EMPIRE AIR MAIL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21781, 21 April 1934, Page 11

EMPIRE AIR MAIL

IMPORTANT LINK AUSTRALIAN EXTENSION ACCEPTANCE OF TENDER CONNECTION WITH SINGAPORE By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received April 20. 8.35 p.m.) CANBERRA, April 20 In announcing that Qantas Empire Airways, Limited, was the successful tenderer for the Singapore-Bar winBrisbane section of the England-Aus-tralia air mail service, the Minister of Defence, Sir George Pearce, said that after the commencement of the official service, English mails would reach Australia in less than 14 days. The director of Qantas (Queensland and Northern Territory Air Services) stated that the Singapore-Brisbane service would be inaugurated with six of the latest four-engined de Havilland aeroplanes, which would be fitted to carry three passengers in addition to mails. The crews would be Australian. A start on the service is expected to be made in December or January. Tenders also hare been accepted for three other sectional air mail services which are to be conducted in conjunction with the England-Darwin service. It is estimated that the cost for five years of the oversea and Eastern Australian division of the air mail will be £349,703 and that the total cost of the four contracts accepted—Singa-pore-Darwin-Brisbane, Charleville-Coota-mundra, Perth-Katherme, and Mel-bourne-Launceston-Hobart will be £511,312.

Qantas Empire Airways, Ltd., was recently formed. It is a combination of the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, Limited, and Imperial Airways, Limited. The rate of payment under this company's contract will be 3s Id a mile for the first year, decreasing to 2s 6d in the fifth year. Mr. C. T. P. Ulm . and Major N. Brearley, managing-director of Western Australian Airways, jointly tendered for the Singapore-Darwin-Brisbane section. Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and New England Airways jointly tendered for the Darwin-Brisbane section. All were unsuccessful. ,

WIRELESS MESSAGES

PASSENGERS' CONVENIENCE NEW SYSTEM ON MAY 1 (Received April 20. 5.55 p.m.) LOXDON. April 19 Passengers in Imperial Airways machines flying over all except European countries on and after May 1 will be able to despatch and receive private wireless messages either in code or in plain language. Messages will be despatched from the aeroplanes to ground wireless< stations between Cairo and Singapore, or Cairo and Capetown, for transmission to most parts of the world and from ground telegraph offices to passengers aloft except in India where the Government will not allow it.