AIR TRAVEL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26413, 18 March 1947, Page 6

AIR TRAVEL

NEW PACIFIC SERVICE DETAILS ANNOUNCED P.A. AUCKLAND, Mar. 17. Details of the operation of the British Commonwealth Pacific air service between Auckland and Vancouver and between Sydney and Vancouver, agreement on which was announced last week, were given by Sir Leonard Isitt, New Zealand director of British Commonwealth Pacific Airways, when he returned by flying boat from a visit to Australia, where he discussed the working of the new service at a meeting of the Airways Board. ■ Sir Leonard stated that Australian National Airways Proprietary, Ltd., would continue to operate for 12 months the existing weekly return service between Sydney and Vancouver, and a fortnightly service from Auckland to Vancouver via Fiji, Canton' Island, Honolulu, and San Francisco would be commenced by the. company on April 24. Skymaster aircraft would depart from Whenuapai every second Thursday at 9 a.m., and would reach Vancouver at 3 p.m. on the following Saturday, a day being gained through crossing the International Date Line. There lyould be a stop of 27J hours at Honolulu. The aircraft on the VancouverAuckland service would leave Vancouver at 10 a.m. every second Saturday, and reach Auckland at 6 a.m. every second Wednesday. There would be a stop of 124 hours at Honolulu.

Single and return fares respectively from Auckland, said Sir Leonard, would be as follows: —To Fiji, £39 and £7O: to Honolulu, £lsl and £?72; to San Francisco, £lB4 and £331; to Vancouver, £l9B and £356. Freight rates would be 15s 9d per lb to San Francisco and 17s 6d per lb to Vancouver, with a minimum freight of 21b. All charges were plus tax. The airmail letter rate to Vancouver and the United States would be 2s per 4oz, while the rate for postcards would be Is. Air letter cards' wfculd be sent to Canada for Bd. Sir Leonard stated that although only the fortnightly; service would operate from Auckland, Ne,\y Zealand passengers and mail would be able to connect at Fiji with the weekly Syd-ney-Vancouver service, by using the regional service between Auckland and Fiji on the intervening weeks.