Virgin Australia (VA, Brisbane International) has been forced to defer its proposed entry into the New Zealand-Samoa market after the Samoan government refused to grant the carrier the requisite traffic rights.
The Australian carrier had planned to run a 5x weekly Apia Faleolo-Auckland International, New Zealand, service from November 13 onwards. The launch would have coincided with that of Samoa Airways (OL, Apia Faleolo), the Samoan government's newly constituted carrier which will succeed Virgin Samoa (Apia Faleolo) in which Virgin Australia is a partner.
"Virgin Australia is disappointed with the Samoan government's decision to deny authorisation of our services," a Virgin Australia spokeswoman told the New Zealand Herald. "We are working in conjunction with the Australian government to explore options to encourage the Samoan government to reconsider its decision."
Despite this rejection, Virgin Australia will still go ahead with its 2x weekly flights to Apia from each of Sydney Kingsford Smith and Brisbane International in Australia from November 13 onwards.
