Great Developments In Air Travel Overseas

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29366, 19 November 1960, Page 11

Great Developments In Air Travel Overseas

“The growth and development of air travel and the movement of aircraft and people are just fantastic, but you are not conscious of toe sky being filled with planes, merely of toe hordes pouring in and out of air terminals.” This is one of toe main impressions which remains with Mr F. G. Hill, the Christchurch manager of Tasman Empire Airways, Ltd., who has just returned from a round-the-world air trip of five' weeks. Mr Hill said last evening that many of toe air services on shorter troutes had almost go down to a bus ride, “except that you always get something, even if it is only a cup of coffee.” His trip was to observe airline operations overseas and experience flights on different aircraft, and in the short time he was away he had plenty of opportunities—calling at Hong Kong. Bangkok. Calcutta. Rome. Zurich. London. Copenhagen. Frankfurt. Paris. New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Honolulu, and flying in jet aircraft. • turbo-prop planes, and piston-engined planes. Jet Travel Relaxing

He returned as an enthusiast for jet travel and the Boeing 707. "Travelling in toe jets is most relaxing.” Mr Hill said. “There is a complete lack of vibration and a very low noise level.” . Sometimes he bad 16 hours’ flying in a day, but was “as fresh as a daisy” at toe end of it. Mr Hill saw some modern developments in cargo-handling equipment and In handling passengers. At some of the big airports passengers had to be picked up from and carried to the aircraft by buses because there were so many planes that they could not all taxi up to toe terminal. Formalities were reduced to almost nothing in most countries. Mr Hill said, and he got off some flights thinking something had been forgotten. Airport Tax

The universal practice was to charge for toe bus ride to and from toe airport, Mr Hill said, and except for Australia and .America, practically every airport had an airport tax on passen-

gers- London had started the practice and it had caught on as a lucrative form of revenue. The airport tax of about 5s to 7 s was usually paid when a passenger checked in.

With landing every two or three minutes at some of the big airports there was a sense of bustle at toe terminals and toe hostesses did a great job in getting together toe passengers from toe different flights and then virtually shepherding the parties to the right planes—“almost like a Judas sheep at the freezing works.” The standard of service on the airlines were generally similar, except that it could vary with individual crews. On a 55-minute flight to Paris from London Mr Hill was served with a meal—“everything from soup to nuts and with champagne”—but the service was so good that the meal was not rushed, although toe flight was almost ended as toe meal ended. At the Atlanta airport, Mr Hill saw a unique service for travellers. A board had all the hotels listed and if there was a vacancy toe word “vacancy" flashed in a lighted panel against the name of the hotel. “Nothing was static. Mr Hill said. “Everywhere there were air terminals being enlarged or being rebuilt." World Language His trip also give him two ideas for the future of travelling. “You can get round toe world speaking only English,” he said ,“but you- will not find out what toe other fellow does or thinks. There is a need for an international language which would not only give pleasure to tourists but be a great help to peace.

“Next, I would like to see an international currency. It is bewildering to be changing currency every other day. The currency you get is always related to your own currency, not to the standard of living in your own country.

“When we get an international language and an international currency for world travel we will be getting together in a world community.”