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MY'STORY

The MOVE Fire

This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985 Philadelphia police fired thousands of rounds at the MOVE house, city officials approved dropping an explosive device on the roof, the resulting fire was allowed to burn, 11 people—including five children—died, and 61 homes were destroyed. Philadelphia City Council later called it a “brutal attack carried out by the City of Philadelphia on its own citizens” and acknowledged that no individual faced criminal consequences for the bombing. One timeline correction worth preserving for the BHP record: the major previous MOVE-police confrontation was August 8, 1978, about seven years before the bombing, not a year or two earlier. Officer James Ramp was killed, other police and firefighters were wounded, nine MOVE members were later convicted, and television cameras recorded police beating Delbert Africa during his arrest. The 1985 MOVE Commission later specifically criticized city planners for failing to adequately use lessons from that 1978 confrontation. And that actually strengthens the point you’re making: 1985 did not happen without precedent or institutional memory. There had already been a deadly confrontation with MOVE, years of conflict, negotiations and police involvement before Osage Avenue.

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BLACK FACTS
The Truths They Never Taught You...

Katherine Johnson — Mathematics to the Moon

Katherine Johnson’s mathematical calculations helped guide some of America’s most important early space missions while she confronted the racial and gender barriers faced by Black women in twentieth-century America.

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BHP gathered finds from its connected research sources. Showing the 4 strongest Black History matches.
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Wikipedia

Virgin Samoa

Virgin Samoa Limited
IATA ICAO Call sign
VA VOZ VELOCITY
Commenced operations
October 31, 2005
Ceased operations
November 12, 2017
HubsFaleolo International Airport
Velocity
Fleet size1
Destinations4
Parent companyVirgin Australia Holdings (49%)
Government of Samoa (49%)
Grey Investment Group (2%)
HeadquartersBowen Hills, Brisbane, Australia
Key peopleMark Pitt (CEO)
Websitevirginaustralia.com/samoa

Virgin Samoa, formerly Polynesian Blue, was the flag carrier of Samoa.[1] It was owned by Virgin Australia Holdings (49%), the Government of Samoa (49%) and Grey Investment Group (2%).[2][3] 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. It ceased operations on 12 November 2017.

History

[edit]
Polynesian Blue logo.

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 was 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.[4]

Pacific Blue Airlines changed its ICAO code from PBI to PBN to prevent air traffic controllers from confusing the I for a 1 in flight plans. This also applies to Virgin Samoa flights operated by Virgin Australia. The ICAO code PLB (call sign: 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.[5] 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.[6]

In 2015, Virgin Australia relinquished its New Zealand Air Operators Certificate, with all New Zealand-registered aircraft, including the Virgin Samoa-branded aircraft, transferred to the Australian register.[7]

In May 2017, the Prime Minister of Samoa, Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, wrote to Virgin Australia advising of the government's intention to withdraw from the joint venture.[8] This followed two years of the government's unhappiness that Samoan customers and government were not obtaining enough of the benefits from the joint venture.[9] Virgin Australia later confirmed that services would cease on 12 November 2017.[3][10] The government proposed Polynesian Airlines resume operating long-distance flights[11] while Virgin Australia commenced operating services to Samoa on 13 November 2017 in its own right.[12]

Destinations

[edit]
Polynesian Blue Boeing 737-800 in 2005.

Before its cessation on 12 November 2017, Virgin Samoa operated scheduled passenger flights from Apia to Brisbane, Auckland and Sydney:

Country City Airport Notes
Australia Brisbane Brisbane Airport
Sydney Sydney Airport
New Zealand Auckland Auckland Airport
Samoa Apia Faleolo International Airport Hub

Fleet

[edit]

Virgin Samoa did not own any of its own aircraft. All flights were operated on behalf of Virgin Samoa by Virgin Australia. One of their aircraft was painted in Virgin Samoa livery and named Tapu I'Tea.[13]

Virgin Samoa fleet
Aircraft In service Passengers Notes
J Y Total
Boeing 737-800 1 8 168 176 [13]
Total 1

