Port Moresby

Jet Aircraft For

Service Soon

Boeing 727 jet airliners, which

;an carry up to 116 people, will

>egin operating daily services

rom Sydney to Port Moresby

fom late March or early April.

rHE two Australian airlines, TAA and Ansett-ANA, announced his in January. At present, they use ilectras, which carry 81 people.

The new aircraft are expected to educe flying time between Sydney md Port Moresby by about two lours. The present flights take 61 lours.

There has been pressure for several rears to provide a faster, more com brtable service between Sydney, Brisbane and Port Moresby.

Each airline is expecting delivery >f a DC9 aircraft from the US in March, They will be the first pair of [2 DC9s ordered by the airlines.

The DC9s will be used on inter japital city routes in Australia and will allow the 727 s to be used on he Port Moresby run.

TAA and ANA plan to phase out he Electras from New Guinea and ise them on State internal runs, such is inner Queensland.

The delivery date for the DC9s vas originally October last year but he current boom in the US aviation ndustry because of the Vietnam war ielayed production.

NEW CALEDONIA’S internal air line Transpac recently put its bird Heron aircraft into service. The Mane was bought in France towards he end of last year.

This addition to the Transpac fleet ivill enable new services to be intro duced and others to be extended.

Besides its three Herons, Transpac has eight other planes ranging from two to five-seaters. This enables the airline to carry passengers to any point in New Caledonia where an airstrip exists.

Hawaiian airlines’ two top executives made a familiarisation tour of the Marianas and Palau Dis tricts of the United States Trust Territory in January.

The executives are Mr. J. H.

Magoon, J., president, and Mr. Jack

. Tobin, executive vice-president, heir visit followed their airlines’ ),000-mile survey of the territory May, 1966.

The airline proposes to link Hawaii id the territory via Majuro and wajalein in the Marshall Islands, ruk, Palau, Yap, and Saipan, then estward to Okinawa and Taiwan Formosa).

Hawaiian Airlines is one of several jriers which have expressed interest the trust territory’s forthcoming in tation to bid for the operation of i air transportation system. The rritory’s air service is now operated ider contract by Pan American Air ies.

TORFOLK ISLAND now has 20 N duty-free, or, strictly speaking, w-duty shops catering especially for urists. Three of these have branches the main hotels.

The duty-free stores, like most of e other shops on the island, are n by mainlanders. Norfolk’s three itcheries and three restaurants, how rer, are owned by Islanders.

During the Qantas strike in ovember-December, business on orfolk was noticeably quieter, and •me of the stores were practically npty most of the time.

But by early January the tourists ere pouring in again; the shops were isy, and holiday-makers were every here. Cars were frequently bumper i bumper around Burnt Pine corner id the Liquor Bond at Kingston did thriving trade.

After the temporary setback caused y the strike the island was booming »ain, fAPAN’S former wartime Navy i headquarters in Rabaul may be 3me a nightclub and major tourist ttraction.

A proposal has been put forward y Administration officer Mr. lan lilton at a Rabaul Chamber of Commerce meeting that the under round bunker used by the Japanese ip command be cleaned up and re amped to become a nightclub called Admiral’s Bunker”.

The bunker has a ceiling six ft igh and would hold 26 people seated t tables, Mr. Milton said.

Mr. Milton said the bunker was uilt of earthquake proof concrete nd is still in good condition. It 5 at present used by the New Guinea 'lub as a storeroom. The plan was pproved by the Chamber.