AIRLINE’S COMMENT

Press, Volume C, Issue 29691, 8 December 1961, Page 18

AIRLINE’S COMMENT

“Long Shot” Affair

(NX. Press Association) AUCKLAND, December 7. Mrs Margaret Pitcairn’s non-scheduled flight to Melbourne on Tuesday was a “long-shot” affair, T.E.A.L.’s general manager (Mr F. A. Reeves) said today. Long Shot No 1 occurred when Mrs Pitcairn retained the T.E.A.L. boarding pass she had been issued with at Nandi for her flight to Auckland earlier in the afternoon. Long Shot No 2 occurred when the seat number on the pass happened to be for a vacant seat on the Auckland-Melbourne flight. Mr Reeves said his information on the incident suggested the only error was made during the count of passengers before take off. These counts were sometimes difficult because passengers were settling into their seats. There was no lack of procedure to prevent an unauthorised passenger boarding a TEAL, airliner, he said, but the best procedures in the world were only as good as the way in which they were carried out. Mr Reeves said the incident was the first he or others in TEAL could recall involvin£ “New Zealand airport, and T.E.A.L. had carried more than 800,000 passengers through the years.