Services
p. 16 · Read in the full issue
End Of Flyingboat
Sky masters for Noumea, N. Hebrides, Fiji
Q ANT AS Empire Airways have de cided to discontinue, at the end of March, 1955, the Qantas flyingboat service which now con nects Sydney with Noumea and New Hebrides once a week, and Sydney with Noumea and Suva (Fiji) once a fortnight.
In place of this, Qantas will run a landplane (a Sky master) on a “Y” service, once weekly, connecting Sydney with Tontouta (New Cale donia) , Vila and Santo (New Hebrides) and Nadi (Fiji). Air fields near Vila, and in Santo, are now being inspected, to ascertain their suitability.
A proposal that the plane should run on from Santo to Henderson Airfield (Guadalcanal), thus giving the Solomons a much-needed direct link, is being examined.
The Skymaster will return from New Hebrides to Tontouta, and run over to Nadi and back each week, before returning to Sydney.
The landplane will give faster transit, but travellers for Noumea will lose the advantage in the long car ride from Tontouta, while those for Suva (who now are landed in Laucala Bay) will have to go to Nadi (at the other end of Viti Levu, more than 100 miles from Suva).