FAA Reportedly Can't Afford To Certify Samoa's Inter Island Airways

For all its effort and expense, Inter Island Air is having a hard time getting off the ground. The Samoan News reports the FAA can't afford to send workers from Honolulu to American Samoa to certify the carrier.

It's gotten to the point where even Samoan lawmakers are trying to help. In a letter to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, Congressman Faleomavaega Eni openly expressed his concerns over Inter Island's woes, as the government in that Pacific territory tries to secure the services of a US carrier.

Faleomavaega asked the Mineta for his "direct involvement in resolving a final matter for Inter Island Airways. Again, I am disappointed in the way the FAA continues to deal with American Samoa and I am hopeful that $2,000 can be found in discretionary funds so that certification can be finalized," he noted. "The service that Inter Island will provide between Tutuila and Manu'a Islands is critical to the safety and well-being of my constituents."

For its part, Inter Island is laying low, looking for something positive in all this. The company's Dornier 228 was recently allowed an exemption by the FAA to use an analog flight data recorder instead of the more up-to-date digital type. "There existed the possibility that without political pressure, FAA staff tasked to review the merits of the exemption filing may not fully understand the real economic conditions in this region along the remoteness and isolation the Manu'a Islands and the urgency for a US carrier to serve the Manu'a Islands," the airline said.

Inter Island has also signalled its willingness to send its pilots to Wyoming for their Part 135 check rides. So far, there's been no comment from the FAA.

FMI: www.samoanet.com/iia