LETTERS TO ENGLAND

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 March 1939, Page 4

LETTERS TO ENGLAND

SIX MONTHS OF AIR SERVICE. TRANSIT TIME HALVED. Six months’ experience of the Empire mail services has demonstrated that although there is not yet a complete air route to Britain, the average time taken by the letter mails from New Zealand has already been cut down to less than half. When surface transit had to be utilised along the whole route, there were two last despatches each month showing an average of-thirty days per trip. Now there are many more despatches each month, and the average transit time from New Zealand to Britain for the first six months of the ltd all-up Empire air service has varied each month from 15.2 days, to 14.2 days. There have been occasions in each of the six months when the journey has been completed in 13 days. New Zealand’s outward mails on the Empire route have maintained a high volume throughout the period under review, and the prompt handling of approximately 57,8001 b of letters by the new service demonstrates a high degree of efficiency in its organisation.

On the route from England to New Zealand the average transit time has been longer than in the reverse direction. This has been due to the fact that despatches from New Zealand can be announced from time to time with knowledge of a close connection between the steamer across the Tasman, and the mail planes. Air mails from Britain reach Australia three times weekly, but are not able to secure so frequent a connection across the Tasman. However, when both services have coincided, mails from Britain have reached New Zealand in August and October within twelve days, although the average time during rush periods of December and January rose to 19 days. The February average improved to 16 days.