FLYING THE STRAIT

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 92, 20 April 1938, Page 10

FLYING THE STRAIT

INCREASINGLY POPULAR

AIR SERVICE TRAFFIC

Pilots and air service administrative officers do not look upon air travel as a romantic business and something in the nature of an adventure; to those connected with the commercial services it is just another means of transport. That point of view probably is not yet acceptable to a large majority of people in New Zealand, for in the Dominion commercial aviation services still have a newness about them, but, nevertheless, air traffic figures for the Easter holidays are illuminating as showing that more and more people are taking to the air as "just another means of transport.' 1 The crossing of Cook Strait by air is becoming increasingly popular, the traffic at Easter being particularly heavy; in fact, excluding last Thursday, when the weather was against heavy loads, the returns show that the number of passengers carried was more than, double the number for^the corresponding days during Easter, 1937. Good Friday was a particularly busy day, new records being created. From Good Friday to yesterday, both days inclusive, 112 crossings of Cook Strait were made and 520 passengers were carried,. compared with 55 crossings and 244 passengers for the corresponding days the previous Easter. With the passengers flown on the Thursday added, the total up. to and including yesterday was 571 for 121 crossings. In 1937 for the corresponding period the number of crossings was 79 and the total number of passengers 366.

The Lockheed machines engaged in Union Airways service between Wellington and Auckland were also well patronised. On Good Friday, in addition to the two time-table trips to Auckland and the two from Auckland to Wellington, two special trips were made to Christchurch direct and back to Wellington and on these 40 passengers were carried, accommodation being fully booked. On the two trips to Auckland a total of 20 passengers was carried and there were another 20 passengers on the two trips from Auckland to Wellington, making the total number of passengers carried by the Lockheeds that day, including 'the two special trips to and from Christchurch, '80. •

It is seldom that one of Union Airways D.H. 86 machines arrives at Rongotai. These planes are engaged in the Dunedin-Christchurch-Blenheim-Palmerston North service, but on one flight yesterday so many of the twelve passengers were booked for Wellington that, instead of landing at Blenheim as is done in the normal course of events, the Wellington passengers connecting there with a Cook Strait Airways machine, the D.H.86 flew from Christchurch to Rongotai, and after the Wellington passengers had disembarked, left for Blenheim, where it picked up the Blenheim passengers for Palmerston North.