Faster & Faster

At the press of a button by Governor Rolph in California, a plane despatcher at Newark Airport, N. J. waved his red flag one night last week at a Ford tri-motor, just christened The Comet. (Col. Charles Augustus Lindbergh who had been expected to act as despatcher watched from the background.) Pilot Robert Le Roy raced his idling motors, taxied across the floodlit field; The Comet roared up into the western night. Next evening it alighted in Los Angeles.

Thus last week Transcontinental & Western Air inaugurated the fastest transcontinental service in the U. S. Unusual for an inaugural flight, the plane was loaded with twelve paying passengers, no deadheads. The company had loosely publicized the new run as a 24-hour service. Actually it is 25 hr. 43 min. westbound by standard time; flying time three hours longer. Eastbound the elapsed standard time is 27 hr. 40 min.; flying time, three hours less.

The T. & W. A. line is an outgrowth of the old Transcontinental Air Transport, over which Col. Lindbergh flew the first 48 hr. air-&-rail trip three years ago. Last year it began to operate an all-air service for passengers, but included an overnight stop in Kansas City. It took 36 hours. The new Comet schedule was made possible by perfecting night-flying facilities.

United's No. 7, United Air Lines, which has promised a literal 24-hr. schedule when its new Boeings are in full flight, last week improved transcontinental service by juggling timetables and adding a new connection at Salt Lake City. Result : Passengers out of Newark at midnight on United's new No. 7 reach San Francisco at 6:30 a. m. the second day; or by switching off at Salt Lake City, land in Los Angeles about the same time. Advantage : loss of only one business day. Businessmen approve of the timing of the schedule's eastern leg. Midnight planes leaving either New York or Chicago land at the opposite port about 7 a. m.

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