First Shots Fired In The
p. 19 · Read in the full issue
From “Cold” To “Hot”—Suddenly!
First Shots Fired In The Pacific Aviatio War
The aviation cold war in the South Pacific hotted up Idenly in February when France and Australia, following a id-lock of two months, agreed on new air routes.
agreement cleared the decks ir a battle for supremacy (long the airlines, with the i company, TAI, being given d start to help it win a big of the growing Pacific traffic, the experts predicted (PIM, ry p. 41), 1960 is likely to be outh Pacific’s most vital year j realm of air transport. agreements between France Australia had ceased on De r 31, after the two countries jcked on new South Pacific The Picture ler the new agreement negoti n Paris in February, TAI will ;et what it wanted—the rights dney. e is the new general position:
'Ralia:
t will have the choice of a nating service Sydney to Paris, le Middle East; or Sydney to ;illes and London, via the 0 East 1 weekly service Sydney to L ea, with rights to fly through Caledonia and the New des and on to Honiara, but no rights between New onia and the New Hebrides.
Sydney to Papeete via Fiji (the ;es will be connected in some vith TEAL operations but little nation was available at time ling to press).
Vce\
Sydney to Paris on a round rorld route, through New lonia and Papeete, and on igh Los Angeles. weekly service Sydney to lea (TAI already has the traffic 3 from Noumea into the New ides).
Fahiti to Sydney via the Cooks, >a, Fiji and Noumea. (How this ;s TEAL is not known).
Start Soon lowing the agreement, it was unced that TAI will first use ey on March 14, with a weekly ee from Noumea to Sydney, ; DC4’s. The aircraft will d - Noumea on Mondays and arrive in Noumea early Tuesday, e TAI round-the-world service Paris, via Sydney and Tahiti commence on May 5 or 7, using
DC7c’s initially, these to be re placed with DCS jets later in the year. Air France will take over at Los Angeles for the Atlantic cross ing.
Qantas will begin its Noumea ser vice on March 18, but it will be fort nightly to begin with, using Super Constellations in place of the DC4’s that did the old service. First-class accommodation using sleeper chai.s will be in addition to tourist class.
Departure from Sydney will be on a Friday morning, returning to Sydney at 8.45 p.m. the same day.
A Noumea report says Qantas will probably replace the Constellations with Electras later.
The report says satisfaction was wide-spread at the new announce ments and bookings already are heavy. Hotel-keepers and taxi drivers are especially keen.
It is presumed Qantas will want to commence a weekly service to compete with the TAI services.
The New Hebrides rights avail able to Qantas at last give a pos sibility of a direct service between the New Hebrides and the BSIP, where there are close administrative ties. It will also mean the pos sibility of a quick route through to the Western Pacific, including New
Guinea, from America via Fiji, although there are no immediate plans.
Fiji Airways Role
Until recently there was a pos sibility that Fiji Airways might have been used as the carrier on this New Hebrides-Honiara route, but with the new agreement, routing will presumably have to be thought through again. (Over)