Regular Stop on P.A.A.

Seaplane Base

At Suva

Service

mHE Fiji Government, with the formal Jl approval of Great Britain, is to commence immediately the con struction of a seaplane base at a bay on the coast of Viti Levu, about two miles from the seaport of Suva, in the direc tion of the mouth of the Rewa River.

Suva Harbour itself, on account of treacherous air currents created by the background of mountains, is not suitable as a seaplane base.

Pan American Airways, on the direct invitation of the British authorities, have agreed to include Suva as a regular call on the regular air mail service

between San Francisco and Auckland, as soon as the base is completed, which is expected to be about the end of this year. The P.A.A. clippers will make an overnight stop at Suva, both going and coming, on the flight between Canton Island and Noumea; and, in view of the importance of this new passenger traf fic, it is understood that certain im provements and alterations will be made to the Grand Pacific Hotel, which already is the leading hotel of the South Pacific territories.

The decision that both British and American interests shall use this new seaplane base in Fiji is significant and important. It was actually decided upon at the Pacific Defence Conference held in Wellington, New Zealand, several months ago; and it is evidence of the growing co-operation between the United States and the British Empire Govern ments in Pacific affairs.

There is a precedent, of course, in Canton Island, where the seaplane sta tion is available to the aircraft of Great Britain and the United States.

A few days after it was announced that Pan American Airways would make use of the Suva seaplane base, a lead ing Tokio newspaper, on September 24, warned the Japanese that “an import ant aspect of the Pacific front of Britain, the United States, and Australia, is the projected joint Anglo-American military and commercial air base at Fiji.”

Noumea-Sydney Connection

Important oversea air mails are now coming from Europe to Australia, via the United States, on the South Pacific air mail, conducted by P.A.A.; and it is a source of irritation in Australia that these air mails, having reached Noumea, in New Caledonia, within a few hundred miles of the Australian coast, should be diverted to Auckland and then be brought across the Tasman on another air service—thus causing a loss in time of delivery of from one to two days.

It has been persistently suggested that, sooner or later, P.A.A. will run a branch service from Noumea to Brisbane, in order to meet this demand for greater speed in mail delivery.

Mr. Harold Gatty (Auckland P.A.A. manager), when he was in Sydney late in September, however, stated that Pan American Airways had no intention of extending the service from Noumea to Sydney (a run from Noumea to Bris bane had never even been contem plated) unless they were asked to do so by the Australian Commonwealth authorities. At present, there was no indication that such an arrangement would be made.

Mr. Gatty said it was hoped eventually to use the P.A.A. luxury yacht “South ern Seas” to convey from Noumea to Sydney Clipper passengers bound for Australia. The yacht would maintain a regular service between Sydney and Noumea, and an interesting round trip for tourists would thus be provided— namely, Sydney to Noumea by luxury yacht, Noumea to Auckland by flying boat, and from Auckland to Sydney by flying boat or steamer.

The yacht was then in Sydney Har bour undergoing overhaul. It would return almost immediately to Noumea, said Mr. Gatty, and remain there for the present, in order to provide Clipper passengers with suitable accommodation during their overnight stay in Noumea.

He was unable to say when the yacht would commence a regular service between Noumea and Sydney.

Mr. A. E. Ray, manager for Burns, Philp and Co , Ltd., Kavieng, New Ire land, has been transferred to Lae, Morobe District.