Air-Fares Go Up
pp. 59-60 · Read in the full issue
THERE has been an overall in crease in trans-Pacific airfares in recent months, and, in the cases of Australia-New Guinea and trans- Tasman, the increases have been sub stantial. .
The air companies blame higher operating costs and high cost of avia tion fuel.
Effective from April 15, fares from Sydney to Papua-New Guinea have increased as follows: Sydney-Mores by, £46/11/- (formerly £39/5/-); Sydney-Lae, £55/7/- (£4B/15/-); Sydney - Rabaul, £64/19/- ;£5B/10/-).
From May 15, airfares between Sydney and Auckland or Wellington and between Melbourne and Christ :hurch on the services run by Tas nan Empire Airways, Ltd., will be ncreased by 20 per cent. They will low be £47/6/- single, £B4/2/- -eturn. (Old fares £39/8/- and £7O/9/-).
In recent months, due apparently
to slight adjustments in international exchange, airfares between Sydney and Nadi, Fiji, and Sydney and Suva have been increased by a few pounds—about equal to 5 per cent.
However, there has been a sub stantial increase in the fares charged by Canadian Pacific Airlines, Ltd.
The CPAL fare, Sydney-Nadi, is £72, as against about £6O by other operators. CPAL say that the in crease has been forced upon them since they began operating via New Zealand, instead of Sydney-Nadi direct, and that they were willing to carry Nadi passengers at the old fare but the other operators objected on the grounds that as CPAL had in creased the distance flown by over 10 per cent., they must charge more.
This increase will virtually wipe CPAL out of the Sydney-Fiji trade as there is no advantage for the Aus tralia-Fiji passenger to fly via Auck land. CPAL planes stay only one hour to refuel in Auckland, and that in the middle of the night, and ow ing to the agreement whereby TEAL
has the monopoly of trans-Tasman traffic, CPAL passengers cannot break their journey there.
Later this year, of course, CPAL will be using Comet jets, and even with the deviation to Auckland, will be able to clip several hours off the present Sydney-Nadi time of about eight hours. For people in a hurry this may outweigh the extra £.12 in fares. (Fares quoted in Aust. £).
Mr. N. B. Blood, of Nondugl, Central Highlands, New Guinea, has been awarded a rare decoration—the Silver Linnean Medal—by the Swedish Academy of Scientists, for valuable assistance given a Swedish expedition. Mr. Blood recently assisted Count Nils Gyldenstolpe, a noted Swedish ornithologist, who went to the Central Highlands on a collecting expedition.