PACIFIC AIR SERVICES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22916, 20 December 1937, Page 10

PACIFIC AIR SERVICES

Hongkong has already become an air junction of the North Pacific on the lines of that which Auckland hopes to see established on the Waitemata. Imperial and Pan American Airways' routes meet at Hongkong just as they are expected to do at Auckland. It is announced that the improved London-Hongkong service, occupying eight and a-half days, was inaugurated yesterday, the flight north-eastward from Bangkok being undertaken as a branch from the trunk Imperial : route to Australia. At Hongkong, of ; course, the British aeroplanes will ! meet the American machines operati ing the Pacific service via Manila and Honolulu to San Francisco. Thus a northern round-the-world route will be opened as soon as the North Atlantic line is operating. In • addition passengers can now make ; an unbroken' air journey from AusS tralia to many points in the Far East j and across the Pacific to America, ■ North and South. From South America connections can be made | with the African, European and I Asian systems. New Zealand still ! remains isolated from this great 1 world network because of the failure ! to forge the Tasman link. Even now, with the flying-boat Centaurus far advanced on her test flight to New Zealand, there is no word of when I the Dominion will have a regular ! service flying the Tasman. So small lan undertaking has tarried over I long, owing to the inordinate delays of the responsible Governments. I Auckland might well have graduated | with Hongkong to the status of ; major world air junction, but that consummation remains uncertain.