EMPIRE AIR SERVICES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 127, 11 March 1935, Page 6

EMPIRE AIR SERVICES.

APPROVAL BY AUSTRALIA. WAITING FOR NEW ZEALAND. (United Press Association— Copyright) LONDON, March 9. “The Times” welcomes as an important step to finality the Australian Cabinet’s approval of the tentative air service agreement. It says that thei e will be no difficulty about the adhesion of New Zealand when Australia desides to come in. The newspaper adds that the scheme will increase to more than 5,000,000 miles the annual mileage flown by Imperial Airways and will also involve a vast amount of preparatory work, some of which is already in hand. Sir Eric Geddes, addressing the Press Club, said that the assistance of the Post Office and the Air Ministry would enable air mails to be carried through-' out the Empire at an ounce at a much less proportional subsidy. Imperial Airways operated on a subsidy lower than that for any similar enterprise, and when the Empire gover iments accepted the new scheme the percentage of subsidy to earn revenue would be halved.

A wa re of speed hysteria had swept over the world after the Melbourne Air Race. Safety, comfort, reliability and reduction of strain were equally essential, and the new Empire aeroplanes provided these. It would cost half a mililon pounds sterling to increase the speed from 100 to 200 miles an hour on a seven or tenday route, whereas the total civil vote was only £600,000. Moreover, the increase wouid save only one day on the journey. It was not worth going en tirely for speed or frequency. That was going headlong to bankruptcy.