Internationa
pp. 22-142 · Read in the full issue
Rivalries Dela Internationa Air Service
By a Staff Writer
International wrangling over * to fly through the New Ha Condominium has been delayiri Airways’ projected fortnights service from Fiji to Honiara, vi and Santo. The service was pc to start last year, but could rr permission because of interne complications.
WHEN these were sorted out nical considerations delayer of the service. These were ad: and then the operators had toe approval of a British Govei subsidy, which was expected an In the meantime they begai ning regular charter services the route at the request of the; ern Pacific High Commission.!
In the last few months then been further delays, caused W the French Government has he; Fiji Airways has no rights licence since the company i:i part-owned by Britain. The owners are New Zealand ano tralia, which have no reciprocal! in the New Hebrides.
In early October new high conferences were being held effort to overcome this stalem;i Meanwhile in Sydney, Mn Barthelemy, manager in Austn the French TAI airline, tolo that TAI was having a look possibility of competing wifi Airways on the Fiji-BSIP rov He said he visualised his cce using DC6 aircraft, but this require improvement in some airfields. (Fiji Airways are seven-passenger Herons.) He added that “a number o culties associated with landing in the British territories woul! to be smoothed out before TAi establish its own service”, f hoped something might be doit< year.
The long-suffering Honiara who see in an air service a w ful opportunity to end some Protectorate’s isolation, are still ful that international rivalrid jealousies will be resolved., don’t really care who puts ft vice through—the more the —so long as it goes through!
The proposed route will m big movement of traffic direo
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the Far East through Melanesiar the Central Pacific and return, passing Australia.
It will also probably mean am ternal air service for the BSIP cause there will be tourist trs enough to support one.
Float planes would probably be : suited for this area, and many Pap New Guinea fliers in September w casting their eyes towards the BS in the belief that invitations to fo' local air companies might soon i made.
There are a number of sm healthy P-NG charter services op<( ting now, and others are be< formed.
Although there has been no offin announcement, Qantas in Decern will use Boeing 707’s on its Sydn Noumea service, to replace the weekly Electras. The Electras hi had to compete with TAPs DC The Qantas service to Noumea i “political” service—it’s not econoc —and the Qantas attitude seems be that in the circumstances they 1 better off competing against TAI out with the bigger jet.