Caledonia

P.A. Airways And New

Plans Made in March for Station In Noumea

VI7E find, in the Bulletin du Commerce, * ' of Noumea, of March 24 and April 3, confirmation of our belief that Pan- American Airways; having discovered that the New Zealand Goverment was not amenable to its plans, was making active preparations to take its South Pacific service from Samoa, via New Caledonia, to Australia.

Mr. Filipovich, representing Pan- American Airways, arrived in Noumea in February, and entered into negotia tions with the Governor. The newspaper announced on March 24 that land for the buildings, wharf, etc., required for a sea plane base, would be made available on He de Nou, which lies opposite Noumea and forms the southern boundary of the

harbour. It was said that the seaplane would come to Noumea from San Fran cisco, via certain South Seas islands, and would continue on to Australia, and that, by this service. New Caledonia might receive letters from Paris within 12 days.

But, already the situation had altered.

Quite suddenly, and unexpectedly, on March 13, the New Zealand Government withdrew its objections to the creation of a Pan-American Airways base in Auck land; and Pan-American Airways, pre sumably, then agreed not to carry its service on to Australia, and to permit Imperial Airways planes, if and when they ever traverse the Pacific, to have facilities in Honolulu. The New Cale donia plan was hurriedly abandoned, and Mr. Filipovich’s presence in Noumea was no longer needed.

Mr. Filipovich departed from Noumea on April 8. In a most carefully worded and tactful statement, published in the Bulletin du Commerce on April 3, Mr.

Filipovich warmly thanked the Governor and various officials for the great cour tesy and help he had received at their hands. He said he was now returning to America, to lay before his chiefs all the information he had gathered with refer ence to New Caledonia: and they then would decide what route would be fol lowed and what rates would be charged.

Our suggestion, made three months ago, that Pan-American Airways, on being held up in New Zealand, was pre pared to plan a route to Australia via New Caledonia, was ridiculed at the time.

But those who made the contradiction will be hard put to it to explain away Mr. Filipovich and the Bulletin du Commerce.