Institute of Pacific Relations

New Airlines to Link U. S. and AustralasiaAuthor(s): Jack ShepherdSource: Far Eastern Survey, Vol. 8, No. 19 (Sep. 27, 1939), p. 227Published by: Institute of Pacific RelationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3021563 .

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1939 New Airlines to Link U. S. and Australasia 221

whole, it seems safe to assume that Japan, under the

conditions created by her Continental policies, could

scarcely hope to share to any appreciable extent in the

profits of the present European war. Even if wholesale

liquidation of these policies were attempted, it appears

likely that the size of her war profits would probably fall considerably below those reaped during the war

boom of twenty-five years ago. Kurt Bloch.

NEW AIRLINES TO LINK U. S. AND AUSTRALASIA

After three years or more of delays and disappoint- ments it seems likely that within the coming month

the inauguration of regular aerial services between the

United States and New Zealand and between New

Zealand and Australia will complete yet another vital

link in the rapidly spreading network of transoceanic

airways (see "Expanding Airways in the Far East,"

Apr. 28, 1937). Australian authorities have named

October 1 as the date of commencement of the regular British mail and passenger flights across the Tasman

Sea from Sydney to Auckland, and Pan-American Air?

ways, with its planes and ground organization in readi-

ness, only awaits the approval of the Civil Aeronautics

Authority before commencing operations over the

longer leg of the journey from the Pacific Coast to

Australia. With hearings in Washington set for Sep? tember 25, it is confidently expected that the necessary

approval for the American service will be forthcoming and philatelists are already licking their stamps in

anticipation of a first flight before the end of October. Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's crossings in 1928 and

1934 first demonstrated the feasibility of flights from the Pacific Coast across the vast landless expanses of

the southern Pacific to Australia and plans for a regu? lar service as far as New Zealand matured before the end of 1937 only to be tragically set back by the loss of Pan-American's Samoan Clipper on January 11, 1938. Since that time much more thorough preparations have been made and it is now intended that the planes should follow a somewhat different route to that origi? nally contemplated. The plan presented by Pan-Ameri? can Airways provides for a service calling at Noumea on the French island of New Caledonia and eliminat-

ing the call at Pago Pago in American Samoa.

Starting from San Francisco the clippers will call at Los Angeles, on the outward voyage only, proceed- ing thence to Honolulu over the 2,561 miles of ocean now regularly traversed by the China Clippers. The next hop of 1,193 miles will bring them to the tiny sandspit of Canton Island on the equator, over which Britain and the United States arranged some time ago to exercise joint control (see Far Eastern Survey, Jan. 19, 1939, p. 18). Here it is proposed eventually to construct an hotel like those at Midway and Wake islands on the China route. Landing facilities, direction

finding apparatus, a meteorological station and a water

supply system have already been installed at Canton. A flight of 1,981 miles to Noumea forms the next step with a final hop from there of 1,124 miles to Auckland. The total mileage to be covered by the clippers each

way is only a little less than 8,000 miles.

With the flying time estimated at 49 hours, a full day

stopover at Honolulu and overnight halts at Canton

Island and Noumea, it will be possible by air to reach

New Zealand from this country in less than four days and Australia in about five, if the British and American

services are synchronized, which may be compared with

the present steamer journey of 15 days to Auckland and

18 days to Sydney. Pan-American Airways will conduct its service with

four-engined Boeing clippers of the type now operating on the China service. Over the Tasman the British

service will use four-engined flying boats of 21 tons

each. These are rather larger than the boats now used

on the Empire service from England to Australia and

they will be of stronger construction and have more

powerful motors. The British service is to be operated

by a new company to be known as Tasman Empire Air?

ways Ltd., in which Imperial Airways, representing the

British Government, Union Airways, representing the

New Zealand Government, and Qantas Empire Air?

ways, representing the Australian Government, will

cooperate. Both the British and American services are likely

sooner or later to extend their operations in such a way as eventually to provide two separate transpacific ser?

vices. It was announced in July that a survey flight was

being planned as the first step in establishing a wholly British service from Australia to Canada via Fiji, and

negotiations have been in train between the govern? ments concerned. Such a service would complete the circuit of the world by British lines. A possible Ameri? can response to the establishment of such a line would be to provide a service from Noumea to Brisbane which is only 790 miles away, thus providing an all-American

through service to Australia. How the outbreak of war in Europe will affect these

developments in British and American aviation in the Pacific has yet to be seen. So far as the American line is concerned its position is likely to be improved since the greater difficulty for Australia and New Zealand of maintaining contact with Europe via the Near East will certainly stimulate trade and traffic to and through North America. Imperial Airways and its collaborators

may encounter difficulties in the work of inaugurating new services in the Pacific, as a result of the war, but the urgency of developing safe alternative routes for

passengers and mail between the Pacific dominions and the mother country should provide them with a strong incentive to push ahead. Jack Shepherd.

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