[?]hat P-NG—Far

[?]st Service still [?] in air!

By a staff writer

Another chapter in the long ga of “Who-will-run-an-air rvice - between - New-Guinea d - the - Far-East - and len - will - it - be” was written February when the Australian

rline Ansett-ANA applied to

e Australian Government for licence to run Boeing 727’s tween Port Moresby and anila. f asked to be able to operate the service weekly from July, when isett’s Electras on the Sydney-Port >resby route will be replaced with 7’s.

This is not the first time that Ansett 5 made such an application.

But Qantas, which at one time did srate a service between Sydney and : Far East via Port Moresby, has d applications in even before Ansett, d general feeling in aviation circles that Ansett’s application has no pe of succeeding.

Observers are mystified as to the ison why Ansett is pressing its plication.

Operation of a Manila run would sate a precedent, for Ansett would :ome an international airline com ing against Qantas, and Australia uld have two international airlines its hands. The Commonwealth not likely to permit this.

A Port Moresby-Manila run by 7’s would likely be uneconomical d may need a government subsidy, e long haul could result in reduced yloads on the sector.

Airport problems

Qantas first applied more than two irs ago to operate through Port on a Sydney-Hong Kong Jte. This was set aside because rt Moresby’s Jackson’s airstrip was >ught unsuitable to handle the eing 707 jets Qantas wanted to use. sts on the strip were carried out DCA last year.

Recently Qantas considered using jctras, with an international con uration, on such a service. Since > Electras would have no airport >blems the service could be estab led quickly (PIM, Dec., p, 137),

and P-NG people have asked for early relief.

But a new development, which has come only in recent weeks, is that Qantas has decided to sell its Electras and phase out its lighter Boeing 707- 138’s over the next couple of years.

This means the larger 707-338’s will be the only Qantas aircraft available for a service through Port Moresby.

Although no official announcement is expected for a few weeks, DCA appears to have made up its mind that Qantas will be given permission to fly the 707’s on the Sydney-Port Moresby-Hong Kong route just as soon as airport extensions can be made.

But nobody seems able or willing to predict when the first 707 will make the flight, and the chances are that P-NG people will have a further long wait ahead of them before the territory is connected with the Far East. a Mr. R. L. Gribble, who is retiring after having been Govern ment Printer in Fiji since 1960, is to open an office of the Fiji Visitors Bureau in Sydney—about May.