The Press TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1933. England-Australia Air Service

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20988, 17 October 1933, Page 8

The Press TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1933. England-Australia Air Service

The decision of the New Zealand Cabinet to contribute £SOOO towards the subsidy which will be paid the operators of the EnglandAustralia air service is the first indication that the commercial advantages of air mail transport are recognised in this country. It is unfortunate that this amount should be as small a proportion of the total subsidy as it will actually be, for this will mean that New Zealand representations about the way the service should be operated will not carry a great deal of weight. That, however, should not prevent the Government from expressing its views on the service in the hope that the influence of an interested party, added to the criticism expressed by well-informed outsiders, may result in the speeding-up of the service. From the point of view of the three governments which will pay the subsidy, it does not matter at all whether passengers are carried or not. What is important is that mails should travel backwards and forwards on the route quickly and often—the more quickly and the more often the better, but at least so that the service will compare favourably with the Dutch service from Amsterdam to Batavia. As has been said in "The Press" before, mails can be carried more efficiently if they are separated from passengers; but even if the English and Australian authorities are determined to limit the speed 'of the mails by carrying them in large, heavy aeroplanes, luxuriously equipped, and able to make only the comparatively short daily flights which passengers will tolerate, those aeroplanes should and could have a much greater speed than the 90 miles an hour specified in the Australian invitation to tender. Mr Frank MUner's account of the speed and regularity of American air-lines must have made many New Zealanders realise the progress of aviation in a country where government regulation of its growth has been sympathetic and not restrictive, and where competition has forced operators, anxious for more traffic, to increase the speed of their machines. The New Zealand Government would be well advised to emphasise the need for speed before it parts with its first £SOOO, in the hope of getting as good value as possible for its money. It might also argue that the faster the service the more passengers and mail it will attract, and the sooner will subsidies be unnecessary, and that small, fast aeroplanes carrying only mails would in any case require less subsidy. If the New Zealand Government thinks properly of the possibilities of the Empire air route, it is more likely to set down proper conditions for the air mail services within the Dominion, which will be necessary to enable the South Island to make good connexions with the Tasman shipping services, and consequently with the Empire air mail.