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Virgin Samoa Is Now The New National Airline of Samoa". 7 December 2011. Archived from the original on 14 November 2013.
  2. ^ Virgin Blue picks up Samoa flights Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine CNN 14 July 2005
  3. ^ a b End to Virgin Samoa deal puts non-stop trips in doubt Archived 3 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine Sydney Morning Herald 25 May 2017
  4. ^ Virgin Blue spreads its wings Australian Aviation issue 220 September 2005 page 16
  5. ^ "Virgin Australia rebrands its Pacific carriers". New Zealand Herald. 8 December 2011. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  6. ^ Mike Gisick (7 December 2011). "Polynesian Blue to become Virgin Samoa". Australian Aviation. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Virgin completes transfer of NZ 737s onto Australian AOC". Australian Aviation. 19 March 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  8. ^ Govt drops Virgin Archived 21 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Samoa Observer 18 May 2017
  9. ^ PM defends axing of Virgin Archived 21 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Samoa Observer 19 May 2017
  10. ^ Virgin Australia mulling over next step in Samoa Archived 22 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Radio New Zealand 23 May 2017
  11. ^ Samoa poised to end joint venture with Virgin Archived 27 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Radio New Zealand 16 May 2017
  12. ^ Virgin Australia confirms plans to fly to Australia Virgin Australia 1 September 2017
  13. ^ a b "VH-YID. Boeing 737-8FE. c/n 38709-3851". Aussie Airliners. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
[edit]
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Wikipedia

Virgin Samoa

Virgin Samoa, formerly Polynesian Blue, was the flag carrier of Samoa. It was owned by Virgin Australia Holdings (49%), the Government of Samoa (49%) and Grey Investment Group (2%). 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. It ceased operations on 12 November 2017.

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Wikipedia

Virgin Australia Airlines (NZ)

Virgin Australia Airlines (NZ) Limited, formerly Pacific Blue Airlines (NZ) Limited, was an airline based in New Zealand. It was established as the New Zealand subsidiary of Australian airline Virgin Blue. It was a fully owned subsidiary of Virgin Australia Holdings. It was renamed Virgin Australia Airlines (NZ) Ltd in December 2011 when its parent company decided to bring all its airlines under the one banner. It was based at Christchurch and Auckland and operated air services between New Zealand and Australia as well as the Pacific Islands. It also operated services on behalf of Virgin Samoa (formerly known as Polynesian Blue). The airline has brought all its flying under its parent VA Air Operating Certificate. The final New Zealand registered Pacific Blue aircraft finished up flying 13 March 2015 bringing a visible end to Pacific Blue and being renamed to Virgin Australia NZ (VANZ). With the withdrawal of the last aircraft, the New Zealand register connection ended after 11 years of aircraft on the New Zealand register from 23 January 2004 to 14 March 2015.

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Wikipedia

Samoa Airways

Samoa Airways, formerly Polynesian Airlines, is the flag carrier of Samoa. The airline was founded in 1959 as "Polynesian Airlines", providing domestic and international flights throughout the South Pacific. International operations were temporarily halted in 2005 and taken over by the new airline Polynesian Blue (later Virgin Samoa), before resuming international flights under the new name of "Samoa Airways" in late 2017. Samoa Airways is wholly owned by the government of Samoa and is based in the capital city of Apia, with its headquarters located in the Samoa Methodist Church Building on Beach Road and its primary hub at Faleolo International Airport. The airline presently operates short-haul flights within Samoa and American Samoa, however it no longer serves long-haul flights to Australia and New Zealand after the company ceased jet operations in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Wikipedia

Grey Investment Group

Grey Investment Group is a private Samoan tourism company that has assets throughout the Pacific Region. Grey is a dominant company in the Samoan investment market. Some assets are jointly-held with the Government of Samoa; for example, the investments in Virgin Samoa were jointly held with the Government as co-shareholders.

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TOPIC OF THE DAY

Greenwood / Black Wall Street

Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.

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TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE DAY

Which Black woman became the first elected to the United States Congress?

Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968.