Sydney-Auckland

Airmail

Difficulties of P.A.A.

From Our Own Correspondent

Honolulu, Feb. 24.

INDICATIONS are that Pan American Airways are anxious to get going with their San Francisco-New Zealand trans-Pacific airmail: but it is clear that the corporation is being seriously em barrassed by the calls which are being made upon it to provide flying-boats for the North Pacific and North Atlantic services, with a consequent difficulty of finding suitable craft for the South Pacific service.

P.A.A. now are running a service be tween New York and Portugal; but another American company, Export Airlines, has entered the field, appar ently with strong Government sym pathy, and there are indications of fur ther opposition from a new Dutch company.

P.A.A. cannot get sufficient equipment, in the present circumstances, to pro ceed with plans for improving both the Atlantic and Pacific services. Some time may elapse before more Boeing Clip pers will be available.

If P.A.A. do get their South Pacific services going, to connect with the new

flying-boat service between Sydney and Auckland, it is difficult to see how it can provide more than a fortnightly service between Auckland and Honolulu.

IT was announced, on March 8, that another British flying-boat, the “Awarua”, shortly will fly to Australia, in order to join the “Aotearoa” in carrying on a regular flying-boat ser vice between Sydney and Auckland.

There appears now to be growing con fidence that this—the first —section of the trans-Pacific airmail will be inau gurated in April. The single, one-way fare is to be £3O.

(See, also, article on page 19.)