Land Planes on the Coral Route?

Several recent events suggest that a change over to land ’planes on the TEAL Coral Route to Tahiti may have advanced a stage. TEAL are believed eager to change to the more profitable DC6’s. Airfields are the only obstacle.

rHE Cook Islands are keenly awaiting the change-over, as it will place Rarotonga back on he air routes. But first the airstrips here and at Faleolo (W. Samoa) rill have to be lengthened. Provision ras made for this in the original ayouts, but the work would take □me time.

A NZ Civil Aviation Department ircraft was doing some photo raphic work along the route in une, probably in connection with ach plans.

There remains the problem of the bral Route’s eastern terminus, 'ahiti, where an airfield exists, ccording to a circular recently sued jointly by the Tahiti Tourist ureau and the Chamber of Com lerce, setting out the de rability of an International Air- Drt at Tahiti, TEAL, and a French ■overnment consultant, Colonel astex, have both rejected the pos bility of using Bora Bora’s war me built strip. Firstly, it is too lort for large aircraft and cannot ; lengthened—each end finishes at lep ocean; and secondly, because its isolation from Papeete.

The Tahiti Territorial Assembly >ted unanimously on June 17 in vour of building an International irport and ship bunkering fami nes near Papeete, but it is not 3ar where the estimated £A2l| illion that it would cost would me from, as the circular says that e French Union Assembly in iris last March rejected a move to lance the project by 81 votes to . Clearly on Tahiti’s normal dget allowance, such a job must spread over years, tt will be interesting to see what lue, if any, to TEAL, or to New aland, will be the extension of e air route beyond Tahiti. When uth Pacific Airlines’ Honolulu peete weekly service commences is obviously going to have an im rtant effect on TEAL’S Coral >ute profit-and-loss account. But tat effect?

Will the American millionaires, ading south for a change from •nolulu’s attractions, travel both ys by SPA—and thus cheat TEAL their carriage by the present ite via Fiji? Or will they come ith to Tahiti by SPA and take : longer but more interesting road me via the Cooks, Samoa, and i? Good publicity may be the uding factor in this matter. SPA ild mean better business for TEAL r it could mean much less busi is. Seemingly, the Tahiti busi isman in a hurry to reach France 1 now travel SPA—that is, if and en SPA gets started. .ate in June it was reported that

both Solent Mk. 11l aircraft are now in Oakland, California, under going modifications. Some feel that they may not be put into service be fore next Tahiti tourist season— say, April-May, 1956.

It is possible that, in the absence of a Tahiti airfield, SPA could con nect with TEAL at Aitutaki, where both land and sea dromes exist —

with mutual advantage to both air lines and thus permitting TEAL to make an earlier change-over to DC6’s, even if later TEAL should fly them on to Tahiti when an air field is built there.

No doubt all these matters are currently under discussion in New Zealand. t First of two Dragon Rapide air craft purchased by the recently formed TARNSPAC Airways of Noumea, was expected there in July.

It was being flown out from Lon don. The company’s chief pilot, Jean Lafargue, was expected as a passenger aboard the new Polynesie.