Already Being Made

The Coming Pacific

Air-Age

Empire and US Plans Already Being Made

IT is believed in some circles that the former prohioition of Pan American Airways bases in Australia will be lifted alter the war, and that Auckland, formerly a PaA Pacific terminal, will be by-passed.

The Australian non-Labour Govern ment that existed at the time PAA was spreading to this part of the Pacific, in the late ’thirties, was ever-mindful of British shipping and British airways interests, and refused the American line any facilities on Australian soil. The Pacific war, and America’s consequent greater influence in this part of the world, plus a change of Australian domes tic politics, has ironed out some of those “difficulties” which existed hitherto, and prevented the Pacific air service from running direct from Noumea to Sydney— and thus cutting a day out of the air journey from the States to Australia.

Pan American plans for future Pacific transport were before the Civil Aero nautics Board in Washington in Septem ber. It is believed that, if PAA are per mitted to fly direct to Australia, a feeder service will be run between Sydney and Auckland, either by PAA or by the pre sent Tasman Empire Airways with im proved machines and organisation.

American steamship lines are asking that the US ban on shipping companies entering air transport should be removed.

The Matson Line has long had its eye on an air service between Honolulu and the Pacific poast of the States, and has sub mitted plans to Washington for a two trips-a-day schedule between those points.

PAA also has submitted similar proposals to cover this route.

The NZ Prime Minister (Mr. Fraser) said recently that there was a possibility of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom combining to oper ate a service across the Pacific, to North America. This would, of course, be im possible unless landing facilities in Hawaii were granted by America. However, if similar facilities are to be granted America in Australia, an Hawaiian stag ing base for Empire aircraft would no doubt come into a reciprocal agreement with the United States.

Trans-South Pacific Air Route?

CAPTAIN P. G. TAYLOR, famous Aus tralian airman, arrived in Sydney at the end of October, in a Catalina, after surveying a possible trans-Pacific air route south of the equator. It is all very hush-hush; but he appears to have left a point in Central America and called at a number of almost-unknown islands between the South American con tinent and Fiji.