Mi Sa Moce, Fiji!
pp. 77-78 · Read in the full issue
British Airways will cease operating its VC 10 services from Melbourne and Sydney across the Pacific by way of Nadi and Honolulu to Los Angeles and on to New York and London from the end of March, 1975.
At the same time a new British Airways/Air New Zea land interchange service will be introduced providing daily services by DC 10 between Auckland and London.
A government statement announcing the British Airways withdrawal from the Pacific route issued simultaneously in London and Canberra said that the British Government had agreed that British Airways should cease operations on the South Pacific route between Australia and the USA to balance the withdrawal of Qantas services through North America and Mexico to London.
This meant that British Airways and Qantas would no longer be authorised to operate services between Britain and A ustralia on routes other than the Kangaroo route (via South East Asia and Hong Kong).
The statement said that arrangements negotiated by government delegations in April and July had created a new framework within which the long-standing commercial co operation between British Airways and Qantas could continue successfully taking into account current conditions on international routes over which they operated.
The new DC 10 aircraft interchange agreement will provide a daily through one-aircraft service between Auck land and London. As far as Los Angeles the aircraft will be operated by Air New Zealand crews, but at Los Angeles it will be taken over by British Airways crews for the non-stop operation to London.
Flights will call at Honolulu or Papeete on their way to Los Angeles and Thursday’s flight will provide a one aircraft service from Fiji to London. There are frequent connections at Auckland from Australian ports.
It will be the first time British Airways has operated a Los Angeles/London service with wide-bodied aircraft.
British Airways first started services across the Pacific in April 1967 with 707 jetliners. The change to VC 10s was made in April 1969 and in October of the same year Los A ngeles became the port-of-call on the west coast of A merica instead of San Francisco.
Clement Freud looks at soccer-fever in Britain, and suggests how intrepid tourists can enjoy a slice of British life by taking in a Saturday afternoon match during the current season.