VALUE OF ELECTRA IN TASMAN SERVICE

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29071, 7 December 1959, Page 15

VALUE OF ELECTRA IN TASMAN SERVICE

[Bp a Staff Correspondent on the inaugural Electra flight]

Christchurch people had the opportunity on Saturday of seeing for themselves how useful an aircraft the Lockheed Electra will be for the immediate purposes of Tasman Empire Airways and how comfortable travellers will find it The aircraft itself is possibly not as graceful as the other jetprop with which they are familiar, the Viscount, but it gives the comforting impression of great power, and the decor, no other word is appropriate, is delightful.

The Electra is a good aircraft in which to travel, and its considerable speed make a Tasman crossing a relaxed affair, no more tiring, say, than driving your own car to Timaru. In fact, if money was no object any passenger would enjoy the opportunity of the New Zealand party that travelled to Sydney and back on the inaugural flight and enjoyed a swim at Bondi into the bargain. Money, however, is not the only obstacle to a one-day trip. Another commercial advantage of the Electra is that it can be turned round quickly, so that on schedule flights it will stay only an hour on the ground in Australia. Pressure refuelling and the two large doors are among the factors that make such quick loading, unloading, and servicing possible. With so short a stay on the ground not many people" are likely to go to Sydney for the day. Some Aucklanders will probably do so, because business men have found this quite practicable for the completion of important documents. If they can do their business in about an hour they will find the Electra attractive, since the time-table provides for an absence of less than nine hours over all from Auckland. Time-tables will be something like this (all local times):

The great speed of the Electra will be of particular importance if T.E.A.L. is able by international agreement to introduce economy fares during next year. Something less than four hours from boarding to alighting will not be too long for economy class passengers to do without the meals now served on the tourist and first-class services. Although the International Air Transport Association traffic conference at Honolulu this year was not able

to agree on economy fares further negotiations are in progress. As Saturday’s visitors could appreciate, travel on the ordinary Electra services will be restful. The interior decoration of the three cabins is unusually airy and attractive, with imagination in the starry pattern in gold on the pale bulkheads and in the turquoise and gold seat covers. The first-class seats set a new standard in New Zealand for roominess and comfort. The tourist class seats, wider but possibly a fraction closer than Viscount seats, are at least as good as those in any aircraft that have previously flown out of New Zealand.

For a small airline like T.E.A.L. to maintain its standing, passenger service must be good. Judging by the luncheon and dinner served on a first-class service scale to an unusually large number of passengers on the inaugural flight, the facilities on the Electra will enable the staff to maintain a most desirable standard. One of the passengers on the return inaugural flight was Mr John Smuts, manager of the Hotel Australia, and he was impressed by the quality of the dinner he was given. All air travellers seem to be noise-conscious now that piston engines are being replaced. By past standards the Electra is very quiet, except level with the propellers in the forward lavatory compartment. Most passengers seem to think it is even more silent than the Viscount. This writer felt that the more powerful engines, with their deeper hum, might have a heavier sound, but the question is hard to determine. As fas as people outside are concerned, the Electra is quieter because it lacks the characteristic whistle of the Dart engines. But, as one passenger remarked, the time to start worrying is when you cannot hear the engines. While T.E.A.L. holds its present favoured position in the Tasman the Electra seems an ideal aircraft, safe, rugged, relatively fast, comfortable, and economical. It has arrived at an awkward time during the Christmas rush for integration into the company’s service, as both air crew and workshops staff for a few weeks will have to operate mixed fleet. However, the company hopes to be fully converted to Electras (as far as the Tasman routes are concerned) by early next year.

Just what the introduction of the Electra means to T.E.A.L. can best be gauged from the following table of’ the company’s progress.

With all passengers in tourist class the Electra can carry 84. The company conservatively says it hopes to carry nearly 60,000 passengers in the first full year of the Electra service; but T.E.A.L. will probably be disappointed if the Electras do not carry more than 60,000.

Auckland-Sydney Dep. Auckland .. 9.30 a.m. Arr. Sydney .. .. 11.30 a.m. Dep. Sydney .. .. 12.30 p.m. Arr. Auckland . 6.00 p.m. Sydney-Christchurch Dep Sydney .. .. 1.00 p.m. Arr. Christchurch .. 6.30 p.m. Dep. Christchurch .. 8.00 p.m. Arr. Sydney .. .. 10.00 p.m.

Time in hours Passengers in Aircraft Year to Sydney Capacity current year Short Empire* 1940 9.5 19 1,546 Sandringham* 1946 7.5 30 11.600 Solent* 1949 6 5 45 22,600 Douglas D.C.6 1954 5.5 56 36.300 Electra 1959 3.8 71 53,200 *Flying-boat.