but it’s in the market place

A new air battle for the Pacific, but it’s in the market place

Transport

There’s an air war going on over the Pacific the prize, not territory but people, the travelling public; the combatants, the national flag carriers Qantas (Australia), Pan-Am (United States) and Air New Zealand, with Continental Airlines (United States) and cheaper fares advocate Englishman Freddie Laker waiting in the wings. The story is told by PlM’s aviation correspondents in this special aviation feature.

That 1940 s phenomenon known as the “air war over the Pacific” hasn’t really ended.

Of course, the shooting stop ped in 1945 and we don’t see many fatal results any more.

The protagonists have changed too. In fact, the former allies have become combatants dedicated to claiming a large chunk of the Pacific in terms of passenger traffic anyway as their own.

These days the battle for the Pacific is being waged by the national airlines. It’s a game nf marketing ploys and adver tising campaigns which, in Santas’ case, have involved ‘we’re the fastest” adver tisements in such prestige xiblications as the Wall Street hurnal.

While 1978 is the 50th an liversary of the first aerial :rossing of the Pacific by Cingsford Smith and Charles Jim, it seems also that 1978 is tself going to slide into the listory books as a significant r ear in its own right.

The storm clouds have been gathering for some months low as the route’s big op erators limber up for a contest vhich is to come to a head this ('ear.

The tactical battle was join id more than two years ago vhen Pan-Am fired the first hot with the introduction of he long-range, though mailer version of the Boeing H 7 known as the Special Per ormance, or SP, late in 1976.

The introduction of the SP narked the first really sig lificant change in Pacific oute patterns for some years.

Jntil then the traditional outing had involved stops at iji and/or Pago Pago in Patt ern’s case, while Qantas’ ser ices included a call at Fiji efore Honolulu and then San rancisco.

The initial Pan-Am SP op ration was two a week one irect between Australia and ydney and the other via Auckland.

In April, 1977, Qantas egan operating three of its x weekly services over the

top of Fiji direct to Honolulu and then on to San Francisco.

There was much talk around the industry about who was the fastest. A study of the flight times however, in dicates that while the Sunday Pan-Am SP service direct from Sydney to San Francisco was the fastest for the week, Qantas was faster in every other service in both direc tions.

Both airlines began to build up a determined “We’re the fastest” theme in their market ing battle. Pan-Am was pitch ing hard for the businessman while Qantas obviously plac ed importance on the Honolulu market which had been successfully developed as part of their Explorer Package holiday range.

The flying range of the aircraft used also had a bear ing on the type of patterns the two airlines were operating.

While the SP was a proved long-range performer and could achieve Australia/US mainland non-stop, it paid a passenger penalty in that it was capable of carrying only 260 or 270 passengers against the 400 passenger capability of the 7478 version operated by the Australian airline.

Developing the “We’re the fastest” theme, further, Qan tas now flies direct Sydney/Honolulu on each of its services to the United States. This followed the airline’s decision to increase the number of weekly flights by one, thus providing a daily service.

Qantas’ decision to service Fiji with four terminators each week underlines the airline’s obvious belief that the US long-haul market and the Fiji market have grown to a point where it considers the best interests of each market would be better served by

separate development.

Qantas wasn’t the only piece moving on the Pacific chess board however.

Pan-Am began to prepare itself for operations out of Los Angeles instead of San Fran cisco with the promise of five of their services each week to

be operated by the SP. This move was seen as a counter to the imminent arrival on the Pacific scene of a second US carrier, Continental, which plans to operate out of Los Angeles.

While Qantas and Pan-Am had been locked in combat over their long-range, direct flight operations, the US Government had approved the introduction of Con tinental in the Pacific much to the disdain of the Australian authorities and the airlines already servicing the route.

The introduction of a sec ond carrier would mean an in crease of 1 000 seats a week on the Pacific route. Both the Minister for Transport, Mr Peter Nixon, and Qantas Chairman, Sir Lenox Hewitt, warned that the risk of over capacity on the trans-Pacific route could jeopardise the in troduction of lower fares on the Pacific.

Sir Lenox said there would be cheaper air fares on the Pacific route this year pro vided there was not an over capacity situation brought about by the projected in crease in American capacity.

He said that Qantas was not worried about a threat to its position, but was concerned about the substantial increase in capacity in the Pacific.

“It is a matter that is now the subject of discussions be tween the two governments and these talks will commence this month,” Sir Lenox said.

“We think at the moment the Pacific route has an adequate supply of seats together with the increase that will be made in the ordinary course this year by the two existing car riers, Pan-American and Qan tas.”

Transport Minister Nixon said the Continental ap plication to serve the route had increased the number of weekly frequencies of the American airlines to 13. This was almost double the seven Qantas weekly services.

Talks between the US and Australian government were held in February-March.

Industry sources suggested that the introduction of Con tinental could see history re peat itself. In 1970, the US gave approval for American Airlines to operate on the Pacific. Three years later the American operator withdrew after suffering losses and ex periencing an over-capacity situation on the route which had a devastating effect on all the operators.

Meanwhile, the Continental introduction could also pre sent some problems for Air New Zealand which will find itself in direct competition with Pan-Am and Con tinental out of Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, a related issue, but one which has prompted a great deal of discussion in the press in recent weeks, is the proposal for budget fares on the Pacific.

The Australian Govern ment rejected a Pan-Am ap plication for the introduction of the fare on the grounds that the matter should be con sidered as part of the govern ment’s international civil aviation policy was received.

Although Qantas has gone on record as saying that it does not oppose the Pan-Am budget fare and in fact sup ported it at an International Air Transport Association meeting last year, it believes that conditions attached to the fare which call for 21 days ad vance booking and knowledge of the date of travel only seven days before departure, are too stingent and would benefit only a small propor tion of travellers.

What with direct flights, a second American carrier, ter minator services to Fiji and budget fare proposals, the Pacific “pot” is really boiling in this 50th anniversary year.