Air New Zealand hosted the Samoa Chamber of Commerce’s first members’ meeting of 2016 on Monday. 

The company’s Country Manager in Samoa, Laura Barker, briefly presented on relevant services and incentives currently offered by the airline for Samoa.

She also spoke about partnerships that Air NZ has with other airlines where Samoa could benefit from.

Ms. Barker explained that in order for Air New Zealand to remain relevant in the future, there would need to be continued investment into customer experience as well as its equipment.

Air NZ continues to commit to its partnerships with alliances such as their Hong Kong alliance with Cathay Pacific and the trans-Tasman alliance with Virgin Australia.

There was also a lot of interest from Chamber members in finding out whether the route from Auckland to Los Angeles via Apia could be reinstated, as well as the possibility of adding a mid-week flight using a larger vessel. 

Members went further on to discuss what might need to be done in order for the route to be reinstated. 

These questions were mainly brought about by the need for more consistent international shipping especially to the mainland U.S. 

Air New Zealand has been one of the longest serving airlines in Samoa.