PAGO PAGO (Samoa News/PINA) — American Samoa’s Samoa Air is exploring resuming flights to Niue and a business plan is to be transmitted to the Niue government.
Chief executive Andre Lavigne said Samoa Air intends to be “the regional airline of the Pacific. This would have us link all the island groups together.”
“We are looking at regional airliners and have begun preliminary negotiations,” Lavigne said of aircraft fleet expansion.
Currently Samoa Air operates two Twin Otters within American Samoa, to neighboring Samoa, and to Vava’u in northern Tonga.
In times past Samoa Air provided Niue’s only air link with a flight from Pago Pago to Niue after a jet service which had been provided by Air Nauru ended.
Last year, while in Niue, Gov. Tauese Sunia met with the Samoan community there to look at possible trading links between Niue and American Samoa. Fish and taro are among possible exports from Niue to American Samoa.
Niue’s tourism—a key sector for economic development—has struggled since the ending of a direct jet service from New Zealand which had been operated by Royal Tongan Airlines. Niue is currently served only by turboprop flights from Nuku’alofa, Tonga, by Royal Tongan Airlines.
