FLYING IN THE NT OF AUSTRALIA IN THE 1970s

Flying, Connair in the Northern Territory in the 1970s offered some quite unique experiences. One of the things that had to be carefully considered and strictly managed was the weight of the load on each plane.

That was in so much of an issue on the day that the DC 3’s were flying. It was more pertinent when the herons were on the roof. They had a much smaller payload capacity, but still a lot of passengers and baggage to flying. On many of occasions when the herons were flying, not only would baggage to be loaded onto the plane at each stop along the route weighed but so two were passengers and their hand luggage. The total payload could not exceed the maximum amount designated for each flight.

Being weighed was hardly private. Scales were placed at the point of check-in and passengers were asked to stand on their scales with and without their carry-on baggage, their weights were recorded and added to the total to be carried out on the particular flight.

In those days, especially for the ports along the way pilots and flight attendants had to double as counter staff and receivers of luggage and passengers. They were the ones responsible for updating manifests and ensuring all of necessary paperwork was completed. There were generally one or two people who could assist, but they weren’t direct Conair employees. Rather, they were the delivering of passengers and cargo people and that is designated to meet the planes as they came in and then took off.

Connair was an airline that really was for a particular time in the history of the Northern Territory. It could be said that the quality of the service was somewhat unique and even quaint. But they did provide in a way that insured a connection with Darwin and all settlements in Arnhemland and the Katherine Rivers region. Connair provided an iconic service, one with a deference but ever so essential and appreciated.