P.A.A. Almost

Ready

Start of Trans-Pacific Air-Mail

THE air-ports at Canton Island. Nou mea, and Auckland, are ready; an other successful test-flight by a 40-tons Boeing flying-boat has been carried out; an extensive meteorological service now is working smoothly: and Pan American Airways announced in New York on De cember 7 that they will inaugurate a regular Trans-Pacific airmail service (San Francisco-Los Angeles-Honolulu- Canton Is.-Noumea-Auckland) at an early date.

The Boeing “Honolulu Clipper”, on her test flight, arrived in Auckland on November 24, and left on her return flight to San Francisco on November 25.

P.A.A. now has six Boeing clippers in service (four on the Atlantic and two on the Pacific) and six more are being built.

Auckland-Sydney Link

Meanwhile, the plans of British Im perial Airways remain in abeyance, under war conditions. It has not yet been possible to inaugurate the Sydney- Auckland service, apart altogether from making plans for the Trans-Pacific ser vice.

The 20-ton flying-boat “Aotearoa”, which was to have started the service in October, is still making experimental flights between Sydney and New Zealand, and between Auckland and the Pacific Islands. The big flying-boat, in recent weeks, has visited ports in the Tongan Group.

Captain Burgess, of the Aotearoa, said in Auckland on December 11 that every thing now is ready for the inauguration of the Sydney-Auckland air service, as soon as it is sanctioned by the Govern ments concerned (Britain, Australia and New Zealand), Fiji Not Yet In P.A.A.

Schedule MUCH has appeared in American, Australian and New Zealand news papers about the trans-Pacific airmail and air passenger service, soon to be established by Pan American Airways, but not one word has been said about the probability of Pan American Airways making Fiji a station of call on their route, as was originally suggested.

There is no explanation of this curious silence.

Fiji is the most important British colony south of the equator, and P.A.A. must regard the Fiji business as worth having.

It is possible that the position is con nected with British Imperial Airways’ wish to get landing-rights in Hawaii. Are we to assume that the difficulties that existed between British and American authorities in regard to permitting British Imperial Airways landing rights in Hawaii have not yet been settled? Are the British withholding from the Ameri can company landing-rights in Fiji, until such time as the difficulty in relation to Hawaii has been settled?

Pan American Airways’ regular service between Auckland and San Francisco may be running before the end of the year, and it will be an extraordinary thing if the great seaplanes, making their

way between Noumea and Canton Island should fly practically within sight of Suva and not make a call there.