New Aircraft For Rai; New Route For Tai

THE Sydney office of Transports Aeriens In t e r-Continentaux (the French international air line) confirmed, in mid-July, that their Paris-Noumea service would be extended to Bora Bora, French Polynesia, in September. This fol lowed an earlier announcement from Suva.

The “tentative schedule” for a September beginning for the pro jected service, announced in Suva, follows confirmation of the purchase by RAI of Sir Gordon Taylor’s fly ing-boat Frigate Bird 111. Sir Gordon delivered the aircraft, painted in RAl’s colours, to Papeete in June. (RAI (Regie Aerienne In terinsulaire) is an associate com pany of TAI.

It was announced in Suva at the end of last year, that TAI would begin a service between Noumea and Bora Bora (passengers then be

ing ferried to Papeete by flying boat) in January, 1958. However, this service did not eventuate.

It was certain that sooner or later, TAX would extend its operations to Bora Bora (there being no landing area on Tahiti) thus parallelling the present TEAL Coral Route service from Auckland.

The lone Solent now doing this TEAL chore will be withdrawn soon for extensive survey, and will be out of operation for some time. No provision for contact with the Cook Islands and Samoa has been made, but presumably some limited pro vision for services with DC3 land planes has been made.

It is understood that RAI will use its Solent on normal routes in French Oceania, but that it will be available for Bora Bora-Papeete work when the Noumea-French Oceania link is in operation.