Solomons

More Aircraft

For P-Ng And

Britten-Norman Islander air craft, recommended earlier this year for service in Tonga and the

GEIC (P/M, Mar., p. 45), have

been sold to two New Guinea air firms for service in NG and the Solomons.

Mr. H. P. Hunt, of H. M. Hunt Motors Pty. Ltd., of Sydney, told PIM that four of the 10-seater £Stg.3o,ooo British planes were sold to Macair, operator of Solomon Islands Airways and NG charter activities, and Aerial Tours of Port Moresby, a charter operator in Western Papua and the Sepik.

He said Aerial Tours’ two aircraft were to be delivered in Port Moresby in October, and that Macair’s would be delivered in February and March, 1969.

Aerial Tours had agreed to buy four more Islanders, Mr. Hunt said.

The whole deal is worth nearly $500,000.

Option lapsed

Mr. Hunt said several other parties in the Pacific Islands were interested in buying the Islanders and some held options to buy the planes. Fiji Airways Ltd. had previously held an option to buy two, but one of these options had lapsed, and the other option ended in December.

H. M. Hunt Motors is Australian

South Pacific selling agent for Islanders and the company hopes have 25 in service in this area late 1969. The first Islander began rations for a Queensland company February this year, serial Tours is run by NG busi man Mr. Dennis Douglas, who ently operates with a variety of t aircraft. [acair plans to have its Islanders acing its Baron and Dove aircraft internal services in the Solomons June next year. he Islanders can take off on short ?h strips of well under 1,000 ft, lights of up to 810 miles at speeds ip to 168 mph. They carry nine engers and a pilot. They offer ;rs a choice of two engines— )ming or Rolls-Royce Continental. 0 plans to use them in Tonga he GEIC have been made, but Airways would like to use them s bids for internal air services lese territories are successful (see f on p. 55). 1 AIRWAYS’ plans to extend its Solomons Islands services to Moresby by February, 1969, meeting stiff opposition from is Australian Airlines. TAA ■ently operates weekly services Rabaul and Lae to Honiara Fokker Friendships, and it feels if Fiji Airways begins to operate

Jy Honiara-Moresby non-stop

it would lose over 50 per cent, s passengers and freight because business in or out of the lions comes from Moresby, ji’s Minister for Communica , Works and Tourism, Mr. les Stinson, recently told PIM Fiji Airways hopes to begin fly to New Guinea soon after its id 748 aircraft arrives late this The airline also hopes to services to Noumea, New Cale i. r. Stinson said there was a imonwealth spirit” on the board le airline since two new mem -Tonga and the Western Pacific Commission—had joined (PIM, . P- 43).

' returned to Fiji in October a trip to the US and Britain, s he discussed Fiji Airways’ with the British Board of 5 and BOAC, a partner in the e. *• Stinson examined several re ment aircraft for Fiji Airways’ of ageing Heron aircraft but he no decisions had yet been made hich planes to buy.

PER 18 years, Canadian Pacific

drlines’ fortnightly jet services

to New Zealand, from Vancouver via Hawaii and Fiji, look like ending by mid-1969. The Canadian Government has received 12 months’ notice from the New Zealand Government of the termination of the two governmental reciprocal air service agreement.

Canada is expected to confer with NZ over this action, which stems mainly from the 5300,000-odd revenue Canada is taking out of the NZ economy by flying people and freight from NZ. .. X 7„ , , Air NZ has never taken up reciprocal rights to fly to Canada and

all NZ-Canadian air business has gone Canada’s way.

A spokesman for CPA in Sydney told PIM that NZ’s move would not affect the new Canada-Australia weekly flights, which were due to start on November 1. \ ITUTAKI airstrip is to be up -Braded as a temporary replace m^ nt * or the strl P. at Rarotonga, w . cb * s be rebuilt as a jet stnp by 1971 - Work on Aitutaki was to in September so that it will be ready by next March, when the present Rarotonga strip will be closed.