travel

New Cuts For Pacific Air Fares From April

By a Staff Writer

There will be cuts in air fares across the South Pacific from next April, but the full extent of the cuts was still some thing of a mystery to airline offices at the end of October.

THE decision to make the cuts was taken at the annual International Air Transport Association conference held in Honolulu in October. But the details were not announced and some airlines are still working them all out.

The new fare structure will also need ratification by the various gov ernments.

On the face of it, the main fare reductions decided on at the con ference seemed to be aimed mainly at the market taking young people from Australia and New Zealand to Britain, and not travelling by way of the Pacific, A new “youth fare” from Britain to Sydney will cost $390 one way.

This is within $5O of the fare for the same trip by the cheapest sea competitor.

South Pacific travellers will benefit through a different system of inclusive tour fares and excursion fares. These cuts will be as much as 30 per cent.

Basically the changes are:— • “Age concessions”—a cut of about 30 per cent, for people aged 26 or under travelling to Britain and Europe from Australia and New Zealand on the tourist rate. • “Inclusive tour fares” reduc tions of about 30 per cent, on package deal tours from Australia and New Zealand to the United States and Mexico. • “Excursion fares” (25 per cent, reduction on tourist rate) will be given to travellers on the same routes who complete their journey within a given period. • “Special promotional fares” the duration of reduced fare tours to Britain and Europe is to be extended from the present maximum of 35 days to 60 days.

The person who wants to travel from Australia to one of the Pacific territories and return will be assisted by the new excursion fares to Tahiti. American Samoa and New Caledonia. These rates are to be limited to specified months.

Apparently the existing excursion fare to Fiji will actually be in creased to $173.85 from about $152

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but the period in which it will apply will be extended. Excursion fares to Fiji have applied, up to the present, during the periods November-Feb ruary and July-September, but under the new arrangement they are to operate from June 1-August 21 and October 21-March 31.

Evidently the alterations to the period of excursion fares will cut out the very popular travel period during the Australian and New Zealand schoolchildrens’ vacation in September.

The introduction of inclusive tour fares to the various islands will be a help to the traveller who wants his food, accommodation, tour ing and air fare settled in a “package deal”.

Inclusive fares already existing to Fiji and New Caledonia are to be expanded.

Survey

A PIM survey in Sydney in late October brought these results: PAN A MERIC A N AIRWA YS: Inclusive tours between Australia and the USA will be available from April I, on a 30 per cent. cut. The total cost of the inclusive tour must be at least 110 per cent, of the usual tourist rate for the same trip.

Excursion rates with a 25 per cent, reduction of the normal tourist fare will also be available.

Inclusive tours will be $799.10 to Honolulu and $990 to the west coast.

Travel must be completed in 21 to 45 days.

The new excursion rate from the US West Coast to Sydney will be SUS 736 ($A654 approx.), compared with the current all-year tourist fare of SUS 1,008 (SAB96). The same trip terminating in Auckland will cost SUS7OO (5A622), current rate is SUS 934 ($A830); and terminating in

Nadi will cost SUSS92 ($A526), compared with the current fare of

Sus79O (Sa7O2).

The excursion fares will be avail able for people travelling northbound to the US between the periods March 10 to May 17 and September 1 to October 31; travelling south from the US excursion fares will be available between the periods April 1 to May 31 and August 10 to October 17.

There will be new group con cessions for groups of 50 or more people travelling to Tahiti from the US West Coast or Honolulu. Con cession fare from the US West Coast will be SUS42O ($A373) and from Hawaii will be SUS2B7 ($A255), but it will be valid only if travel is completed within 6-15 days.

No news of the new lATA fare concessions to American Samoa.

QANTAS: Inclusive tour fares, with a 30 per cent, reduction, to be available on routes between Canada, the US and Mexico, to Australia, NZ and the Pacific Islands and return.

Tours will be available from the US between March 10 and May 17 and September 1 to October 31.

From Australia and the Pacific, the reduced fares will be available from April 1 to May 31 and from August 10 to October 17.

An excursion fare at 25 per cent, reduction for the same months in the same area will be available.

Excursion Fares

Qantas will offer excursion fares to New Zealand from Sydney and return. Concession fare of $95.30 available from June 1 to August 15 on the route Sydney-Auckland- Sydney, but people in New Zealand will not get this concession.

Excursion fares to Nadi will be available for the new period of validity, for trips of a minimum of 10 days and a maximum of 23 days.

New inclusive tour fares are also planned for Tahiti, Fiji and American Samoa. A low inclusive tour fare already exists from Sydney to New Caledonia. These inclusive tour rates will operate on a year-round basis.

Excursion fares to the same areas will be of limited duration.

AIR INDIA: No details of the new concessions available in Sydney.

The company at present offers excursion fares from Sydney to Fiji return.

Canadian Pacific Air

LINES: Inclusive tours and excursion rates to operate on the Sydney- Vancouver service from April 1. The excursion fares will later be extended so that Australians can

fly across the South Pacific to North America and return via the north Pacific and Far East. The concession will apply both ways, but a mileage surcharge will be added on the North Pacific leg.

CPAL will continue with the excursion fares to Fiji.

Uta-French Airlines: No

details yet available. The company at present offers an excursion fare be tween Sydney-Fiji, and Sydney-New Caledonia-Tahiti. There are also in clusive tours to those areas and a circle trip operates in association with others between Sydney-New Cale donia-Fiji-New Zealand-Sydney. The circle route costs $187.10 between February 16-October 31. For the rest of the year the same trip is worth $250. Passengers must stop over in at least two places.

Extensions Soon

UTA will soon be extending its Pacific services. The company will inaugurate a weekly service from Papeete to Auckland and return from November 1 this year, using a DCS, departing Papeete every Thursday.

From December 6 a UTA Caravelle jet, based in Noumea, will run three weekly services—Noumea- Sydney-Noumea, departing on Tues days; Noumea - Auckland - Noumea, departing on Wednesdays; and Noumea-Nadi-Noumea, departing on Saturdays.

Air New Zealand: Full

details not available but “Air New Zealand plans to take full advantage of the lAT A concession”.

Air New Zealand has recently regained the right to operate into Tahiti from New Zealand, but this service is not expected to recom mence until the company gets a re placement for the DCS jet which crashed in NZ earlier this year.

Nothing definite has been arranged for a replacement.

BO AC: No details yet available.

BOAC now operates a regular service from Sydney to Nadi via Auckland and return, with a round trip excursion fare for those who return from Nadi to Sydney direct.

But BOAC has recently been granted rights to operate from Sydney to London via Fiji, Hawaii and the US and expects to commence next April, The service will be in conjunction with Qantas, with BOAC’s 707’s operating three times a week.