AIR LINK.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21032, 22 May 1930, Page 11

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PLANS FOR AUSTRALIA, EUROPE IN 13 DATS. (FfiOM OtJB OWS CORRESPONDENT.) SYDNEY, May 8. The news that before the end of the year Australia will be linked np with the Dutch East Indies by passenger and -v air mail, and thus with the air chain to Holland, emphasises the progress of aviation, but there are many who regret that a British company will not be first in with a direct service to Europe. The new service it to be undertaken by the Royal Netherlands Indiens Air Mail, a big Dutch concern. The service from Sourabaya to Darwin, and then to Brisbane and Sydney, will start in October ' or November, and will probably be weekly. A representative of the company stated on arrival in Sydney this week that‘two three-engined Fokkers capable of carrying one ton of mail matter and 12 passengers were being built, and the flight from Sourabaya to Darwin would take from four to five hours, and from Sourabaya to Sydney four days. There would be trial flights from Sourabaya in September, and the plane would probably call at all the capitals of the Commonwealth in order to “show Itself.” The probable fare ■ from Sydney to Sourabaya would be about £SO single, which was only slightly more than the steamship fare. The service between Holland and Java would be recommenced In September, and Australian travellers and mails would reach Holland in 13 days. The cost of the through journey would probably be about £2OO. The company was also building six machines for the Java-Holland service. In addition to the ordinary foreign fee of 3d, the additional charge on an ordinary letter to Europe would be sd. No difficulty was anticipated with the Australian Government in the matter of arranging landing grounds. Colonel F. H. Wright, Consul in Melbourne for the Netherlands, said on his return to Sydney that it was now possible to breakfast in Singapore and lunch’ in Java on the same day, whereas the journey between the two places used to take three days. He said he, thought it might be taken for granted that there would be no objection on the part of the British authorities to the Dutch conducting the whole of the ronte beween Darwin and Singapore. . It had been stated that an Australian company was negotiating to bring mail matter from Darwin on to the capitals, but even so the Dutch company would still ran to Brisbane and Sydney with passengers. It is thought that the British and Dutch services with Europe might be conducted by mntnal arrangement once the London-Singapore service was commenced.