Air Niugini Gets Off
p. 15 · Read in the full issue
The Ground Fast
Papua New Guinea’s airline, Air iueini will fly into Brisbane from yrt B Moresby from November 1, a onth ahead of the target date of ecember 1 to get it “off the ound”. The date was changed to ve the fledgling airline time to ittle down before the heavy Christoc trcfFir ias iranic.
Air Niugmi will charter a rcraft th f. pr t?? nt - c - arn -n rs l,^" S '% ner AA. Air Niugmi will have 50 per mt of the traffic and TAA and •nsett 25 per cent each on the Port loresby - Brisbane service. A liugini’s share of the traffic from Australian airports to Port Moresby r iH be 1 685 than 50 per cent.
On November 1, Air Niugini will ike over all internal services from msett and TAA, either buying air raft from those airlines, or charter ig them. It is expected Air Niugini dll also take over the overseas serices operated by TAA to Honiara nd West Irian, and operate them mder a charter arrangement with Qantas.
When Papua New Guinea becomes ndependent, its government and he Australian Government will negotiate l bilateral agreement for air services ictween the two countries. No Ausrahan domestic operator will then be illowed to operate an international -vice out of Papua New Guinea itaff US for
,S 'tJTZtTs
in organisation acting on behalf of he PNG Government.
The Director of Civil Aviation has
not yet been named, but it is pre sumed it will be Dr K. N. E. Brad field, at present civil aviation adviser to the PNG Government.
One of the last obstacles to launch ing the airline was removed at a conference in Brisbane on September 18-19, attended by the general manager of Air Niugini, Mr Ralph Conley, representatives of Qantas, TAA and Ansett and Mr D. G. Cole man, federal secretary of the Aus tralian Licensed Aircraft Engineers’
Association. Mr Coleman said after the conference Air Niugini was now “a goer” from the point of view of his association.
It had placed the embryo airline under a black ban unless a number of demands about expatriate staff were met.
Twenty-one-years old Aborina Tenanorake, from North Tarawa, is starring in the first professionally-produced motion picture in the GEIC, the full-length, Sailing in the Trade Winds. Later this year she will fly to West Germany, where the final interior shooting for the film will be completed in the studios in Munich.