Passengers with flights booked from Australia to Samoa in the next week will be able to change or cancel them without incurring fees.

Air New Zealand and Polynesian Blue, co-owned by Virgin Blue and the Samoan Government, will continue to operate flights into the capital Apia as normal in the wake of today's tsunami.

Air New Zealand said its planned flight to Samoa today would go ahead, but it had put a larger aircraft on the route in case aid support was required.

The airline had doubled its capacity for the flight, replacing a 152-seat Airbus A320 with a 304-seat Boeing 777, it said.

General manager David Morgan said the plane had been stocked with several hundred blankets, more than 1000 T-shirts and basics like toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Polynesian Blue said its return flight from Apia to Sydney would go ahead this afternoon, departing around three hours late.

The flight was earlier diverted to Nadi Airport in Fiji.

A airline spokesman said change and cancellation fees would be waived for passengers with flights booked before October 8.

An Air New Zealand spokeswoman said the airline would "use discretion" regarding passengers wanting to change or cancel flights, but said passengers would not be penalised as a result of the tsunami.

Hawaiian Airlines also reportedly plans to operate its Thursday flight from Honolulu to American Samoa as normal.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has reissued its travel advice for Samoa, warning of the dangers associated with the overnight natural disasters.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090929-716945.html

Virgin Blue August Passagiere um 1,6%; Auslastung Down

SYDNEY (Dow Jones) - Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd (VBA.AU) sagte Mittwoch die Zahl der Fluggäste stieg im August um 1,6% auf 1,52 Millionen, wie die Einnahmen Auslastung, die ein Maß dafür, wie viele Sitze sie füllt in ihrer Flotte, ging um 1,2 Prozentpunkte gegenüber dem Vorjahr.

Australiens zweitgrößte Fluggesellschaft sagte in einer Erklärung, dass seine Einnahmen Auslastung auf 77,8% sank im Monat, wie die Einführung der internationalen Langstreckenflügen Fluggesellschaft V Australien verhalf seiner Schirmherrschaft.

International stiegen die Passagierzahlen um 42% zum Vorjahr mit einer Kapazität von angebotenen Sitzkilometern gemessen, mehr als verdreifacht, nachdem V Australien Flüge in die USA begannen im Februar 2009. Allerdings Auslastung auf internationalen Flügen ging um 2,4 Punkte auf 71,5%.

Inland die Zahl der Fluggäste sank um 2,7% auf rund 1,31 Millionen, aber nach der Fluggesellschaft reduziert inländischen Kapazitäten um 2,5% gegenüber dem Vorjahr Auslastung um 1,3 Punkte auf 81,1% verbessert werden.