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Founded | October 2005 (as Polynesian Blue) |
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Ceased operations | 12 November 2017 | ||||||
Operating bases | Faleolo International Airport | ||||||
Frequent-flyer program | Velocity Frequent Flyer | ||||||
Fleet size | 1 | ||||||
Destinations | 4 | ||||||
Parent company |
Virgin Australia Holdings (49%) Government of Samoa (49%) Grey Investment Group (2%) |
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Headquarters | Bowen Hills, Brisbane, Australia | ||||||
Key people | Mark Pitt, CEO | ||||||
Website | virginaustralia.com/samoa |
Virgin Samoa, formerly Polynesian Blue, was the flag carrier of Samoa. 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.
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 is owned by Virgin Australia Holdings (49%), the Government of Samoa (49%) and Grey Investment Group (2%).
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.