EMPIRE AIR MAIL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22434, 2 June 1936, Page 11

EMPIRE AIR MAIL

SERVICE DUPLICATED

ACCELERATED DELIVERY

CONNECTIONS WITH DOMINION

Greater assurance of prompt linking up of the New Zealand air mail to and from England is provided by the duplication of the Australia-Singa-pore-England air service, which is now in operation. Air mails for London now leave Sydney eft-cry Tuesday and Friday evening, while the inwaid air mails are due to arrive at Sydney every Tuesday and Friday morning. Under the present running of the cross-Tasman steamers, there will continue to be only one outward normal despatch weekly from New Zealand, to connect with the air service leaving Sydney on Tuesdays. However, the post office will take advantage of every other opportunity afforded of making quick connection with the outward air mail i'rom Sydney 011 Fridays.

In the reverse direction, the inward duplicated air- mail due at Sydnev on Fridays should continue to connect with the weekly intercolonial steamer from Australia to New Zealand, while there will bo opportunities for the Tuesday inward air mail to connect with the Vancouver and San Francisco mail steamers leaving Sydney on Thursdays at fortnightly intervals, or with the Matson steamer leaving Sydney on a Wednesday every 28 days, and occasionally with other steamers. The first evidence of accelerated service due to the duplication is the fact that English air mail for New Zealand, which arrived at Sydney by the duplicated service last Tuesday, having been despatched from London on May 13, was forwarded next day to Auckland by the Monterey, which arrived on May 30. Under the former conditions this mail would not have been taken beyond Singapore so promptly, and would not have reached Sydney until after the departure of the Monterey, thus delaying its arrival in New Zealand until Thursday of this week. Weekly inward despatches of English air mail have been arriving in New Zealand during the last two months from 15 to 17 days from time of despatch from Croydon, and the outward letters have averaged 17 to 18 days in transit to England.