LONDON-AUCKLAND AIR LINK

Evening Star, Issue 25470, 28 April 1945, Page 11

LONDON-AUCKLAND AIR LINK

FIRST PLANE ARRIVES (P.A.) AUCKLAND, April 27. A British Overseas Airways AvroLancastrian aircraft arrived at Whenuapai this afternoon, inaugurating the new London-Auckland air link. The Lancastrian was five hours and five minutes out from Sydney when it touched down at 5.20 p.m. after a circuit over the city. This is record time. The crew was under the command of Captain R. G. Buck. The aircraft left Bournemouth at 4.30 a.m. on Tuesday, New Zealand time. The elapsed time for the whole trip was therefore 3 days 12 hours 50 minutes.

Tasman Empire Airways will handle the commercial side of the service in New Zealand, and the maintenance of the Lancastrians on the route will be dtone by R.N.Z.A.P. (personnel, most of whom have serviced Lancaster bombers in England. The arrival was informal, and most of those on board the Lancastrian said that their chief interest at the moment was sleep. Captain Buck described the trip as " quite satisfactory." Regular services with Lancastrian aircraft will begin in June, the machines carrying high priority passengers and mail. The aircraft have a crew of five and will carry nine passengers across the Tasman and six across the Indian Ocean.