owned subsidiary of Virgin Australia Holdings. It was renamed Virgin Australia Airlines (NZ) Ltd in December 2011 when its parent company decided to bring all its airlines under the one banner.

References

  1. "Virgin Samoa Is Now The New National Airline of Samoa". 7 December 2011. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013.
  2. Virgin Blue picks up Samoa flights Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine CNN 14 July 2005
  3. 1 2 End to Virgin Samoa deal puts non-stop trips in doubt Archived 3 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine Sydney Morning Herald 25 May 2017
  4. "Virgin Australia rebrands its Pacific carriers". The New Zealand Herald. 8 December 2011. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  5. Mike Gisick (7 December 2011). "Polynesian Blue to become Virgin Samoa". Australian Aviation. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  6. "Virgin completes transfer of NZ 737s onto Australian AOC". Australian Aviation. 19 March 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  7. Govt drops Virgin Archived 21 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Samoa Observer 18 May 2017
  8. PM defends axing of Virgin Archived 21 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Samoa Observer 19 May 2017
  9. Virgin Australia mulling over next step in Samoa Archived 22 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Radio New Zealand 23 May 2017
  10. Samoa poised to end joint venture with Virgin Archived 27 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Radio New Zealand 16 May 2017
  11. Virgin Australia confirms plans to fly to Australia Virgin Australia 1 September 2017
  12. 1 2 "VH-YID. Boeing 737-8FE. c/n 38709-3851". Aussie Airliners. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.