The Air !

It's Up In The Air !

Prize for the most confusing] statement of the month went to Mr. Reg Ansett, managing director of Australia’s giant and still-growing internal air A line, Ansett-AN A.

Speaking in Lae, New Guineaj where he was visiting, Mr: Ansett announced that Ansett- ANA had ordered six new French turbo-prop. Super Broussards to replace the com pany’s DCS work-horses.

He said ANA would develo* tourist services within Nev Guinea and intended to us< some of the Broussards foi internal work there. In th( meantime, he Intended t< bring up some DCSs.

He added that it was not hi intention to duplicate an: work being done by other air lines in New Guinea.

What Mr. AnseH didn’t and apparently nobody at th time thought to ask him, wa how did he intend to run an internal New Guinea service without a licence to do so The recent Canberra decisio: (PIM, May, p. 21) was to giv him authority to fly only th trunk services, Sydney Moresby. ; Mr. Ansett has certain] been involved in some behind the-scenes struggling for piece of the internal service but so far as anybody kne when he made his statemei in Lae, he hadn’t met wit

success. ]

This was confirmed whe immediately after Mr. Ansett statement was reported ] May Australian Civil Aviatic Minister Senator Paltridge r plied that (a) Mr. Anse hadn’t applied to the Goven ment for permission to bi any Broussards and (b) didr have the internal franchise In Lae, they spoke to N Ansett again. Said he, “Nev at any time did we intend, confine our operations to tl Australia-Port Moresby run.

I am going back now to to the Department of Civil Avi tion what we want. i “We want to operate dire passenger services from P( Moresby, to Rabaul, U Madang and Goroka.” J added that he would wg hand in hand with Mandat Airlines of New Guinea.

What the next move isj this war of nerves, the aw tion world was still wonden in early June.