POLYNESIAN AIRLINES PLANS NON-STOP HONOLULU AND SYDNEY FLIGHTS FROM APIA

APIA, Samoa (May 4, 2000 – The Honolulu Advertiser)---Samoa’s national carrier, Polynesian Airlines, plans to start non-stop flights to Honolulu and Sydney, Australia, with new Boeing 737 jets.

Chief Executive Richard Gates said a leased Boeing 737-800 will begin flying with Polynesian beginning in November. A second will be leased effective September 2001.

The 737-800s have a longer range and greater passenger and cargo capacity than the airline’s current Boeing 737-300.

The Boeing 737-300, Polynesian Airline’s only large jet, is currently used for regional flights including a service to Sydney that has to make a refueling stop in Auckland, New Zealand.

The government-owned airline’s plan marks a recovery from near financial ruin in the late 1980s, when the government was forced to absorb losses of more than $30 million, equivalent to most of the national annual budget.

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