EMPIRE MAILS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22740, 28 May 1937, Page 11

EMPIRE MAILS

NEW AIR SERVICE STARTING JANUARY, 1938 » AGREEMENT CONCLUDED BRITAIN AND AUSTRALIA By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright . (Received May 27, 5.5 p.m.) CANBERRA. May 27 The new air mail service between Australia and London will commence in January, 1938. It will provide for an initial schedule of 10 days with a progressive reduction to seven days. The postage rate is to be reduced from Is 6d to 5d per half ounce. The Commonwealth's subsidy will be a maximum of £50,000 a year. The new Empire flying-boats are to be used on trial for two years on the Australian section of the route from Sydney to Singapore. The acting-Prime Minister, Dr. Earle

Page, announced to-day that an agreement had been finally reached between the Governments of Britain and Australia.

15 YEARS' SCHEME

DETAILS EXPLAINED CHEAP RATE OF POSTAGE (Received May 27, 6.5 p.m.) British Wireless RUGBY. May 26 A 15 years' scheme of Empire air mails is outlined in a White Paper. This reveals that under a projected agreement between the Government and Imperial Airways, subsidies payable on a decreasing scale will aggregate £9,000,000 but will be subjected to various adjustments. Provision is made for nine services weekly to and from Egypt, five to and from India, three each to and from East Africa and the Straits Settlements, and two each to and from South Africa and Australia. The scheme is confidently expected to ensuro the due maintenance of British prestige in world air transport. It will also represent a striking development in the form of long-distance carriage of first-class mails by air at a flat postage charge of ljd per half ounce for letters and Id for postcards, which for cheapness has never been approached anywhere in tho world. Both flying-boat and land aeroplane services will operate from England.

The aircraft will have a maximum speed of about 200 miles an hour and a commercial pay load of roughly three and a quarter tons. It is stipulated that they shall be replaced after not more than seven years by improved craft. Imperial Airways will be required to undertake to carry all first-class mail between tho participating countries, which in the provisional list number 28. The Government will provide free aerodromes and landing areas in British territory in Egypt, the Sudan nnd Irak.