Included Shortly

United States, Australia and New Zealand Now Linked by Trans-Pacific Air-Mail Fiji Omitted From Inaugural Flights, But May Be Included Shortly

T>AN American Airways’ Boeing flying-boat “American Clipper”, which left San Francisco on July 12, arrived in Auckland, N.Z., on July 18, just as Tasman Empire Airways flying-boat “Awarua” arrived from Sydney. Thus was inaugurated, under Anglo-American co-operation, a Trans-Pacific air-mail service that will have an incalculable effect upon the future of the Pacific nations and territories.

THE P.A.A. flying-boat, American Clipper, which carried out the inaugural flight, arrived in Auck land a few minutes after 3 p.m. on July 18, after having covered the following stages:— Miles 'Frisco-Los Angeles 368 Los Angeles-Honolulu 2538 Honolulu-Canton Is 1915 Canton Is.—Noumea 1994 Noumea-Auckland 1122 It had been decided that two trips should be made before the carriage of passengers and mails should be under taken. The flying-boat carried, in addi tion to 175,000 letters (mostly philatel ists’ “first air-mail covers”), a crew of 10 and 25 officials of the United States Government and Pan American Air ways. Captain John Tilton was in charge, with Captain R. J. Nixon as first officer. Colonel Clarence M. Young, manager of the Pacific Division of Pan American Airways, and Mr. Harold Gatty, P.A.A. manager at Auckland, were in the official party.

The flight from San Francisco to Auckland appears to have been com pletely uneventful. The weather was fine.

Following the award on June 12, by the United States Civil Aeronautics Authority, of the Certificate of Con venience and Necessity, to operate the 8,000-mile South Pacific air route from San Francisco and Los Angeles, via Honolulu, Canton Island and New Cale donia to New Zealand, the C.A.A., Post Office Department and Pan American Airways settled upon that date for the first mail flight.

Service for passengers and commer cial express was expected to become available 30 days after the inauguration of air mail service. Los Angeles is a port of call, both inbound and outbound.

Announcement of the date for the

inaugural flight found stations along the line ready for service. The ocean bases, where construction work was under taken more than a year ago, had been

on an operating status for months, and had had experience in receiving and dispatching clippers on two preliminary flights to New Zealand and return, plus one as far as Canton Island.

As to flying equipment: The flying boat fleet, for operation on both the North Pacific and South Pacific routes (three Boeing 314’s, 2 Martin M-130’s) was completed with arrival in San Fran cisco on June 21 of American Clipper, returning after nearly a year of service in the Atlantic Division, first on the trans-Atlantic run, and then between New York and Bermuda.

THE American Clipper left Auckland on July 20, and the return to San Francisco was made without incident.

The Boeing flying-boat Honolulu Clip per, which carried out a survey flight between San Francisco and Auckland in November, 1939, left San Francisco for Auckland on July 27, on the second flight of the new service, arrived in Auckland on August 1, and left Auck land again for San Francisco on August 3, all according to schedule.

The third trip of the service, which commenced on August 11, and which is carrying 13 passengers and freight is being undertaken with the California Clipper —which was the first Boeing seen in Auckland, when she visited there on a survey flight in Sep tember, 1939.

And so at long last, after heart breaking delays, caused at first by dis putes between P.A.A. and American officialdom and, secondly, by the out break of war, the South Pacific air service has been commenced. rE one disappointing factor, so far, is the non-inclusion of Suva as a port of call. Mr. Percival, “Sydney

Morning Herald” representative, cabled from Auckland on August 3 that Mr.

Gatty, of P.A.A., and Captain Burgess (flight superintendent of Tasman Empire Airways) were then in Suva, and that they were trying to make arrangements for the inclusion of Suva in the service. Mr. Percival was of opinion that the inclusion of Suva, either in the P.A.A. service, or in a Tasman Empire Airways service extended from Auckland, would result in a round fly ing-trip of considerable interest being made available in the South Pacific, namely: Brisbane - Noumea-Suva-Auck land-Sydney.

Two Australian newspaper corre spondents left Sydney early in August to travel over the P.A.A. route to the U.S.; and at the same time a party of American newspaper correspondents left San Francisco, to travel by the P.A.A. and Tasman Empire Airways route to Australia, and endeavour to give America some idea of the new world that has been opened up by the enter prise of Pan American Airways.

Accommodation For 40

AN inspection of the clipper at Auck land showed that two cricket pitches could be arranged on its wings with a reasonable run for bowlers, said the ‘‘Sydney Morning Herald” corres pondent, on August 2. There are 40 bunks at the rear of the upper deck.

There are separate rooms for mail, cargo and bullion.

The wings hold 1,200 gallons of fuel.

There is an off-duty room on the flight deck for junior members of the crew, in which hammocks can be slung. Tun nels lead from the flight deck into the wings, along which the engineer can walk to attend to the engines. A new feature will be introduced on to-mor row’s north-bound mail flight, when a buffet bar will be opened at which it will be possible to secure “snacks” at any hour.

Passenger And Postage Rates

IT is reported that the single fare, from Auckland to San Francisco, on the new service, is £2OO, Austra lian or N.Z. currency.

The postage rates on letters sent from New Zealand by the service are:—To New Caledonia, 1/- per half-ounce; to Canton Island, 1/9 per half-ounce; to Hawaii, 2/6 per half-ounce; to the United States, 4/- per half-ounce. This is inclusive of any despatch by surface transport or internal air services.

Map showing P.A.A. route from U.S.A. to New Zealand, and the connecting link with Australia by Tasman Empire Airways.

The Tasman Empire Airways flying boat “Awarua”, in foreground, and the Pan American Airways Boeing Clipper moored side by side in Auckland, Harbour (N.Z.) in July.