The Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (F.A.S.T.) party Chairman has echoed the sentiments of a Cabinet colleague on the State considering purchasing an aircraft but says "at the right time".

Speaking during an interview on the EFKS television's Soalepule programme on Friday night, La'auli Leuatea Schmidt echoed the sentiments of the recently appointed Finance Minister, Lautimuia Uelese Va'ai on getting an aircraft for Samoa. 

The Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries said he is of the view shared by many others that having an aircraft is essential for transport but he believes that this should be done at the right time. 

"Right now, the national airline is still in a lot of debt," La'auli said. "A heavy load that is now been taken up by the government and we are still trying to fix the issues and problems created during the the previous administration. 

"The Minister for Samoa Airways has already explained that they need to fix the internal issues within the airline before they look at bringing in an aircraft.

"The truth is, we shouldn't be defeated by the mere thought of not owning an aircraft. We must prioritise the problems at hand before we take that path."

La'auli added that while he agreed with the Finance Minister there are a lot of factors to consider first before a decision is made. 

"We should not repeat the same mistakes and learn from the experiences we had in the past on how to run an airline. That's just one of the factors we need to consider among so many other things. 

"The Minister [of Finance] made the suggestion in his capacity as the Minister of Finance because our national debt has been reduced and he knows that it's a great project to take in the future when we are in a stable position and ready to run an airline."

According to the Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, one of the problems they observed from the previous administration was that they did not run the airline as a business and alleged that politics influenced how Samoa Airways operated. 

"We don't want to repeat those mistakes again. We want to make sure that we will be ready and consider all the risk factors and have a good strategy and policy to guide its operation. Maybe when we're ready, a proposal should be submitted to the Cabinet and there's a special Cabinet Committee that can review the proposal. 

"But I honestly believe we should wait until our national debt has dropped significantly and when Samoa Airways is in a good and stable position to operate an aircraft for Samoa because if we are not too careful the people of the country will have to carry the burden and pay for the debts."

Lautimuia made the suggestion over a week ago saying the Samoa government must consider getting an aircraft "further down the line" as one of the current administration's major development projects.

"Further down the line, I think we should have our own aircraft," Lautimuia said. "That is the only way we can have a say or help with the competition between airlines and help reduce the cost of airfares. 

"That's a model that has been used by Fiji and if we look at it, our total debt has been reduced to 35 per cent of our GDP compared to Fiji. Fiji's total debt was 90 per cent of their GDP but it has dropped to 80 per cent because of their national airline. 

"I guess the difference between us and Fiji was that our airline led us to more debt and was running on debt while Fiji is gaining profit from its airline."

Lautimuia said it is his belief that Samoa should learn from Fiji and have the right model and people to run and operate an airline.

"We know it's working for Fiji and we need to consider looking at how it's done and to look at all the factors we need to consider. We also need to make sure we do it at the right time and the right aircraft as well as choosing the right routes we can service. 

"There are other options we can look at in the time being like having codeshares with other international airlines. However, we also need to be vigilant about the terms and conditions of those agreements. 

"But further down the line, having our own aircraft is what we should do as it will greatly contribute to the development of tourism and the country but it's just a matter of timing."

There should also be extensive research on how to successfully operate an airline as well as choosing qualified people to lead the development of the airline. 

"Fiji gambled a lot when they started their own airline and if we do it, we need to have the right people to lead the operation and control it. Owning an airline is one thing, but running it at a profit it's another thing and that's the most important thing. 

"The government has now taken up the responsibility of paying off the airline's debt from the previous administration but the good thing is that it has reduced and that it can be paid off. 

"We also need to note that we are eligible to request and propose another loan for big development projects. But we have to choose the right projects and the right time to do it and I believe having our own airline is another big project we should consider."