Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Time not right for Samoa-United States route - PM

Posted at 22:37 on 22 November, 2012 UTC

Samoa’s Prime Minister has revealed that the government has been talking to Virgin Samoa about flying to the United States.

Air New Zealand suspended a direct flight from Apia to Los Angeles two years ago citing financial losses.

At present Air Pacific flies a weekly flight from Apia to Honolulu.

The Samoa government newspaper Savali reports that Virgin Samoa, which is partly owned by the Samoa Government, has informed the government that the time is not right to fly either to Hawai’i or the U.S mainland.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi says Virgin Samoa looked at the numbers, then came back and told the government that the time is not right to fly to the U.S.

The Prime Minister said the U.S route has been ’graveyard’ for other airlines in the past citing South Pacific Island Airways, Pan-American Airlines and Samoa’s own Polynesian Airlines.

He said they all tried with very little success in flying that route.