AIR SERVICES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 70, 23 March 1935, Page 6

AIR SERVICES.

MAIN TRUNK ROUTE. APPLICATIONS TO BOARD. DECISION RESERVED. (By Telesi-aph. —Tress Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. The Transport Co-ordination Board to-day concluded the hearing of three applications for inn in trunk air licenses. Squadron-Leader L. M. Isitt gave further technical evidence. Xew Zealand Airways handed to the board written submissions in support of their claim, and the Wellington town clerk made a statement from the City Council contending that Wellington "must be a port of call! Mr. 0. G. White, for Union Airways, read portion of an opinion from WingCommander Grant Dalton, in which he supported the Palmerstoh Xorth-Duncdin trunk service as a commencing service and .stated that he would not call at Wellington to begin with, but would make Palmerston North, Blenheim. Christchuvch and Dunedin the initial route. . In evidence yesterday. Mr. (.. 1 . l'Hilay, for Great Pacific Airways, Ltd., said his company would be governed by <i Xew Zealand directorate, with the inclusion of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Mr. E T Fisk. a well-known Australian business mall. It was the first step toward the initiation of a far-flung Imperial service. The company also proposed to serve a greater area than did the Union Company and would call at Wellington. The Union Company's proposal to omit Wellington was an effort to conserve its ferry traffic. The proposals outlined in the application were based on a joint report by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and the h»e Mr: C. i. P. Ulm. ~ • Representing the Union Company. Mr. Q (i. White referred to the call at Wellington and said it would be easy for an applicant to say, after the license had been granted, that it could not call there. "We are honest enough to show that wo would not call there until the facilities are better,"' said Mr White. Ultimately, his company desired to be concerned in the trans-Tasman service and would be kept in touch with developments in that respect. "We anticipate that sonic 12 to 18 months must elapse before a service can be regularly established in the eyes of the public," said Mr. H. J. Knight, of New Zealand Airways. "During that period, particularly in the earlier months, it is our intention to concentrate on the transport of freight. For the first month or two our service would run from Palmerston North to Dunedin, but our aim would be to connect with Auckland and New Plymouth at the earliest possible date. We can safely climate that within three months we c w ould have a regular service running from Auckland to Dunedin." Mr. H. M. Mackay, managing director of New Zealand Airways, said he had been offered technical advice by Imperial Airways, who could supply all the the technical staff for the successful establishment of a service. _ The board reserved its decision.