Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

Any news on the flights between Upolu and Sawaii ?

Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Samoa

So why did the route between Upolu and Sawaii end operation ? Any chance it will get back to operation ?

Can't say I look forward to a 90 minute ferry trip. From what I understand, it can b difficult to get a ticket too....

The route ended operation because there were not enough passengers anymore to make it viable. You had to go to Faleolo Airport, right next to the wharf. To fly to Maota, 5 minutes flight time. However including check-in time and such the trip was as long by plane as it is by ferry (60 minutes). And the air fare was 120 Tala return, compared to 14 Tala on the ferry (at that time). That's why nobody wanted to take the plane anymore.

However Polynesian Airlines is about to re-open Fagalii Airport, near Apia, in June. So there is hope that they might resume the Savai'i flights too, from Apia then, 20 minutes flight. That would really be nice.

The ferry trip is 60 minutes on the big ferry, which is a quite reasonable ship. And you easily get your ticket at the counter right at the wharf. Why should that be a problem?

BTW - it is Savai'i , not Sawaii .

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I can only say that whoever finds that short ferry crossing between those 2 islands (really, one of the easiest in the South Pacific!) a major inconvenience might be looking at the wrong country.
Well, perhaps you could avoid it by staying put at an upmarket resort on Upolu... or else try French Polynesia or New Caledonia, with their EU standard (both in service and price!) transport and tourism facilities - including reliable flights all over the islands.

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Many years ago we flew from Fagalii over to Maota. What a great and easy trip that was. A nice siteseeing flite also.

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