Continental wins a round

Continental Airlines has won the second-last round in the battle for the lucrative Saipan-Tokyo route when the US Civil Aeronautics Board voted 4-0 in its favour. The final decision rests with President Ford to whom an appropriate recommendation has been sent. President Ford may approve the CAB decision, disapprove, or send it back to the board.

The other major contender for the airline was Pan-American Airlines, which had its application supported by the CAB Bureau of Operating Rights, and two administrative law judges who heard evidence in what turned out to be rather a dirty case.

A third applicant. Northwest Orient, was never really in the hunt.

The fight for the route had its genesis about 5i years ago when the US and Japan agreed to allow Japan Airlines, which now serves Guam, to fly to Saipan from Japan. In return, a US carrier was to be allowed to serve the two areas, and to receive landing rights in Japan. JAL now flies unscheduled charter flights to Saipan.

Air Continental is the parent company of Continental Air Micronesia, which operates internal services in Mirrnnpcia In May, 1973, CAB administrative law judge, Milton H. Shapiro, proposed that PAA should get the route, He suggested only slight weight should be given to local opinion about which carrier should be selected, because such opinion was

devalued by the airlines’ intensive lobbying.

The State Department took the view that considerable weight should attached to the opinions of the Congress of Micronesia and the dis trict legislatures in the Trust Terri to , n 1974> another CAB judge , Greer M Murphy> held hearings on Saipan. He fol £/ that the conduct of PAA a nd Continental Airlines pre sented a “depressing picture” and a “laminated story of pressure and counter pressure”. However, he up held Judge Shapiro’s earlier report in favour of PAA.

PAA, claiming the “predominant support of local civil and government parties” as well as that of elected officials of the Marianas and Guam, mentioned Continental s alleged es pionage and surveillance of PAA representatives during the hearings, Continental, on the other hand, claimed the support of the Congress of Micronesia, and representatives of Yap, Palau, and the Marshalls. Con tmental accused PAA of “unethical conduct, corporate espionage, cover up and pressuring the people to sign j n support”, -t-. n * D Dl . „„„ tr . k CA r L B T , pL T? 6 ”' told the CAB that PAA > and t 0 a lesser extent, Continental, merited disqualification from consideration unless they committed themselves to comply with CAB regulations. The bureau recommended hearings, but the Operating Rights Board said the CAB should adopt Judge Murphy’s recommendation.

/ill be Melbourne-Brisbane-Port Moresby-Lae-Melbourne.

The Nimos, in October, completed ;s 100th round trip between Austra ia and PNG, since it went on to tiis run under the AWP flag in tpril, 1969. She was the first ship 3 offer the unit-load service to PNG, move which helped to combat ris ig costs. The Nimos on the 100 oyages logged more than 500,000 ■files and carried about 300,000 tons f cargo, embracing practically verything from rice to earth-moving quipment.

Ur Nz To Beat

Afety Deadline

Air New Zealand will be one of le first airlines in the world to ndertake modifications required by ie United States Federal Aviation administration to limit the effects of ny sudden decompression while in ight. The FAA directive, which re uires that the modifications be com leted by December 31, 1977, applies ) all wide-bodied aircraft.

The airline expects to begin a rogramme of fitting additional side wall venting outlets between the pper and lower decks of its DC 10s i mid-1976, for completion the ime year—more than 12 months head of the deadline.

Honiara Builds

Ship For Ustt

A 53-ton fishing ship built by the Honiara Marine and Shipyard Co Ltd for Micronesia, left Honiara on its delivery voyage late in September.

The ship will be used mainly in Yap District. It will be manned by islanders under Captain Dewey Huffer, a well-known Trust Territory mariner. Captain Huffer will train an islander to take command of the ship.

The ship, built of ferro-cement, is equipped with fishing storage facili ties and freezers. It will be stationed at Ulithi, where a refrigeration plant is being built.

Although primarily designed for bottom fishing it may also be used for tuna longline and troll fishing.

New Samoan Air

Service Marks Time

The new air service between the two Samoas, to be operated by South Pacific Airways, did not start as in tended early in September. The Secretary to the Western Samoa Government, Mr lulai Toma, said that was because SPA was “tooling itself up with aircraft”.

SPA had intended to use a Britten Norman Islander, but later changed

its plans to two Piper aircraft. SPA had wanted to operate as a taxi ser vice, but the Western Samoa Govern ment insisted that it operate scheduled services like Polynesian Airlines.

Salvage Row Over

Stranded Ship

The Cook Islands cargo ship, Florida, 700 tons, became the centre of a salvage row after it ran aground on a reef off Laucala Bay, Viti Levu, Fiji on September 16. A gearbox failure, just short of the point where it was to pick up the pilot, left it adrift.

Narain Shipping Ltd claimed it was discriminated against by the Marine Department using the ser vices of Marine Pacific, another sal vage and tug company, without ask ing Narain Shipping to help refloat the ship. The Marine Department was quick to reply that it was not involved in any salvage; its only in volvement was safety of life.

The holds of the Florida were filled with 150 tons of water to pre vent her rolling over in the surf.

Two tugs, the Wallacia and the Wakaya, pulled the Florida off the reef on October 5 during the October neap tides.