Samoa Airways Reviews & Complaint Guide

After boarding Samoa Airways OL643, the screen at my seat froze and the crew tried restarting it twice. Then we were told there was a maintenance warning and everyone just sat there without a clear timeline. I understand safety checks, but the communication on August 11, 2026 made the whole cabin feel stuck and ignored.

The app said Samoa Airways OL680 was boarding soon, the airport screen still showed delayed, and the gate desk told us to ignore both until they made an announcement. That kind of mixed information is exhausting when you are trying to decide whether to get food, call a ride, or run to a different gate.

A phone was left with the wrong family member during boarding, and I expected that to become a mess. The gate agent at C7 stayed calm, coordinated with the people still outside the jet bridge, and got it back before the door closed. That one employee saved the trip from starting badly.

This was a rare travel day where nothing dramatic happened. Samoa Airways OL754 boarded close to the posted 13:35 time, the cabin was clean, and the crew kept the announcements short but useful. I landed at NBO close enough to schedule that my ride did not have to circle the airport.

The fare looked reasonable when I booked, but the final cost felt different after seat selection, baggage, and a change fee. For the Mexico City to Cancun trip, the add-ons made the ticket feel misleading. I would rather see the real price earlier than be surprised step by step.

The wheelchair request was on the reservation, but when we reached New York JFK nobody seemed prepared for it. We waited, asked twice, and almost missed the boarding window. Special assistance should not depend on finding the right person at the last minute.

I paid extra so our family could sit together, then at the airport the seats had been split anyway. The agent kept pointing to the screen like that answered the problem, even though my receipt showed the seat purchase. On a long SFO-SIN flight, being moved away from a child after paying for seats is not a small inconvenience.

The airport desk told us all rebooking had to be handled by phone. I called twice from the terminal, waited long enough to watch other passengers give up, and still did not reach anyone who could fix the trip. When travel plans are falling apart, being bounced between airport staff and the call center is not support.

A minor name correction should not have taken two calls, a fee, and repeating the same passport information again. The second agent eventually fixed it, but the first case note apparently was not visible. I spent more time proving the problem than actually solving it.

Our original flight was cancelled and Samoa Airways automatically moved us onto a connection that looked impossible from the start. Staff at IST kept saying the new 13:35 departure was the only option, but by the time we landed the onward gate was already closed. What bothered me most was being told to call support while standing in the airport with hotel nights already paid for.

We came off a long international leg exhausted and still had one more flight to go. The crew on Samoa Airways OL133 noticed several people were connecting onward and made a point of checking who needed gate information. It was not fancy service, just thoughtful and human, which mattered after a long day.

The flight was not perfect and we did leave late, but the crew kept explaining what they knew. On Samoa Airways OL170, they gave connection updates before landing and reminded passengers which bags would arrive at the regular claim. I can handle a delay much better when the communication is honest.

Once the connection was missed, every person pointed somewhere else. Airport staff said to call, the call center said to ask the airport, and the app kept showing options that disappeared before I could select them. Nobody sounded responsible for getting us to the destination anymore.

The app changed first, the airport screen changed later, and the people at gate F14 still had no explanation. By the time someone finally said the 13:35 departure was delayed, several passengers had already missed the chance to adjust their connections. The delay was frustrating, but the silence made it worse.

People at gate A4 were asking normal questions about vouchers, hotel options, and whether the delay would affect connections. The answers kept changing, and one staff member spoke to passengers like they were wasting time. It was the attitude, more than the delay, that made the experience feel so bad.

A phone was left with the wrong family member during boarding, and I expected that to become a mess. The gate agent at E6 stayed calm, coordinated with the people still outside the jet bridge, and got it back before the door closed. That one employee saved the trip from starting badly.

I submitted the refund form after a cancelled Johannesburg to Cape Town trip and received a case number right away. After that, nothing was simple. Each call felt like starting over, one agent could not see the previous notes, and the email replies never gave a real date for when the money would be returned.