Shaping The Airlink Between

Uncertainty Over

Fr. Oceania Airport

Santiago And Sydney

The Chilean Government is pushing ahead with its plans for a direct air .link between South America and Australia, undeterred by any indecision on the part of the Tahitian and French Governments about the best site for an airport in Tahiti.

COLONEL Robert Parrague, Chilean Air Attache in Aus tralia, told PIM f hat materials for the proposed 10,000-ft runway at Easter Island had already arrived there, and work was to have started last month.

It is expected that it will take about 18 months to lay the and erect necessary buildings. The Chilean Air Force will make route surveys between Easter Island and Tahiti, and meteorological observa tions with amphibian planes.

LAN (Line Air National), owned by the Chilean Government, which will operate the Australia-South American service, plans to use DC4’s in the initial stages over the route Santiago-Easter Island- Bora Bora (French Oceania) -Nadi- Sydney.

Eventually it will swing over to jet DCB’s.

But the plan to use DC4’s on a through-route may have to go by the board because of the reluctance of the Tahitian and French Gov ernments to allow Bora Bora to be used as a major airport.

They have refused to allow Bora Bora to be used for scheduled services.

They fear that if they give per mission airlines will make demands for terminal buildings, runway and other improvements. This, they claim, would use up the money they have to construct an aerodrome at Papeete.

In any case it is doubtful if Bora Bora would take more than a DC4.

Mr. Walter Grand, President of the Territorial Assembly of French Oceania, has gone to France in an attempt to produce some action on an international airport for Papeete.

Colonel Parrague said he under stood that the Public Works De partment in Tahiti had plans pre pared and were all ready to go ahead with the construction of an airport at Papeete. All that was needed was money.

If it is not possible to use Bora Bora, LAN has an alternative plan ready. It will fly passengers to Easter Island in DC’4s, then transfer them to amphibian planes

and fly them to Tahiti, via Mangareva.

Passengers would then be able to transfer to TEAL flying-boat, and change in Fiji for New Zealand or Australia.

In fact, even when the Papeete airport is built, and when LAN has jets on the run, it may fly only as far as Papeete.

Colonel Parrague said that LAN believed that co-operation with other airlines was better than com petition when there might not be a great number of passengers offer ing.

Another advantage was that the jets would to able to fly from Santiago to Papeete and back in a day. This would represent a big saving in maintenance costs. All maintenance would be done at the aircraft’s base.

Colonel Parrague said that LAN. if it operates the Santiago-Sydney route with jets, would not like tc omit Tahiti. If it was not possible to land there, Tahiti passengers could transfer to Tahiti-bound amphibian planes at Easter Island He said that passengers who were purely tourists would probably de mand that Tahiti be included in the itinerary.

LAN’s original plan for jets was to operate from Santiago to Eastei Island, then Eastern Samos (Tafuna) and Sydney.

Whatever the outcome, it seem; certain that within two or three years South America will be linkec directly with Australia by air. Ah travellers and air mails between thi two continents at present have tc travel via North America.

Colonel Parrague is confiden that there will be plenty of ai traffic offering to make the rout a payable proposition. He consider; that troubles in the Middle Eas will increase air traffic on Pacific routes.