AMBITIOUS PLANS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 101, 31 March 1937, Page 2

AMBITIOUS PLANS.

EMPIRE AIR MAIL SERVICES. AFRICA, ASIA, ATLANTIC. The complete Empire air mail scheme should be in working order at the begining of next year. It is hoped to start living on the Durban route soon and on the Singapore section by the end of the year. In a review of developments in British external civil air communications, the Under-Secretary for Air (Sir Philip Sassoon), in the House of Commons, pointed out that long-range training lor the mail services had been begun with two Empire-type flying boats on the Southampton-Alexandria section. The complete scheme would provide flying boat services on routes to Australia, India, and South Africa, with additional land ’planes to India, all operated with the new Empire aircraft. Arrangements were being made for feeder services connecting with all routes. All first-class mail matter from Britain to Empire countries would be carried at the flat rate of ltd per half ouuce. PLAN FOR ATLANTIC SERVICE. Among the new British services introduced in 1936 were a weekly mail service between Khartoum and Kano and Lagos, and a temporary service between Penang and Hong-Kong, pending completion of arrangements lor a permanent connection from HongKong to the Empire trunk routes, it was expected that the Bermuda-New York service would commence during this year. Concerning the proposed North Atlantic services, three main lines of aircraft development were in hand. Four-engined high-speed land machines were on the point of completion. With these it was hoped to operate an experimental service fieiore tlio end ot this year. A licet of specially designed flying boats should be available in 1938, and the possibility of catapulting longrange flying boats was being' investigated.