The Hemisphere: Jets for the Pacific

This April, the Pacific will have its first jet airliners. The planes—two British-built Mark I Comets—will be operated by Canadian Pacific Air Lines, Canada’s No. 1 private air service. (The larger Trans-Canada Air Lines is government-owned and subsidized.) Last week the company inaugurated its first direct service between Vancouver and Honolulu. A new fleet of 50-passenger, four-engine DC-6Bs now makes the trip in 12| hours, cutting almost six hours from the flight time of C.P.A.’s DC-45. In Honolulu, once C.P.A.’s jet liners are in service, the DC-6B passengers can transfer to the Comets for Sydney. Australia, with stops at Canton, Fiji and Auckland; the Vancouver-Sydney trip, which now takes 50 hours, will be cut to 27½ hours.