Tahiti Wants An Air

Service TOA and Air France Interested

IT was reported in Australian news papers in May that Trans Oceanic Airways, of Sydney, were then await ing a licence to operate a flying-boat service from Sydney to Tahiti, via Suva and Apia (Western Samoa).

This plan has been under consideration by TOA for a long time, but it has been consistently opposed by New Zealand, on the ground that Apia port is not suitab 1 e for operations by flying-boats of the Sandringham type.

As Apia was regularly used by flying boats in the war years, without apparent difficulty, the suspicion is entertained that New Zealand is trying to block this ex tension of Australian private aviation en terprise.

Tahiti is now the only important com munity in the South Pacific which still is denied the privilege of air transnort and airmails. Such privileges have been promised by French companies but they have not materialised, owing to lack of facilities along the route.

It is reported that the Australian com pany, Trans Oceanic Airways, has now been linked up in some way with the big British shipping firm known as the Clan Line.

Air France now is running big Douglas planes regularly between South-east Asia and Noumea, via Brisbane; and this ser vice is extended, on alternate arrivals, from Noumea to the New Hebrides, under TRAPAS direction; but neither Air France nor TRAPAS can yet undertake a regular service from Noumea to Tahiti.

However, there now is a reasonable prospect that Air Prance will begin the Noumea-Tahiti service in July or August.