EMPIRE AIR SERVICES

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22004, 30 January 1937, Page 14

EMPIRE AIR SERVICES

INCREASED FACILITIES

THIS YEAR

ELIMINATION OF OVERLAND

JOURNEYS

(moil oua own coriibspohueht.)

LONDON, January 6,

An air transport event which may be expected this year is the carrying of all Empire mails by air. The scheme will be introduced on the route to South Africa by May. . First-class mail* will be carried by air at a lid rate. The Empire flying-boats will gradually supersede existing aircraft on all Empire routes, and as night-flying facilities are provided will gradually shorten the present eight-day journey to = Cape to one of only four and a days. . , .. Similar reorganisation along the other routes is also proceeding rapidly. Before the end of the year a corresponding speeding-up of services will be made on the routes to India and the Far East. When the full air-mail scheme is in operation Egypt will be only just more than a day’s journey and India just two and a half days, against the present five days. Another change in air travel is that the train journey from Paris to Brindisi. which passengers on Imperial Airways Empire routes have hitherto had to undertake, spending two nights on the train, is gradually being eliminated. Hitherto the Mediterranean section of the Empire air route has been only from Brindisi to Alexandria, but a service is now being operated from Marseilles. The first service out of Marseilles was operated this week by the flying-boat Castor. Carrying seven passengers and mails—a total losd of two tons—on her maiden, service flight, she left for Brindisi via Lake Bracciano, Rome. She also flew to Alexandria, carrying passengers and mails lor India.

At present only the two services each week outward to India and the two inward from Africa will be operated from Marseilles, the inward services from India and outward to Africa being still operated from Brindisi. As more flying-boats are delivered by the aircraft builders further changes will be made, and it is stated that in the near future Empire air services will operate direct from Southampton. The new route will mean that passengers will have to travel by train only from Paris to Marseilles, spending one night on the train instead of two. the other night being spent at an hotel at Brindisi.