Posted on: Thursday, July 10, 2003

Pago Pago flights to resume

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaiian Airlines today will begin to transport the first of an estimated 2,400 stranded passengers between Honolulu and Pago Pago, after American Samoa airport workers completed repairs to a deteriorating asphalt runway to the satisfaction of U.S. aviation officials.

About 100 Hawaiian passengers, stuck here for about two weeks after the Pago Pago airport was closed June 24, will go to Lobby 4 at Honolulu International Airport today. Hawaiian yesterday decided to resume normal Monday-Thursday-Friday departures and to add a flight — this week it's Sunday — until the backlog of passengers in both directions is cleared, Hawaiian spokesman Keoni Wagner said.

Wagner wasn't sure yesterday how long that clearing would take; reservations staff are calling stranded passengers — the ones stranded longest get called first — to book them on flights. On the first two planeloads, about 100 seats were available. All 252 seats on the new flights are set aside for the stranded passengers, Wagner said.

In addition, competing airlines may be stepping up to woo away Hawaiian passengers who don't want to wait their turn. Samoa Air Vacations, a charter subsidiary of Samoa Air, is waiting for federal Department of Transportation approval to launch a summer series of Saturday Honolulu-Pago Pago flights, said Andre Lavigne, chief executive officer of Samoa Air.

A collaboration between Polynesian Airlines and Samoa Air also is awaiting approval, he said; this would bring passengers on Polynesian to Apia, Samoa, where they would connect to Pago Pago on Samoa Air.

Soa Reardon, staying at the Pagoda Hotel since June 30, was due back at her bank job today and last night hadn't been called for a flight. Neither had Cathy Herd, a pharmacy student from Auburn University who has been here staying with friends since June 27.

Herd was supposed to start a month-long internship July 1; she said she can still put in the required 20 days of work if she works weekends — and if she gets a flight by Saturday.

"We knew this was happening before we left," she said. "But I had a nonrefundable ticket, so our best bet was to come here (to Honolulu) and wait and hope."

Hawaiian has told its passengers that money would be refunded for any unused portion of a ticket because of the long delay; Herd said she would consider taking that offer, because tickets on the planned Samoa Air charter were expected to start at $399 round-trip.

The Federal Aviation Administration approved the temporary repairs made to 6,000 damaged feet of runway on Tuesday, said FAA spokeswoman Tweet Coleman. A sealant applied over the aggregate runway was deemed a satisfactory fix until permanent repairs, scheduled for Aug. 4, take place, she said. Coleman added that these repairs are expected to be done at night and in sections, requiring no further runway closures.

An FAA certification inspector and FAA project engineer who looked at the runway last week found it not up to standards, Coleman said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Postal Service contracted with Pacific Air Cargo on Sunday to ship out the stored 42,000 pounds of mail, spokesman Marc Dixon said. The mail was flown to Apia in Samoa and then sent by barge to American Samoa, he said.

Because of the complications — there were customs concerns, as well as a lack of U.S. postal sorting equipment — the postal service had hoped to avoid this option.

"But when the FAA didn't give the green light right away, we decided to do it," Dixon said. "It was like Plan Z, but it was the only plan available."

Wagner said Hawaiian now expects to be able to take the 6,000 pounds of mail that has accumulated since Sunday in its first flight.

The entire experience has been "devastating" to the Samoan community here, with many people unable to attend to funerals and other crucial family matters at home, said Bill Emmsley, executive director at the nonprofit Samoan Service Providers Association. His own daughters were here visiting when the runway was shut down.

"It's been a very trying time," he said. "The ties between Samoans here and back home are very strong."