AIR SUBSIDIES

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 200, 21 May 1936, Page 9

AIR SUBSIDIES

Increase in British Vote EMPIRE SERVICES Object Greater Speed and Frequency (British Official Wireless, i Rugby, May 19. In moving a financial resolution in the House of Commons this evening providing for an increase in the annual subsidy for air transport from £1.000,000 to £1,500,000 and empowering the Air Ministry to enter into longterm agreements with transport undertakings, the Under-Secretary for Air, Sir Philip Sassoon, said that the scheme was designed to secure, first, a striking acceleration of the schedules, secondly, a great increase in the frequency of services, and, lastly, carriage in so far as concerns the United Kingdom of all first-class mail matter within the Empire by air at a rate of ljd. per half-ounce. As to acceleration, they would work by degrees to schedules of 21 days to East Africa, of 41 days to South Africa, of six to seven days to Australia, of 21 days to India, and of 4$ days to Singapore. Provisions of Complete Scheme. As to frequency, the services to South Africa and Singapore were already duplicated. If the whole scheme could be brought into operation as originally planned there would ultimately be nine services weekly to Egypt, five to India, three to East Africa and Singapore, and two to Australia and South Africa respectively. Negotiations for the extension of the Australian service to New Zealand were in progress. When all the services for which they were planning were brought to fruition the United Kingdom would be operating a route mileage of over 41,000 miles—nearly twice the route milcage which any other country except the United States was operating to-day—and the route mileage of the Empire as a whole would then exceed even that of America. Subsidies Essential. Sir Philip Sassoon added that they might criticise the subsidies in general, but without subsidies the Empire services would terminate forthwith. Postal contracts in place of subsidies would be no remedy, for any contract which would enable the Empire routes to be operated without separate subsidy would involve the Post Office in losses such as had been incurred in the United States. That was merely concealment of subsidy. The British method—the adoption of which in America had been urged by an important Government Commission—enabled Parliament, the taxpayer, and the general public to see much more clearly where they stood. The air subsidies per ton mile carried in the latest year for which there were figures appeared to have been about 9/- in France, about 4/- in Germany, and 11/- in Italy, while the subsidy paid to Imperial Airways was down to something under 2/-. The resolution was carried by 259 votes to 122.