East-Moresby Air War

First Shots In Far East-Moresby Air War

By a Staff Writer

The suggestion by the World Bank, made in a report to Australia in December, that Papua-New Guinea should be connected to the Far East with a jet service, has touched off an airline war in high places.

THE World Bank suggested the ser vice could be operated by the Australian Government’s international airline, Qantas, or the Government domestic airline, TAA. But within a day or two of the report being re leased, TAA’s privately owned com petitor, Ansett ANA, applied to the Commonwealth for the rights to operate such a service between Syd ney, Port Moresby and Manila.

The Ansett application was no sur prise to many people in aviation circles, because it had been known for some time that Ansett was in terested in flying to Manila. Ansett has a financial interest in Cathay Pacific airlines, which it obtained

when it bought ANA, and it has been lately rumoured that Ansett would like to make an arrangement with a new Philippines airline. Ansett has indicated that it would use DC6B aircraft on the Port Moresby-Manila service. These are the aircraft both Ansett and TAA use between Sydney and P-NG.

There is no doubt that New Guinea people would like to see a through service to the Far East, and that any improvements in air services in the Territory, by any airline, would be to the Territory’s advantage.

But there are complications in the Ansett application.

If it were granted it would mean Ansett would become an international operator, in competition with the official Government flag-c arri e r, Qantas can be depended on to fight such a move, especially as it regards itself as having been shabbily treated in New Guinea by the Government, and it blames Mr. Reg Ansett for much of this.

Qantas Ordered Out Qantas had a monopoly of the Australia-P-NG service, and also operated the major internal New Guinea service, until 1960, when Qantas was ordered out and its ser vices divided between TAA and Ansett. Mr. Ansett had conducted a strenuous campaign to achieve this.

Qantas protested at the time that it had pioneered the New Guinea services, which were only then be ginning to expand, and that New Guinea was a valuable training ground for its pilots. It also pointed out that Qantas would soon put Electra aircraft into the New Guinea service and that TAA and Ansett were planning to use slower DC6 air craft (which are still there four years later).

After packing up in New Guinea Qantas continued to operate a twice weekly service from Sydney to Manila through Port Moresby, using Electras, but this service was reduced to one Super Constellation a week,

and finally, in 1961, the service ceased altogether.

The reason for its failure was that the Government, under pressure from TAA and Ansett, refused Qantas passenger rights between Syd ney and Port Moresby.

Many Qantas officials believed that the Commonwealth was short sighted in allowing this treatment of Qantas, as New Guinea was a valu able link in the air chain to the Far East should the political situation prevent Australian aircraft using Indonesian air space. They felt that the Port Moresby airstrip should be quickly improved.

Oddly enough, it has taken four years for the Commonwealth depart ments responsible to come around to the same point of view. Towards the end of last year, before the World Bank report was issued, there were moves to bring Jackson’s strip to a standard which would allow it to take Boeing 707’s, The strip is at present marginal, but at a reasonable cost, probably about £50,000, both ends could be sealed to make it fully operational, and extra navigational aids added. (These matters were re ported in P/M, Dec., p. 11, before the Bank report was issued).

A 707 (pictured) could fly between Sydney and Port Moresby in less than four hours. The TAA and Ansett DC6’s at present leave Syd ney at 9.45 p.m. and arrive in Port Moresby at 7 a.m. the next day (with no chance of any sight-seeing en route.) Passengers to New Guinea would no doubt be glad to pay a surcharge for the privilege of a faster, more comfortable journey, by Qantas 707, for undoubtedly Qantas would insist it be granted traffic rights if it is to recommence a Far East service through Port Moresby.

Qantas would not readily stand by and see Ansett granted the service in view of the history of the operation so far. But Qantas has been defeated before.

It will be interesting to see how Ansett’s application works out.