NEW AIR SERVICE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20644, 16 February 1929, Page 9

NEW AIR SERVICE.

AMSTERDAM TO BATAVIA,

Twelve days by air from Amsterdam to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies is the record of the first mail-carrying aeroplane destined for the civil air service in that possession of the Netherlands. This carrier, immediately on arrival; we are told, distributed about 600 pounds of mail, including letters from London. The feat awakens the imagination of some journalists to the possibilities of establishing an air chain betwen Loudon and Australia by way of the Netherlands East Indian Archipelago. The size of the Archipelago, writes the Batavia correspondent of The Times, can best, be understood by superimposing it. on the map of Europe, where it is seen that Sumatra would stretch from Ireland vo the Mediterranean, that Java is considerably longer than England—with a population. nearly equal to England—and that the extreme length of the Archipelago is equal to the distance fr6m Ireland to the eastern part of the Black Sea. The informant goes on ;

“ In the Netherlands East Indies, many business men travel regularly between the ports of Batavia and Surabaya—the most important two towns in the Archipelago. This journey can be made by rail or steaiher, and as trains in Java do not run at night, the journey by either route occupies approximately 40 hours. By aeroplane the distance can be covered in four and a-half hours, so that it is possible foi a business man to fly from one centre to the other, arriving in time for lunch, complete his business, and reach his office again the next day. “ With regard to the influence of aviation on the development of wide and rcmbte districts, Western Australian \irways. Ltd;, have demonstrated that the running of regular air services betwetn Perth and the Northern Territory has induced a large number of men with taeir wives ' and families to settle in the Northern Territory. These factors are ,of immense importance, to the Netherlands East Indian Archipelago. . . “ A glance at a map will show that geographically Sumatra, Java, and the Lesser Soenda Islands form an essential linkjin the Europe-Australia air route Sir Eric Geddcs is credited with the belief that London to Australia can be accomplished commercially and Western Australian Airways, Ltd., have for some time been considering the possibility, of a Port Darwin-Surabaya service With these and other links already in existence, it does not seem necessary to peer far into the future to see the LondonAustralia air service an accomplished fact.”