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Virgin Samoa, formerly Polynesian Blue, is an airline that flies between Samoa, Australia and New Zealand. It is owned by Virgin Australia Holdings (49%) and the Government of Samoa (49%).〔(Virgin Blue picks up Samoa flights ) ''CNN'' 14 July 2005〕 Polynesian Blue took over the long haul flights (those involving Australia or New Zealand) which were operated by Polynesian Airlines. In December 2011 Polynesian Blue was renamed Virgin Samoa. ==History== In 2005 Virgin Blue Holdings signed an agreement with the Government of Samoa to operate a joint venture airline. The announcement came after several months of detailed discussions between the two parties and involved the Samoan government and Virgin Blue joining forces to set up a new company to operate jet routes previously flown by Polynesian Airlines. The name Polynesian Blue adopted in keeping with the Virgin Blue family of brands, which also included Christchurch based Pacific Blue Airlines. Its first flight was on 31 October 2005, between Apia, Auckland and Sydney. The airline is owned by Virgin Australia Holdings (49%), the Government of Samoa (49%) with the remaining 2% held by an independent Samoan shareholder, the owner of Aggie Grey's Resort and Hotel. Pacific Blue Airlines changed its ICAO code from PBI to PBN to prevent air traffic controllers confusing the I for a 1 in flight plans. This also applies to Virgin Samoa flights operated by Virgin Australia. The ICAO code PLB (Callsign: Polyblue) is currently reserved for the airline but not in use. Virgin Blue Holdings rebranded its airlines under the new Virgin Australia name in 2011, later renaming itself Virgin Australia Holdings. Polynesian Blue was rebranded Virgin Samoa and a new livery was unveiled for one of the Boeing 737-800s operated by Virgin Australia (NZ) - which features traditional Samoan tattoos on the engines, designed by Tuifa’asisina Tolouena Sua. Cabin crew uniforms were also redesigned to feature the new imagery. In 2015 Virgin Australia made the decision to relinquish its New Zealand Air Operators Certificate and thus transferred all New Zealand registered aircraft, including the Virgin Samoa branded aircraft, to the Australian register. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Virgin Samoa」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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