Flying time

GUAM’S aviation world is in the news with Air Micronesia ex panding its fleet and services, a move by Taiwanese businessman into the area, and Continental’s plans to use Guam increasingly as a hub for its ser vices into Micronesia.

Air Micronesia is now using two F-27 turbo-prop aircraft for increased fre quency to the islands of Rota and

Saipan. Previously it operated just two

flights a week with a 727, but the people on Rota have been lobbying for a belter deal so they could expand their tourism businesses. Now the smaller aircraft will

fly Guam-Rota-Saipan twice daily, and a

third service Guam-Rota. A 1 Camacho, of Air Micronesia, told Pad tic Islands Monthly the Japanese were the main customers, flying to Rota on day excur sions; the island has a relatively new air port and terminal building, and tourism is second only to vegetables as a source of income. The main attractions are the beaches clean and unspoiled; archaeological sites and the many signs

of former Japanese occupation.

Apart from the 727, the services to

Rota were formerly operated by small

aircraft which tended to experience de

lays through technical problems. The

new service will add considerable freight capacity to the sector.

The United States government is sub sidising the Air Micronesia run under the Essential Air Service (FAS) program me. Saipan, too, is delighted with the new service, and Senate President Ben jamin T. Manglona said the island had suffered economically in recent years due to unreliable air transportation.

Only one of the F-27s will be needed to operate the daily runs, but Air Mic ronesia has taken two machines from another Continental subsidiary, Britt Airways, of Cleveland, so that flights will not be disrupted by technical faults.

Meanwhile, the chairman of Formosa Airlines, Hsin Chi-hsui, has paid US$9 million for a 45 per cent share of Guam Marianas Air. The plan for the airline includes leasing Short-360s for services between Guam and nearby islands, and Boeing 757 aircraft for services to Hawaii and Tokyo, with Taipei, Manila and Hong Kong also on the list of future destinations. Formosa Airlines is a Hong Kong-based carrier which operates into several southern Chinese cities.

Continental, too, is looking at more services out of Guam. The airline’s vice president for the Pacific-Asia area, Paul Casey, was quoted as saying flights be tween Guam and Bali, Darwin, Perth and Adelaide were being considered.