travel

NEW NORTHERN AIR LINK THROUGH NEW GUINEA

Opens Up Great Possibilities

By a Staff writer

Australia’s overseas airline, Qantas, plans to return to Papua-New Guinea in September, after an absence of seven years. It will operate a weekly return 707 jet service from Sydney to Port Moresby and on to South-East Asia—through Manila to Hong Kong. The service will open up a long-awaited new tourist route across the South-West Pacific, linking world routes with New Guinea through the Solomons and Fiji.

nr will mean a big increase in - tourism for Papua-New Guinea s the new route becomes known to avel agents, especially as the new jrvice coincides with a number of ther new developments which will (feet the territory’s tourist potential, hese are; • The decision by Australia’s omestic airlines, TAA and Ansett iNA, to operate daylight 727 jet ;rvices between Australia and the irritory, phasing the present over ight Electra services. These will

egin shortly.

• The operation by Fiji Airways f a Hawker Siddeley 748 twin irboprop airliner to speed up the ;rvice between Fiji and Honiara, his service connects in Honiara with le New Guinea route (see detailed

lap opposite).

• Appointment of an executive irector to the recently created apua and New Guinea Tourist oard, which will enable the board > get down to the business of pro loting territory tourism. • A call in the House of As smbly in Port Moresby in March >r the territory to launch a big mrist campaign overseas, with ppointment of tourist officers in ondon. • The granting of a licence for new internal territory charter air ne which will concentrate on taking jurists around the territory.

Qantas has for years been after ic right to fly a through service to outh-East Asia via Port Moresby, ut it has met with frequent bstacles. PIM reported in March p. 125) that the Department of ivil Aviation now appeared to have lade up its mind that Qantas would 5 given permission to fly the 707’s s soon as airport extensions could s made.

But permission has been granted ithout the immediate need of air ort extensions. It means the 707’s

travel

will initially operate with some weight restrictions.

The airstrip will be lengthened and strengthened eventually, and the terminal building will be enlarged.

Qantas does not have domestic rights, but will be able to pick up or put down through passengers, and take passengers out of Port Moresby to South-East Asia destinations.

There are great cargo prospects from Hong Kong to Port Moresby, as Qantas is aware.

The new service will leave Sydney on Thursday mornings and reach Hong Kong the same night. There will be a 24-hour stopover. On the northbound flight the 707 will probably reach Port Moresby about 12.30 p.m., and southbound about 6.30 a.m.

Qantas for many years had a monopoly on services between Aus tralia and the territory, but in 1960 the airline was pushed out by the Commonwealth Government, which gave the services to the two domestic airlines.

Faster to New Guinea

Qantas at that time had been all set to introduce Electras on the Sydney-Port Moresby service, to re place the rumbling DC4’s. But with the removal of Qantas, territory people got rumbling DC6’s, which were retained until last year, when the Electras came on the run, six years late. The Electras speeded up flying time, and are more comfort able, but it is still necessary for the aircraft to leave Sydney around mid night and arrive in Port Moresby in the early morning.

What New Guinea people—and tourists—have been asking for years is a fast, comfortable return daylight

service between the territory and Sydney. The two airlines, TAA and Ansett, announced in February that this service would be given about April, with the introduction of 727 jets to New Guinea, and the phasing out of the Electras. The Boeing 727’s carry up to 116 people com pared with 81 on the Electras, and the new aircraft can reduce flying time by about two hours.

Although up to the time that this issue had gone to press no details had been announced, it would be possible for the 727’s to leave Sydney at 7.30 a.m. each day and return by 8.25 p.m. Such a schedule would probably operate something like this:

Daylight schedule

Depart Sydney 0730; arr. Brisbane 0840, dep. 0930; arr. Port Moresby 1215, dep. 1300; arr. Lae 1335, dep. 1430; arr. Port Moresby 1505, dep. 1555; arr. Brisbane 1835, dep. 1915; arr. Sydney 2025.

Fiji Airways’ Hawker Siddeley is expected in August. The new air craft carries just over 40 passengers and cruises at 300 mph.

Fiji Airways plans to use it on the services at present operated by the Herons, and the service between Fiji, New Hebrides and the Solomons is the one which will pay greatest dividends. Because of weight restric tions the 14 seat capacity Heron now carries only eight passengers on the service to the BSIP.

The British Solomon Islands is also making a tourist drive in its area and this will be increased when the Hawker Siddeley begins to operate. New Guinea will benefit from this publicity, as also will the Solomons benefit from New Guinea’s promotional drive.

The new executive director of the P-NG Tourist Board is Mr. Sidney Moore, who will arrive in April.

Mr. Moore previously controlled tourist promotion for the Gold Coast

ty Council, in Queensland. In his w job he receives a salary of ,000.

The Tourist Board is a Govern ent-subsidised statutory body, arged with developing the tourist dustry in the territory. Mr. Moore is the initial task of framing a emotional programme.

The call for a big New Guinea urist drive overseas was made in e House of Assembly in March r Mr. John Guise, an elected smber, who said the time was ripe consider “the proper and accurate lage of New Guinea overseas”.

Every state in Australia had its fice in London, as most countries the world did, but Papua-New Liinea had no representation, said r. Guise. A P-NG office could established in Australia House, mdon.

“I see this office in the first stance as an information office, aling directly with the Press, the 3C and other information media,” id Mr. Guise. “At present it is it possible for any of these ganisations to obtain direct in rmation about what is one of the ost interesting territories in the arid.”

Publicity needed now

Mr. Guise said now was the time r the creation of such an office, it later “when it may have to be me with ill-considered haste”, jarly every country was corn ting in the tourist trade and most alised that they had to go to the urist to attract him and not sit ck and wait for the tourist to me to them.

There were increasing numbers American tourists who, having sited Europe and England, wanted go home by a different route, proper promotional drive, through itels, could get them.

Mr. Guise suggested an Aus dian should occupy the post of formation officer in London, under e authority of the Australian High ammissioner, and have a staff of at ast two New Guineans, who would ain in publicity work. The Aus alian “must be prepared to hand er within a limited time”.

The man to fill the job initially ould “not merely be somebody 3m Canberra who has been saying js’ for a number of years, and is ven a pre-retirement holiday, but ould be an experienced officer om this country with the interests

of Papua-New Guinea at heart”, Mr.

Guise added.

A new hotel will be operating in Port Moresby by September.

The Gateway Hotel, at Jackson’s Airport, is Port Moresby’s fourth licensed hotel. Jackson’s Airport is seven miles from the town area.

The operating company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Papuan Airlines, itself a local company.

The building of the hotel is running behind schedule, but it should be completed in the next few months. In early March the bar opened for business.

The new air charter service in Papua-New Guinea is expected to begin operating out of Lae in April.

The new company, called Macair Charters Pty. Ltd., is owned by a group of 15 New Guinea planters and businessmen, including Messrs. lan Downs, Jim Grose, Danny

Leahy, Ken James, E, W. Reilly and Brian McCook. Mr. McCook, formerly a pilot with Territory Air lines, and with Fiji Airways, is man aging director of the new company, which has $300,000 capital. Chair man is Mr. Reilly.

One of the members of the group said in March that the company had a licence to operate anywhere within the Highlands regions of New Guinea and the Morobe district, and to fly people out of these areas to anywhere else in New Guinea, or to fly from anywhere in New Guinea into these areas.

The company would start off with one Twin Beech Baron, shortly to be flown by Mr. McCook from the United States, and plans to add two more.

The company would carry out all kinds of charter work but expected to develop tourist work.