Air Pacific eyes bleak Europe
p. 29 · Read in the full issue
Europeans who visit the Pacific are usually either very rich, are on a family-reunion trip to Australia or New Zealand, or have some sentimental link with the islands. But, according to Air Pacific’s retiring deputy chief executive, Del Mannering, the package-deal tourist is on the way.
British Caledonian Airways, Europe’s largest privately-own ed airline, with which Air Pacific has a general sales agency, has recently acquired Jetsave, one of Britain’s biggest tour wholesalers. Jetsave will now begin marketing the South Pacific for the first time, temp ting Europeans down to our sunshine from their own gloomy winters.
Early estimates say Jetsave will be offering a package in the $9OO range to include five days
in Fiji, two days in Honolulu, one day in Los Angeles and round-trip air fare. Jetsave, which annually sends more than 100,000 Britons to the U.S., expects substantial busi ness from this new South Paci fic venture.
Air Pacific also apparently intends to extend its present Project America route from Nadi to Hawaii and operate right into Los Angeles, probably in conjunction with British Caledonian.
It seems clear that the aggres sive Fiji-based line is seeking expansion of its British Caledo nian link.
How this may affect its agen cy with British Airways is un known, although at one point last year the big carrier was concerned at possible loss of U.K.-bound sales generated on
a joint basis through Air Paci fic’s Australian and New Zea land services. Nor is it yet known how U.S. carriers would react to Air Pacific’s again bid ding for a Los Angeles landfall.
In the early days of Project America, when the plan was to wet-lease a DC-10 from West ern Airlines, other carriers such as Continental objected stre nuously. In the end Western did not proceed with the leasing because their crews objected to Air Pacific personnel in the cabin of a Western Airlines aircraft. Air Pacific then rented an ex-Air New Zealand DC-10 from a leasing company in California, still using Western Airlines flight deck crew, and ground facilities in Honolulu, but retaining the option to put its own aircrew up front once they qualified on the aircraft type.
Tonga's King Taufa’ahau Tupou (second from the left) is escorted by John E. Burleigh (left) after a demonstration flight over Tonga in a Shorts 360 aircraft. Mr Burleigh, regional manager for Short Brothers (Australia) Pty. Ltd., recently took the aircraft on a visit to a number of Pacific Island nations.