MAILS BY AIR

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 241, 8 July 1938, Page 10

MAILS BY AIR

Empire Service To Start Shortly

NEW POSTAGE RATES Prime Minister Announces Details After July 26, fl'll letters and postcards exchanged between New Zealand and Empire countries served by the Australia-England and England-South Africa air services will be forwarded by air as the normal metros of dispatch. The same, will apply in the opposite direction to correspondence from Empire countries en route to New' Zealand. The postage rate on letters for all Empire countries (except Australia), including protectorates and mandated territories, also Egypt, will be lid. each halfounce.

An announcement to the above effect was made by the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, yesterday. The outstanding fatures of the 1. An increase on July 26 in the letter postage rate to Empire countries, excluding for the present Australia, Rarotonga, and Apia, from Id. an ounce to lid. each half-ounce. 2. The&dispatch by air of all letters for Empire countries served "by the Aus-tralia-England and England-South Africa air services; and 3. The fixing of the United Kingdom rate to all foreign countries, except Egypt, at 2id. for the first ounce and lid. for each succeeding ounce. The principal countries participating in the Empire service are Great Britain and Ireland, Australia, South Africa. India, Ceylon, and Malaya. Correspondence for Canada and Newfoundland will be forwarded by air via Great Britain or by sea, direct, whichever offers the quicker dispatch. Correspondence for Australia will similarly be carried by air when the trans-Tasman air service Is inaugurated, but the postage rate on letters for Australia will continue meantime at Id. each ounce. Transit Time. For the present, New Zealand correspondence for the Empire countries concerned will be forwarded to Australia by steamer to connect with the air service at Sydney. The transit time of the regular passenger steamers operating between New Zealand and Australia is three to four days, aud the transit time on the air service between Australia and England under 10 days. Accordingly, the transit time for letter mails forwarded from New Zealand to Great Britain will be not more than 14 days, or about half the average transit time by existing surface transport. The last dispatch of letter mails by sea to the United Kingdom will be from Auckland on July 25. The first air service under the Empire scheme will commence at Sydney on August 9, and the last dispatches from New Zealand to connect with the service will be by the Wanganella from Wellington on August 4, and the Mariposa from Auckland on August 5.

There is no change in the postage rate for postcards (id. each), although postcards, like Tetters, will be sent by air on the Empire route. Newspapers and Parcels. The rates for newspapers, packets, and parcels remain unchanged. These articles will continue to be forwarded by sea. Members of the public who desire to use the New Zealand internal air-mail services to connect with outgoing steamers must add Id. per ounce to the ordinary postage or airmail charge. The inland postage rates are unaltered' and continue to apply to correspondence for the Cook Islands and Western Samoa.

From July 26, also, the letter postage rate to all foreign countries (except Egypt) will be the Postal Union rate of 24d. for the first ounce'and IJd. for each succeeding ounce.

The principal countries concerned in this change are the United States of America and Hawaii, the Argentine Republic, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Portugal, Rumania and Yugoslavia. Letters for foreign countries will continue to be forwarded by sea unless the existing special charges for air dispatch are paid. A charge additional to the IJd. Empire rate is also required to be paid meantime on letters for Hong Kong flown on the branch air service from Bangkok. The Prime Minister added that nothing further can be said except that the High Commissioner, Mr. W. J. Jordan, will represent the Dominion at a conference* in London to finalise the details in connection with the transTasman service.