NIGHT FLYING ON ENGLISH SERVICE.
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THE winter schedule of United Airways, Ltd., which starts on October 5, includes, for the first time in this country, scheduled flying in darkness on a regular passenger air service. There is a departure at 10.15 a.m. from Liverpool, calling at Blackpool, Ramsey and Belfast, and connecting there on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays for Glasgow, where the machine arrives at 1.40 p.m.
A ferry from Liverpool at 11.15 a.m. takes to Blackpool passengers who have come up from London by the-9.30 a.m. Royal Mail service of Hillman's Airways, Ltd. The United service from London leaves IIeston at 12.45 p.m., calls at Liverpool and Blackpool, and reaches Ramsey at 3.30 p.m. Passengers may change at Liverpool on to Hillman's Airways for Belfast and Glasgow.
Southbound there is a ferry from Blackpool at 9.45 a.m., by which passengers may change at Liverpool to the London-bound Hillman's Royal Mail machine which has left Glasgow at 7.50 a.m. Another United aeroplane leaves Ramsey at 9.30 a.m. for Blackpool and Liverpool.
The main service leaves Newtownards at 2.30 p.m. on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays and the Isle of Man daily at 3.15 P.m., calls at Blackpool and Liverpool, and reaches London at 6.10 p.M., which, in the winter, will be well after dusk. Passengers by the 2.15 p.m. Hillman machine from Glasgow can change on to this service at Liverpool at 4.50 p.m. The LondonGlasgow fares are £6 single and £9 return ; and the London-131ackpool fares £3 15s. single and £5 /2s. 6d. return.
PLYMOUTH LINE SUSPENDED,
THE London-Plymouth air service which Provincial Airways, Ltd., Croydon, has operated since March 19, 1934, was withdrawn as from September 23. The company is holding a shareholders' meeting to-day (Friday) to decide whether to reorganize or to abandon activity.
The London Plymouth line was u26 originally started by International Air lines, Ltd., on August 24, 1933. A branch between Southampton and Hull, and later a branch between Croydon and Nottingham, with an extension to Paris, have been tried.
The company has been independent of the bigger organizations and has tried to work up its own publicity and booking system. The smaller air-line companies, in this country are greatly impeded, because the railways will not allow the big travel agencies, such as Thomas Cook and Son, Ltd., which hold railway tickets, to book for any air line that is not a member of the International Air Traffic Association.
BELFAST AIRPORT TRAFFIC UP. THE Ards Airport, Belfast, managed by the Ulster branch of Airwork, Ltd., handled 484 air-line passengers in August, as against 442 in July. The regular passenger traffic was shared by Hillman's Ainvays, Ltd., and Blackpool and West Coast Air Services, Ltd., and the Hillman figure was 270 passengers.
The Blackpool services were fewer in number and carried more passengers per machine, each load averaginz about four persons. During the month Hillman's Airways, Ltd., carried 31,000 lb. of mail.
BIGGER NEWSPAPER LOADS ON DAWN PARIS SERVICE.
THE principal French air-transport company, Air France (the services of which extend from , Buenos Aires across Europe and Southern Asia to Hanoi, in French Indo-China), handed over to Commercial Air Hire, Ltd., as from September 30, the whole of the contract for carrying newspapers every morning from London to Paris for Messrs. Hachette.
Up to now, Air France has been carrying about half the load in its night freighters and sub-contracting the other half to Commercial Air Hire, Ltd. The Air France contract expires on Sunday (October 6), from which date, presumably, Commercial Air Hire, Ltd., will take it over direct.
Up to the time of going to press, Messrs. Hachette have not definitely allotted the new contract.
IMPORTANT CRILLY DEVELOPMENTS FORESHADOWED.
Oo Tuesday last, at a time when internal services are being curtailed, Crilly Airways, Ltd., which has been operating in the Midlands, started daily services between Norwich and Croydon and between Bristol and Croydon, to connect with the Imperial Airways 12.30 p.m. service to Paris and 11.45 a.m, arrival from Paris.
These feeder lines connect with the twice-daily Bristol-Leicester-Norwich and Leicester-Liverpool services of CrillyAirways, Ltd., and with the ondemand service offered between Northampton, Leicester and Nottingham. The company arranged for Air Commodore Robertson, the chief aerodrome officer at Croydon, to give the new ser-vice a send-off. On both the NorwichCroydon and Bristol-Croydon services the fares are 35s. single and 55s. return.
The company now has two Dragons and three Monospar S.T.25 machines, also a Fox Moth. At the Leicester Airport (Braunstone) the company has acquired a site to build a pilots' room ,and lecture room for the second-class navigators' examination, and the lecturer will be taken on the staff.
This move suggests international developments (for the navigators' licence is not obligatory on an internal service), and the explanation may lie in the recent visit of Mr. W. H. Parkin, one of the directors, to Lisbon.
He flew there in a Monospar to make arrangements to carry mails from Lisbon to London on a new service, also to discuss passenger and freight possibilities with the Lisbon agents. The company will need new and fast machines for. this service and hopes to cover the journey in 8i hours.
SOVIET ALL-METAL AIRSHIP.
AN all-metal airship with a nistlesssteel envelope 1-250 in. thick is nearing completion in the Soviet Union. It will probably be launched early in November. It is of most unusual design, based on principles said to have been advocated in Russia 50 years ago. The figure given for capacity is 12,000 cubic ft., but as the length is 140 ft., this appears somewhat small.