FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1964
1964 - 0066.PDF
FLIGHT Interntahnal, 9 January 1964 49 TROUBLE IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC ONLY a month after ceremonially inaugurating its new service between Sydney and Tahiti using 707s, Qantas had to abandon the route when negotiations between. Australia and France failed to produce acceptable terms for a renewal of the bilateral air traffic agreement which expired on December 31. Other services affected by the dispute were those flown by Union de Transports Aeriens between Sydney and Tahiti and between Europe and Tahiti forming part of the round-the-world service operated jointly with Air France. This latter service now only makes a technical stop at Darwin before flying on to Noumea in New Caledonia. Unconfirmed reports suggest that the dispute started with UTA objecting to more than one Commonwealth airline operating into Tahiti. Although Tasman Empire Airways have operated services from New Zealand to the island since 1950, the French Government notified TEAL in mid-December that its traffic rights would be withdrawn from January 1. The French have indicated their willingness to reopen discussions on a bilateral traffic agreement when Auckland International Airport is open. Not until then can UTA operate jets through Tahiti to New Zealand. For many years TEAL operated the only air service into Tahiti—an unecono- mic seaplane operation in the days before the airport was built. In recent years the airline has operated the route with Electras—one of the few aircraft with the necessary range that could operate out of the old Auckland airport. With no French operated aircraft in the area suitable for the Noumea to Auckland service, the French Government have offered the route to TEAL who are understood to be unlikely to take up the offer which could be as much of an economic challenge as the old seaplane service to Tahiti. As far as a reopening of the Australian/French bilateral talks is concerned, this appears to depend on the Australians agreeing to UTA carrying traffic between Europe and Australia. According to Interavia Air Letter, France has never been happy with the terms of an August agreement which restricted UTA from carrying traffic to or from Sydney, and which gave Qantas rights at Noumea and Tahiti, all in exchange for the Australian airline dropping their rights at Paris. The Australian attitude seems to be one of amazement at France's direct action tactics in terminating the bilateral agreement because the new Australian - Mexico agreement and the CAB's settlement of the Pacific route case in Pan American's favour considerably improved Tahiti's value to Qantas and put France in a strong bargaining position. The French carrier UTA and the French territories seem to suffer most from the present deadlock. In the east-about direction from Europe Tahiti is now served only by UTA. But in the west-about direction the service was aug- mented on December 28 when Pan American began a weekly jet service between Los Angeles and Tahiti calling at Hawaii. This new direct jet service has been made possible by PAA leasing from South Pacific Airlines the latter's Hawaii - Tahiti route licence. The elapsed time on the route is now 12hr lOmin compared with 18hi 30rnin when the last stage was flown by South Pacific with piston- engined equipment. ATLB FIRM ON COACH-AIR FOR a second time the Air Transport Licensing Board have stood by their views on the coach-air principle, and refused rival appli- cations by Autair and Skyways Coach Air for a service between Luton and Beauvais with a road transport connection into Paris. As in February 1962, when they last judged similar applications by the two airlines, the Board were of the opinion that such a service would not be in the true spirit of the coach-air idea, which was to connect major centres of population with a service offering a level of speed and price mid-way between those offered by true surface and air services. BEA were objecting to the applications. The Board argued in reaching their decision on both occasions that rather than cater for an untapped demand from the Midlands, as claimed by the applicants, the new service would merely divert traffic from the established services operating from the two London airports and Southend to the Paris airports. Referring to the most recent hearing, the Board said that the only new evidence put before them was the contention by Skyways that the £12 10s return coach-air fare between Luton and Paris would be £5 lower than the London-Paris air fare; and the Autair proposal to restrict passengers to those travelling on ITX fares. Regarding the first point, the Board said that a fare was not yet established between Luton and Beauvais, and that since what was essentially being sought was a London - Paris service, they doubted if the agreed fare would differ significantly from that already established. If it was granted then it would divert traffic from existing services as already described. On the second point the Board felt that UK domestic scheduled air services catered adequately, and that present IT passengers travelling to Paris did not pay less than ordinary passengers, and they took this as an indication that there was probably not any need for a creative fare on the route. The ATLB's apparent reluctance to grant scheduled service applications based on Luton that might in any way interfere with traffic on established services must be a great disappointment to Luton Corporation who, in planning the airport to serve their town and the South Midlands, seem to have overestimated the airport's possibilities as seen by the Board. . Engineering representatives from Delta Air Lines inspect a mock-up of the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-5 powerplant specified for their DC-9s. The powerplant is the responsibility of Rohr and is here seen mounted at the height it will be when installed. Quickly removable doors provide complete accessibility. The target-type thrust reverser is shown in the reverse position CONCORDE DELIVERY POSITIONS SO far, British Aircraft Corporation and Sud have consistently declined to publish—as the FAA has done in the case of the pro- posed American supersonic airliner—a list of delivery positions for the Concorde. Now such a list has appeared in the US journal Aviation Week. BAC say that it did not originate from them or from Sud, but the list is believed to be accurate. It is as follows:— 1, Air France; 2, BOAC; 3, PAA; 4, Air France; 5, BOAC; 6, PAA; 7, Air France; 8, BOAC; 9, PAA; 10, Air France; 11, BOAC; 12, PAA; 13, Air France; 14, BOAC; 15, PAA; 16, Air France; 17, BOAC; 18, PAA; 19, Panair do Brasil; 20, Continen- tal; 21, American Airlines; 22, TWA; 23, Continental; 24, un- assigned; 25, American Airlines; 26, Continental; 27, American Airlines; 28-31, unassigned; 32, TWA; 33, American Airlines; 34, TWA; 35, MEA; 36-37, unassigned; 38, TWA; 39-48, unassigned; 49, MEA. BAC confirm that four prototypes and pre-production aircraft will precede the No 1 aircraft in the above delivery list. Of particular interest is the provisional place (19) booked for Panair do Brasil. Lnndberg at Bristol Mr Bo Lundberg, director-general of the Swedish Aeronautical Research Institute, is to lecture to the Bristol Branch of the RAeS on Wednesday, February 26 (7 p.m., Main Lecture Theatre, Engineering Laboratories, University of Bristol). His subject will be Pros and Cons of Supersonic Aviation in Relation to Gains or Losses in Time/Comfort Considerations.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
