UNION AIRWAYS

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24775, 16 January 1946, Page 6

UNION AIRWAYS

TEN YEARS OF AIRLINE OPERATION EXPANSION OF SERVICES The major air transport company in New Zealand, Union Airways, to-day celebrates 10 years of trunk airline operation. It began its first service from Palmerston North to Dunedin with three de Havilland 86 aircraft on January 16, 1936, and since then has expanded its operations until *it now runs services between Auckland and Invercargill, on the East Coast of the North Island, and across Cook Strait. Under the provisions of the New Zealand National Airways Corporation Act the company’s services and its aircraft eventually will be taken over by the State. Union Airways before the war ran its time-table in conjunction with that of Cqok Strait Airways, which began operations between Wellington, Nelson, and Blenheim in 1935. In 1938 the company absorbed East Coast Airways, which had been running a service between Gisborne and Napier since 1935. At the outbreak of war the five de Havilland Rapide aircraft owned by Cook Strait Airways were taken over by the Government, as were the aircraft used by Union Airways on the East Coast service. Onion Airways, however, took over the Cook Strait Airways service during the war. At the present time air services in the Dominion traverse 1742 route miles, Union Airways operating seven routes, and Air Travel (N.Z.) three. With three Lockheed Electras and one Lockheed Lodestar, Union Airways operates a daily service between Auckland and Invercargill, with a double service between Wellington and Christchurch. With Lockheed Electras it also operates the Cook Strait service with one flight daily from Wellington to Nelson, and two daily from Wellington to Blenheim. Recently Uriion Airways resumed operation of the East Coast service. It has only one de Havilland 86, however, instead of the threfe which if had in 1939. The service goes from Palmerston North to Napier and Gisborne, with three trips a week to Auckland. , Since it began operations, Union Airways has had no accidents to its aircraft involving death or injury to its passengers. A Lockheed Electra crashed and caught fire after taking off from Mangere several- years ago, the pilot and co-pilot killed, but there were no passengers on board. Another Lockheed Electra made a forced landing on Flagstaff, near Dunedin, m fog, but passengers and crew were not Injured. Recently one of the company’s Lockheed Lodestars was removed from its hangar at Mangere by a youth who attempted to take off. The aircraft crashed and was destroyed by fire.