Continental gets Pacific service
p. 157 · Read in the full issue
The American airline. Continental, which last year beat a Pan American bid to operate the US Trust Territory air service, has now scored another victory over another favoured US rival, Eastern, to operate trom the US to Australasia, via the Pacific Islands.
In late December, President Johnson overruled an earlier US Civil Aeronautics Board examiner’s recommendation that Eastern be the second US carrier to fly the South Pacific (PIM, Mav, 1968, p. 41). At present ranAm is the only American airline to fly the South Pacific.
President Johnson authorised Continental to fly from the US west coast to Hawaii, American Samoa, the US Trust Territory, NZ and Australia. Fiji w'as not mentioned.
Continental hopes to begin the service before 1970. The airline is expected to build several hotels and a site had already been selected near Pago Pago. 9 ne °f Continental’s Pacific executives is Mr. Carlton Skinner, wh° is on the board of the US Trust Territory’s airline, Air Micronesia (in which Continental has a 31 per cent, stake) and who is US Commissioner on the South Pacific Commission.
Continental’s latest victory—the South Pacific—is a far bigger one in 8 lcro J} esia . service, and when its jets start running from its probable takeoff point—Los Angeles—it is bound to give headaches to its competitors, particularly PanAm and Qantas.
Trans-Pacific jets are not even filling half their seats now so extra planes are going to make the struggle a lot harder.