FASTER AIR MAIL SERVICES

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22376, 13 April 1938, Page 11

FASTER AIR MAIL SERVICES

CENTAURUS BEGINS NEW

EMPIRE SCHEDULE

TIMES ON ALL ROUTES NOW

ACCELERATED

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(Received April 12, 2 p.m.)

RUGBY, April 11.

The Empire flying-boat Centaurus left Southampton yesterday for Australia on the first voyage of the accelerated Empire air service. The Centaurus carries passengers and two and a half tons of mail. The new service brings Hong Kong within five and a quarter days of England, and Brisbane within nine days. With their new fleet of Empire flying-boats in full commission, travelling at' 200 miles an hour, Imperial Airways will now operate the fastest air services yet between England and Egypt, England and India, and England and South Africa. Services on the All-Red trunk routes will become as fast, if not faster, than any other long-dis-tance service in the world. These accelerated services are part of the Empire air-mail scheme which provided not only for more frequent but also faster air communications. The scheme allowed for services which would cut the air journey to India to two and a half days and curtail the time to South Africa to four and a half days, schedules that were originally thought only possible with night-flying. Imperial Airways new “express” services, however, will, through the high operational speed of the Empire flying-boat fleet, be accomplished without night flying. Further accelerations in speed are consequently possible in the future. The times, based on Greenwich Mean Time, from Southampton to various points on the route to India, Malaya, China, and Australia will be: To Alexandria, 1 day 3 hours; to Karachi, 2 days 9 hours; to Calcutta, 3 days 6 hours; to Bangkok, 4 days 7 hours; to Hong Kong, 5 days 6 hours; to Singapore, 5 days 2 hours; to Darwin, 7 days 2 hours; to Brisbane, 8 days 23 hours. These times will replace the existing schedule of approximately two days to Alexandria, four days to Karachi, seven days to Singapore, nine and a half to Darwin, and 11 to Brisbane.