Samoa Airways is considering an upgrade of its ageing Twin Otter aircraft to service the American Samoa and Apia route.
The airline currently has three Twin Otter aircraft aged 38, 43 and 49-years-old, according to the interim Chief Executive Officer, Fauo’o Fatu Tielu.
He said the 49-year-old Twin Otter has been grounded for the past two years due to air corrosion.
“The grounded aircraft is awaiting a report and certification from the Pacific Aviation Safety Office and that aircraft was only bought in 2016,” said Fauo’o.
He pointed out that their fleet of aircraft had yet to reach maximum of 6,600 flying hours—they’ve only logged 4,500 flying hours.
The Minister of Public Enterprises, Leatinuu Wayne So’oialo, said the Government is willing to support the upgrading or the replacement of Samoa Airways fleet.
Leatinuu, who is the Minister responsible for Samoa Airways, said the airline’s management has been instructed to provide options on how the fleet upgrade can be done.
Interim CEO Fauo’o said one of the options they are looking at is to have the three aircraft stripped and rebuilt completely.
Otherwise, they may look into purchasing an upgraded version of the Twin Otter planes, either the Twin Otter 400 or 300G. Fauoo said they may even get a different aircraft model to replace the current fleet.
Samoa Airwaya will also upgrade its ground handling equipment at the Faleolo International Airport.
