CHEAP AIR MAILS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 127, 1 June 1938, Page 6

CHEAP AIR MAILS.

The prospect which now seems to be (nearer —the air transport of all letters to and from Britain and other Empire countries—is one which will give keen pleasure to every New Zealander who troubles to think of its meaning. At present it costs 1/6 and takes 17 days or longer to send a letter to England by the fastest service; in the not distant future the cost will be reduced to ljd, and the time occupied will be substantially less. Such a service, which will strike many people as astonishingly cheap, will be a major factor in further reducing the isolation of this country. The full benefit of the new seheme will not be reaped by this Dominion until the inauguration of the trans-Tasman'air mail service, but it seems that at long last that development is in sight. The statement issued yesterday by I Mr. Savage fully justifies his contention that it is not the New Zealand Government which has raised obstacles and caused delay. It has i nominated Union Airways as its representative in the operating company, and it is ready to proceed with the organisation* That is clear and satisfactory, though it must be said that if Kingsford Smith were alive to-day he would be amazed to learn that the trail which he blazed, nearly ten years ago, is not already •voll trodden.