Press Release – Pacific Blue

The presentation was made to The Honorable Prime Minister Sailele Malielegaoi, by the Polynesian Blue Board, including Virgin Blue Airlines Group Chief Executive and co-founder, Mr Brett Godfrey, who travelled to Samoa with his senior management team …Polynesian Blue Presents Cheque To Samoan Government.

Wednesday 9 December 2009: In Apia today, the Board of Polynesian Blue presented WST$9 million to the Government of Samoa.

The presentation was made to The Honorable Prime Minister Sailele Malielegaoi, by the Polynesian Blue Board, including Virgin Blue Airlines Group Chief Executive and co-founder, Mr Brett Godfrey, who travelled to Samoa with his senior management team including Chief Operations Officer, Mr Andrew David; Pacific Blue Executive General Manager, Mr Mark Pitt; General Counsel, Ms Merren McArthur; and General Manager, Public Affairs, Ms Heather Jeffery.

The WST$9 million comprises repayment of the full value of the Government’s initial investment in Polynesian Blue in 2005 and a special dividend from the operations of the National Carrier during the 2009 financial year.

Mr Brett Godfrey said: “It is our sincerest intent to maintain the promise we made when we first launched Polynesian Blue back in 2005 to not only build a profitable national carrier for the people of Samoa but to build one that has a strong sense of community involvement and responsibility.”

“The airline has gone from strength to strength so we are honoured to be in a position to give back to Samoa.”

“To have recorded a net profit in such a challenging economic environment across the planet is nothing short of an outstanding achievement among airlines anywhere in the world,” he continued.

The Polynesian Blue and Virgin Blue Airlines Group teams – from the Executive team and Board to individual staff members working on the ground and in the air – have been deeply touched by the tragic events surrounding the Tsunami two months ago and the ongoing serious impacts being felt by Samoan communities.

For the financial year ended 30 June 2009, Polynesian Blue recorded a net profit after income tax of NZ$880,000. The airline’s accumulated net profit since launch in 2005 has been NZ$16,156,000.

Polynesian Blue will also continue to work closely with the Government to encourage tourism to the region via media familiarisation programs and strategic marketing.

The airline continues to improve its product offering, announcing today that it will introduce its popular Premium Class across all Polynesian Blue flights from June 2010.

ENDS

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