TOURING BY AIR.

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19461, 28 December 1934, Page 10

TOURING BY AIR.

ADVANTAGES OF FLYINQ HOLIDAY. MORE TIME FOR SIGHTSEEING. One of the features of this sum' mer’s flying, which traffic figures are now beginning to reveal, is a rapid growth in the number of holidaymakers who, leaving Croydon by airliner for Paris and other destinations abroad, enjoy aerial tours of Europe lasting for days or weeks, and which may include visits to cities as widely separated as Copenhagen, Vienna, 'Marseilles, Madrid and Rome. “Some very interesting facts,” explained an official of Imperial Airways, “are emerging from the many tours of this kind which we arrange for those who have made up their minds to enjoy a flying holiday. “Nowadays, we And people want to go as far as they can in any given trip, and to have a maximum of time for sightseeing at the cities where they are scheduled to make halts. And it is in 'just these respects that an air holiday is ideal. “One of the best ways of illustrating thlsjs to take one or two typical tours, such as are being made at the present time, and to show the saving of time, in actual transport from point to point, which is now possible if one flies. A Week'# Tour. “Here, for example, Is a week’s tour during which the holiday-makers from London travel to Paris, Basle, Zurich, 'Milan, 'Genoa and Rome returning via Nice and Marseilles. By boat and ti’ain such a trip necessitates just on 80 hours of actual travel. By am it can he accomplished in 20 hours. This means that those who 'fly save approximately 2* days as compared with surface transport; a very important consideration when one wants —as of course one usually does—to fit in as much sightseeing as possible at one’s halting-points. “On another trip, visiting Berlin, 'Copenhagen, and Oslo, and returning via Hamburg and Cologne, a comparison shows that those who make this tour have approximately three days more for sightseeing, if they fly, than would he the caso if they went by boat, and train.

“On yet another itinerary, planned to include visits to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Berlin, Vienna, and /Hirich, returning to London via Paris, a surface travel time of just over 80 hours is reduced to a fraction .under 20 hours if the trip is made by air. And by flyfng, apart from the wonderful bird’s eye views you obtain of the countries you pass over; you obviate any question of tiring night travel; whereas by surface transport you may have to be prepared to spend several nights in the train. Not Very Expensive. “An idea still exists that to tour cy air is considerably more expensive than to make a similar trip by land and sea. But actual figures are beginning to disprove any such notion completely. If, In fact, you take the first-class Pullman type of continental travel which Is the rail-and-boat equivalent or luxury air transport, a comparison between a Hying tour, and the corresponding trip by land and sea. shows that, holidays sncli as I have been describing can often be enjoyed by air at a total cost—lnking all essential ilems into consideration —which is actually just a triHo less than would he the ease by steamer and train.’