Pacific Air

Link Planned

Via Nauru

Following a visit to Nauru of Mr. Carlton Skinner, chairman of Air Micronesia, President Deßoburt announced to the Nauru Parliament on June 5 that

negotiations were continuing with

the airline for a fortnightly air service between Majuro, in the Marshalls, and Nauru.

Air Micronesia is a consortium of Continental Airlines of the USA Aloha Airlines of Hawaii and several business interests in the US Trust Territory. It already operates a net work through the Marshall and Caro line Islands, linking them with Okinawa and Hawaii. The company uses a Boeing 727 for its main routes, but would commence the Nauru ser vice with a DC6.

A team of Air Micronesia en gineers is expected to visit Nauru shortly to examine the island’s air strip, and if technical arrangements :an be completed in time, both sides hope the service will begin within three months from the announce nent. The Nauru Government has inder construction a block of eight

flats intended for staff accommoda tion, which it will make available temporarily for tourists, pending in dications of the hotel needs of future travellers.

It is proposed that the Air Micro

nesia flight should terminate at Nauru during the alternate week to the pre sent Fiji Airways service via Tarawa and Funafuti. Tourists travelling in either direction would have a week’s stay in Nauru before con tinuing on the other airline.

It will thus be possible to make a round trip of the Central Pacific region without having to retrace steps.

Mr. Skinner said in Nauru that this would be of particular interest to American tourists.

Air Micronesia hopes to make the Nauru service a paying proposition on a fare rate of 10 cents per mile (about $5O single fare Nauru-Majuro).

No subsidy is being provided by Nauru, but the government is anxi ous to encourage the company to establish its service. Nauru is hoping that a regular through service, Fiji to the Marshalls, would mean more passengers and thus cheaper air fares in and out of Nauru, At present these fares are high. • By-elections are expected in Fiji in September to fill the nine Legislative Council seats vacated by the walk-out of the Opposition Fed eration Party. A party split occurred in June with the resignation of one of its former parliamentarians—Mr.

M. T. Khan; nevertheless, the party is expected to win back eight and possibly all nine of its seats.