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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 0260.PDF
122 FLIGHT, 29 January 1954 TWO-OCEAN PASSENGER . . . Zealand (somewhat dubiously just now, I suspect) taking a large share. Though the present concessionaires of the Mocambo restaurant and rest-house have endeavoured to disguise the military character of the interior of the buildings with a little autochthonous decora tion of dried leaves and canes, the atmosphere is of that peculiar character which only air travel can provide—not so much inter national as supranational, or more correctly, non-national. One evening I speculated, as we are all apt to do, on the load of passengers who came in for dinner. One happy young New Zealander was bound for, of all places, Wigan. Another gende- man at this cane-covered bar in the South Pacific volunteered the information that he was from Geneva and was going to London; but his route deviated more than even Chesterton's rolling hero could have dreamed, for he was flying from one part of Europe to another via Auckland and San Francisco. At Auckland, he told me, he had attended a dinner to celebrate the success of the air-transport section of the New Zealand air race. He complained, quite strongly, that at the dinner Mr. Jack Pro- fumo and Mr. Peter Masefield had spoken a lot of patriotic and commendatory words about British aircraft in general and the Viscount in particular; this, he felt, was scarcely fair in view of the fact that die Dutch were, after all, die winners of die race. Bearing in mind the great struggle for survival of the small Dutch nadon I intimated that from what he said there might have been more tact. "But," I added with more firmness, "had it have been the Americans there, we should have been well justified in rubbing it in." Not until afterwards did I learn that the gendeman from Switzerland in die Fijian rest-house was a United States citizen representing American aviation in Europe . . . We left Nadi at 4 a.m. by the B.C.P.A. Vancouver service. A big sales point of this operation has always been the sleepers for everyone at no extra cost. It is a justified point. On this occasion, witii only eleven passengers in the DC-6, there was not even need to convert the bunks back to seats and throughout the day and night the passengers had the option of lounging in a seat or lying in bed. Most chose the latter. What with extended sleeping hours, changing times, nothing but sea and clouds outside, and two Wednesdays in the one week through crossing the date-line, the normal rhythm of life was diffi cult to keep. I imagine diat something similar must apply to the personnel on Canton Island, our next stop. The island is now an Anglo- American condominium and the only spot in the world, widiin my knowledge, where British and American currency are equally acceptable. Not that there was any need, or possibility, of pas sengers spending either. There was coral, there was sun, there was a runway; there was, I understood, excellent fishing; and that was about all. The Union Jack flew there, and Pan-American had provided a most elaborate world signpost as a reminder that there are other places on the globe. Most of the white servicing personnel ap peared to be American. Aviation owes much to men and women who serve at stations like Canton Island. One notice on the board, signed by the social-club secretary, stated sadly that the beer short age persisted and that fresh supplies could not be expected for some weeks; members were warned that this beer famine was seriously affecting the wine and spirits situation and that modera tion was called for. It seemed to me that the state of affairs thus disclosed was something of a reflection upon that air transport which these people served. From the aridity of Canton Island to the lushness of Honolulu is a litde more than nineteen hundred miles. All the Pacific airlines advertise an extended stop at Honolulu. As we were late and landed at nightfall (a not uncommon experience, I fancy, on diis long haul), the delight? of Waikiki were denied us. Howevers having twice previously visited Honolulu, I confess to the view that apart from the beaches the attractions are over-rated. Moreover, one must first persuade the authorities that one is a desirable even if transitory alien. I must report that we saw more officials at this port of entry to the U.S.A. than at those of any of the much-criticized nations struggling towards stability in South-East Asia. And, as one of my fellow passengers remarked in forthright Scottish accents, among the seven officials we saw going in and coming out, not a "please" or a "thank you" was uttered between them. But what really surprised me about these arrangements came later. Having cleared thoroughly and properly at Honolulu, and passed safely through San Francisco, I was told at Montreal that, in common with all other human beings who had set a tem porary foot in U.S. territory, I must render Form 1-424, Departure of Aliens, for the benefit of the U.S. authorities. Offsetting diese air-age aggravations at Honolulu there is fried Maryland chicken in the Sky-room (or Sky-line, whichever it is), to the accompaniment of seductive lighting, some music, and inces sant paging of this passenger and that. From Honolulu to San Francisco there is another great ocean haul of 2,400 miles—the vital sector as far as the economics of the operating aircraft are concerned. At San Francisco we picked up another batch of passengers for the 800-odd miles short hop over exciting scenery to B.C.P.A.'s terminal at Vancouver. That completed, so far as B.C.P.A. and myself were concerned, a good, hard, clean, straightforward run of nearly 10,000 miles. As an operational exercise, with modern aircraft, the Pacific route is an attractive one; it is obviously now a keenly competitive one. The competitors are the British Commonwealth v. the United States, and at the moment my impression is that the latter are winning. For operational efficiency and friendly, informal service in the air I give B.C.P.A. full marks. On the ground dieir publicity is not comparable. Handling and servicing are often contracted to others and, though doubtless yielding economies, this has the effect of pushing the Commonwealth company's name in to the background. As example of the unrelenting publicity which they have to face I give my experience at Suva. At the Post Office, having mail to dispatch, I asked for air-mail stickers. I was given them readily —bearing the inscription "By Air Mail via Pan American Air ways." One's admiration for American enterprise is equalled only by that for the toleration of Her Majesty's postal officers in the Crown Colony of Fiji. The future of B.C.P.A. is still in the balance, with the scales now held, I understand, by New Zealand's Prime Minister. As I have written earlier, the problem is complicated and there are many considerations to take into account; but I believe that an early decision would be in the best Commonwealth interest. Under one direction or another a renewed Commonwealth sales drive in the area would seem to be essential. From Vancouver I was transported onwards by Trans-Canada Air Lines. I am told that T.C.A. passengers are contented people, in which case I am the exception. It was certainly a well-patronized service but by the time I could stretch out my legs at Montreal I was thinking that there was something in the arguments against a route monopoly, for the service and comfort aboard, by any non- tourist standard, were, shall we say, robust. At Montreal there was B.O.A.C. once more. My considered (and, I hope, objective) view is that the B.O.A.C. North Atiantic service is the best currentiy provided by any airline anywhere. I will not risk his irritation by naming the particular captain, but when he walked through the aircraft to ask the conventional ques tions I must say that he commanded respect and generated confi dence. One sensed diat there could be nothing second-rate about that service. Such an atmosphere is not cheaply nor easily gen erated. It cannot be achieved save with good-quality staff working under good-quality conditions. It would certainly be interesting to see this service extended westward round the globe. World signpost by PanAm at Canton Island. The author takes a stroll during the refuelling stop at Canton Island. •air *• * '^JifoMrt^^MMMHMIiMtrilIIITIfflT'"lll t' Ik P Phi rV
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