AIR MAIL SERVICE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22099, 1 November 1933, Page 7

AIR MAIL SERVICE

SYDNEY TO LONDON \ SIXTEEN DAYS INSTEAD OF EIGHTEEN (From Oub Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, October 31. The fact' that the air mail service between Sydney and London, to which the New Zealand Government has agreed to contribute £SOOO, may take only 16 days instead of 18 days as previously announced was mentioned by the Post-master-general (Mr A. Hamilton) when he was invited to comment on the criticism which has been expressed regarding the time occupied by the new service. “ The statement is correct that correspondence forwarded to England by the Matson steamer and flown across America may reach London in 21 days if quick connection with an Atlantic steamer is made,” said the Minister. “ The air route across America is little used, however, for New Zealand correspondence, and those who desire to make use of the Matson boat appear to forget that it is very heavily subsidised by the American Government to compete with British vessels.”

The departmental estimate of 18 days from Sydney to London, said the Minister, was arrived at from the original cablegram of inquiry as to whether New Zealand would contribute which was despatched from the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs in August, 1932. This stated that the saving in transit time was expected to be about 14 days, and as the average transit time from Sydney to London, via Suez, was 32 days, 18 days was accepted as a safe period on which to estimate. In a cablegram received from Melbourne in July, 1932, 15$ days was mentioned as the flying time from Sydney to London, and Sir Edwin Harding, in a letter dated October 17, 1932, mentioned from 14 to 16 days. “Probably, therefore,” added Mr Hamilton, “we could regard the flying time from Sydney to London at the commencement of the service as likely to be 16 days, .or two days less than the time previously announced. Assuming that connection will be good we can expect a three-day trip across the Tasman, and thus a 19 days mail service to London. Any suggestion that we should represent the need for a faster air service between England and Australia might readily bring the rejoinder that usually the person who pays least makes the most noise. Apparently the relative smallness of our contribution towards the service is not realised.”

THE ENGUNWNDIA ROUTE EXTENSION OF ACTIVITIES (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, October 30. (Received Oct. 31, at 5.5 p.m.) Presiding at a general meeting of Imperial Airways, Sir Eric Geddes referred to the extension of the England-India route to Australia. He said that the service had been extended from Karachi to Rangoon, and by the end of December would be operating to Singapore. “ The Australian Government has assumed responsibility for establishing the line from Singapore to some point in Australia, and has decided to invite tenders for the carriage of air mails over that section. Imperial Airways made a concordance with the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, Ltd., of Brisbane, for the formation of a joint company to tender for and, if successful, to operate the Singapore-Darwin-Brisbane section of the England to Australia service. A great deal of investigation is still being devoted to the North Atlantic project, and Canada is likely to be, by force of circumstances, the last of the great dominions with whom we shall make contact by means of regular air services. We can, however, look forward to developments on ■ this transatlantic project in complete harmony with Britain and Canada.” They hoped to establish next year, in co-operation with PanAmerican Airways, a service between Bermuda and the United States. MEDITERRANEAN SERVICE. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, October 30. Sir Erie Geddes explained that passengers would at present be taken by rail from Paris to Brindisi, owing to political objections to the Imperial Airways service operating from Prance to Italy along the Mediterranean coast. lie was hopeful that the objections which formerly prevented Italy from permitting the operation of this route would shortly be removed. STRIKING PROGRESS. LONDON, October 31. (Received Oct. 31, at 11 p.m.) The striking progress of Empire airlines is shown in the fact that for the six months ended September 30 passengers, mails and freight on the Egyptian, Burmese and African routes recorded an all round increase of 45 per cent, compared with 1932. Forty thousand letters are now being sent by air mail to India every week, with an additional 14,000 a week between Karachi and Calcutta.