To ensure full understanding of American Samoa’s needs and the impact federal laws have on the territory, a federally funded air transport market study recommends educating decision makers in the U.S. Congress and executive agencies of the federal government about the Territory.

This recommendation is made under a section of the study titled “Changes in Federal Laws or Regulations,” which says that American Samoa, with less than 0.02% of the population of the U.S. and thousands of miles removed from the country’s population centers and major transportation corridors, “should not be regulated as though it were an important US aviation market.”

Contracted to UBM Aviation-ASM or Airport Strategy Marketing Limited, the study says American Samoa needs air service and the US ban on cabotage sales — that includes transportation of domestic passengers or cargo by foreign airlines — should not apply, “but it does.”

“Granting a foreign operator whatever rights it needs to serve Pago Pago certainly makes sense,” the study says, but noted that proponents of the cabotage rules representing US airlines and their labor groups will not argue that granting American Samoa cabotage would cause economic harm to any US entity, with the exception of Hawaiian Airlines.

Instead, the carriers and labor groups will argue that any precedent would threaten a progression of steps, opening another small and remote market followed by a slightly more meaningful market until eventually Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and other world-class Pacific airlines are flying in the lucrative Honolulu-Los Angeles market, the study says.

“The colorful terms used in Washington DC for the fear of creeping incremental threats are ‘the slippery slope’ and ‘the camel’s nose under the tent’,” the study points out. “The struggle against such arguments cannot be easy or quick but the methods are straightforward.”

Therefore, the study says American Samoa “will need to spend considerable energy to attempt to educate the decision makers in Congress and the Executive Agencies about the need" based on the “severe inadequacy of the current service and the weight of the burden of high monopoly fares.”

Additionally, the need for relief based on the territory’s economic disadvantages; how far, measured in distance and travel time, Pago Pago really is from the Mainland; how small any adverse impact would be on the US airline industry; and the positive impact projected for American Samoa's tourism and commerce.

Furthermore, the strengthening of the Samoan community possible with lower-cost and more convenient travel to and from Hawaii and the Mainland; and interest by a foreign airline in operating from its home country through Pago Pago to Honolulu or Los Angeles if it could carry domestic passengers along with through passengers.

The study has cautioned American Samoa against moving forward with legislation to exempt the territory from federal cabotage law, saying that two major Pacific airlines are not interested in cabotage service, and any legislation will be strongly opposed by U.S. airline labor unions as well as Hawaiian Airlines. (See Samoa News edition of Jan. 30 for details.)

The study does note some cabotage exemptions such as Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska, which are beneficiaries under the Stevens Amendment — Alaska Cargo Provision — a federal law passed in 2004.

It allows non-US airlines to carry international cargo between US points as part of interline transportation if the connection occurs in Alaska. These rights, small as they are, were opposed vigorously by supporters of the principles of cabotage and became law only because of the personal power of the late Senator Stevens of Alaska.

“They have led to substantial air cargo growth for the Alaska airports but remain unlawful for Hawaii or any of the island territories of the US,” the study says, but added that a similar provision would not be helpful for American Samoa, because Alaska has a geographic advantage, being conveniently located for technical stops between Asia and the U.S. mainland on routes too long for heavy freighter aircraft to operate nonstop.

According to the study, Pago Pago had a similar advantage years ago when many commercial aircraft needed refueling en route from the Mainland or even Hawaii to New Zealand and Australia, but advanced aircraft technology has eliminated that advantage.

The Stevens Amendment helps cargo operators to distribute their loads efficiently between multiple Asian gateways and multiple US gateway cities by working together, according to the study, which also states that the value is generated by frequent flights operating through Alaska on a regular basis.

However, “Pago Pago is not located advantageously on world air routes to take advantage of a similar exception to the Cabotage restrictions, even if it were possible, which is extremely unlikely,” the study notes.

Samoa News should point out that one of the issues the contractor was asked to look into was the Stevens Amendment, to ascertain if it could benefit American Samoa.