RE-EQUIPPING OF T.E.A.L.

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28457, 11 December 1957, Page 10

RE-EQUIPPING OF T.E.A.L.

Conference For Next Year (N.Z.P.A. —Reuter—Copyright) MELBOURNE, Dec. 10. Plans for re-equipping Tasman Empire Airways and for making adequate economic use of existing and future T.E.A.L. equipment are to be discussed at a Ministerial conference early in the new year, the Australian Minister of Civil Aviation (Senator S. D. Paltridge) said today. Senator Paltridge was. replying in the Melbourne “Age” to criticism of the T.E.A.L. service made by the novelist Nevil Shute yesterday. Mr Shute complained of T.E9A.L. aircraft delays and alleged that the service showed all the worst features of a ) government monopoly. Replying to Mr Shute’s request for a Parliamentary investigation into the causes of his complaints, Senator Paltridge said both the Australian and New Zealand Governments had been fully informed of the need to improve the T.E.A.L. fleet.

Senator Paltridge said that the picture of delays Mr Shute had drawn was black, but in fairness to T.E.A.L. it should be known that of all the company’s DC-6 movements in the year 1956-57 only 5 per cent, were subject to substantial delay, 78.3 per cent, of movements were made on schedule, 86 per cent, were made within one hour, and 95 per cent, within three hours.

The Minister pointed to the world-wide reputation earned by Qantas and to T.E.A.L.’s record of 17 successive years of operation free from any major accident or loss of life.

To complaints that T.E.A.L. and Qantas exhibited ‘‘the worst features of a government monopoly,” Senator Paltridge said that the two airlines were doing their best to justify their operations economically, and that if they failed to do so Mr Shute, in common with all other taxpayers, would be entitled to complain.