AIR TRAVEL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18398, 16 May 1934, Page 2

AIR TRAVEL

SPEED AND LUXURY EUROPEAN “ALL-AIR” STACIE LONDON, March 29. Larger, swifter, and more luxurious air-liners: further time-saving on many services; a new “all-air” stage across Europe on the Empire routes; inteiconnections between Continental flying routes to enable 150 cities to be reached from London by air; and fresh programmes for aerial touring, including special rates for inclusive trips—these are some of the improved facilities which will bo available this summer for holiday-makers, tourists, and business men 'who may make air journeys across Europe, or fly farther afield along the Empire lines. At a meeting in Berlin recently the experts of the chief European air companics planned an ambitious summer programme. It was arranged that b} means of accurately-timed connections, more than 70 pleasure resorts and cities on the Continent should be brought within a day’s flying of Croydon, some of these destinations being in Austria, Spain, Denmark, and Sweden. The imperial Airways services from Croydon during the summer, establishing connections with approximately <30,000 miles of European air routes, will be Le Touquet, Paris, Basle, Zurich, Brussels, and Cologne. “On our Continental services,” explained an Imperial Airways official, “we shall be operating large new airliners, driven by four engines developing a total of 2200 horse-power. They will be the largest in the world to be flown regularly on established routes. These machines arc of the ‘Scylla’ type, and are of such size that it is possible to provide in them Ihree luxuriously-equipped saloons, seating a total of 39 passengers, one of these saloons being fitted up and used as a smoking compartment. “Aerial touring now plays a rapidlygrowing part in European pleasure travel, the airways and the railways being utilised in combined excursions which widen enormously the scope for holiday folk; while special rates for inclusive tours bring the swiftness and exhilaration of flying within the reach of an increasingly large number of t/avellcrs. Trips in big air-liners are so popular, and flying fares arc now so reasonable, th?t it is becoming feasible to organise a whole series of fascinating trips across Europe, in which air travel and land travel are combined in one itinerary. ” ACCELERATED SCHEDULES On the Empire lines accelerated schedules—which will come into force during April—will bring India within five days of England, and passengers, mails, and freight will be flown

through from London to Singapore in eight days; while the air journey to Capetown will be shortened from .10 to nine days. During the summer, on European sections of the Empire routes, the train link between Paris and Brindisi will be eliminated, and new air-liner stages on these sections substituted so as to make a transEmpire journey an “all-air” trip from start to finish. And, of course, towards the end of the year the 2300 miles extension of the Eastern air route from Singapore to Port Darwin is expected to come into operation. This will enable a regular air service to be operated through for 11,000 miles from England to Australia. A new 'type of air-liner, the fastest fourengined passenger plane so far produced, has been built for Imperial Airways and Qantas Empire Airways in connection' with their tender for the Singaporc-Port Darwin extension. When carrying up to 10 passengers this machine is capable of a speed ol over 170 miles an hour. Other new aircraft will also be brought into service during the year for special charter work, a branch of air transport in which progress is now extremely rapid. In addition to these and other aspects of aerial development, important advances are foreshadowed in fast internal air communication in 'Great Britain. Railways Air Services, Limited, the new company formed by the four railway companies, will cooperate with Imperial Airways in operating .a fleet of six 170 m.p.h., fourengined machines. As yet there is no indication as to the actual routes tc» be served, but an early announcement is expected. Substantial progress is also being made by independent air transport companies, of which there are nearly a dozen. Britain appears to havb become so air-minded that flying is regarded not only as ,a common-place, but as a necessary factor in business, and one of tho essentials of modern life.