The Hawera Star. FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 1935. AIR BOUNDARIES.

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 18 January 1935, Page 6

The Hawera Star.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 1935. AIR BOUNDARIES.

Delivered every evening ny 6 o’clock In Hawera. Manaia, Kaupokonul. Otakeho, Oeo, Pihaiwa, Opunake, Eltham, Ngaere, Mangatoki, Kaponga, Awatnoa, Te Kiri. Mahoe, Manntahi, Kakara-r'-sa. Aitou, Hurbiyville. Patea, Whenua. kura, Waverley, Mokoia, Whakamara. Ohangui. Mereatare, Fraser Road and Ararat*.

$ All branches of commerce have a deep interest in European peace, and none of them has a deepei concern in peace than has commercial aviation. In Europe one of the great, obstacles to flying is the boundaries of the nations, which have subjected Continental aviation to handicaps from which the greater North American continent is free. One can fly from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast of U.S.A. under one flag, although over many States; hut, until such time as the United States of Europe arrives, commercial aviation must consider every national boundary, and they arc many. Still, efforts are on foot to reduce, one by one, the worst obstacles; for instance, the International Chamber of Commerce, in the course of a crusade against Customs, passport, and taxation handicaps, proposes that fuel used by aeroplanes for their own flights should be uniformly free of°duty. Aeroplane fuel in U.S.A. is not only duty-free, but is initially much cheaper than on the European continent. Little wonder that American commercial flying has outpaced Europe’s. The chairman of Imperial Airways, Sii Plric Geddes, was reported recently as stating that higher, speed and better service in U.S.A. to some extent had been made possible by low cost of fuel, the price there being one-third to onequarter of the cost in some other parts of the world, where, further, taxes have sometimes to be paid on fuel at a higher-rate than the whole cost of fuel to the United States operator. A special correspondent, of the “Sydney Morning Herald,” writing from London by air mail under date December 15, states that to go by air from London to certain European capitals takes days when the actual flying time is hours : ‘ ‘ The delay in all cases is caused by the necessity of applying for and receiving authorisation to cross intervening countries as well as complying with other complicated formalities.” If, as the result of better relations between Rome and Paris, European peace is placed on a firmer basis, there may be some chance to reduce the handicaps of European aviation. Public fear of military flying reacts on commercial flying; without some degree of international trust, the best results of aviation will not be achieved. ‘ 1 Freedom o£ the air, qualified by necessary regulations for protection of public health and national safety in each national unit, is the goal. Recently Italy and England signed a convention whereby aeroplane replaces train on the Paris-Brindisi stretch, Italy receiving compensating landing rights in Palestine. Transjordania, and Sudan.