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Aviation History
1920
1920 - 0444.PDF
APRIL 22, 1920 AERIAL MAIL TO HOLLAND IN the last issue of FLIGHT appeared a notice from the Post- master-General inviting tenders for the-, carriage of mails by air to Holland. The terms under which the contracts will be placed are now published below, and in them are conditions which, in the present stage of aviation, are cal- . culated to make firms hesitate to tender for a contract. The period of three years is not reasonable. Rather should it be for one year, with privileges for extension beyond that time. Again the obligations as to delivery and the penalties * attached to late delivery are so penal that it would appear as if the Postmaster-General in inviting tenders had at the - back of his mind the making of tenders so difficult as to pre- ; elude even the chance of a sporting offer :— 1. The Postmaster-General, in conjunction with the Dutch Post Office, is desirous of establishing an air mail service „•' between London and The Hague. 2. The terminal aerodromes will be (1) at Croydon, or such other aerodrome as the Postmaster-General may specify, and (2) near Amsterdam, Rotterdam, or The Hague. 3. It is desirous that the mail from London should reach the Dutch aerodrome by 3 p.m., in which case the Dutch Post Office will arrange for the delivery of express corres- pondence by special messenger at The Hague, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Letters for places beyond those towns will be forwarded by train, and be delivered the same evening or the following morning. 4. The mail from Holland should reach the London aero- drome about 3.30 p.m., and will be delivered by express messenger in London about 5 p.m. Letters for the provinces will connect with the night mails from London for delivery next morning. 5. The Postmaster-General invites tenders for a daily service, Sundays excepted, from London to Holland. It will be desirable that any company tendering should be in a position to arrange for joint working with the company holding the contract from the Dutch Post Office for the service from Holland to London. The company tendering will, how- ever, be solely responsible for the outward service (whether performed, by its own aeroplanes or not), which must be carried out notwithstanding any breakdown or a discon- tinuance of the Dutch service in the reverse direction. 6. Letter mails only (i.e., letters, post-cards, printed papers, commercial papers, and samples, registered or un- registered) will be conveyed. There will be no insured correspondence or parcels. 7. The carriage of passengers and parcels by the con- tractor will be permitted, provided that the safety of the mails and due performance of the mail service are not thereby interfered with. 8. A formal contract for a period of three years must be entered into ; and the Postmaster-General reserves the power to terminate this summarily in the event of bank- ruptcy, liquidation, etc., or of serious or habitual default. The contract will be prepared by the Postmaster-General, and until its execution there, will be no obligaticm between the paities. The continuance of the service may be con- tingent on the adhesion of both Great Britain and Holland to the International Air Navigation Convention. 9,, No payment will be due to the contractor in cases in which the service is not completed, or in which mails sent by air do not arrive at the terminal aerodrome by 8 p.m. If on any occasion it is impossible to complete the flight, the contractor must arrange at his own expense for the on- ward transmission of the mails to their destination by the quickest means available. 10. In the event of the loss of registered postal packets, the contractor will refund such sums, not exceeding 50 i per packet, as are paid as compensation under Post Office regulations. ri. The charge to the public, in addition to the ordinary postage, will be fixed by agreement between the Postmaster- General and the Dutch Post Office, and will be so adjusted as to cover the cost of conveyance by aeroplane, together with a charge of about 6d. per letter on letters intended for express delivery. 12. Tenderers are requested to furnish the following particulars :— (a) Name of company tendering, with names of directors and managers. (b) Experience, if any, which the company have had in the organisation and working of a commercial air service. (c) Arrangements for accommodation, repairs, and main- tenance in England and in Holland. (d) Type of aeroplane which will be used ; engine, speed, carrying capacity, range of flight, etc. ; number of aero- planes available. Provision will be made in the contract for a change in the type of aircraft employed, provided that the prior consent of the Postmaster-General has been obtained. (e) Proposed time of departure from the London aero- drome. (/) Average time of transit, aerodrome to aerodrome, from London to Holland. (g) Earliest date on which service can begin. (h) Rate of payment required per packet or per lb. (i) if conveyance of outward mails from the General Post Office to the aerodrome and of inward mails from the aerodrome to the General Post Office is provided by contractor ; (ii) if such conveyance is provided by the Post Office. A tender may specify an alternative basis of payment for consideration if so desired. 13. Tenders should be in the form of letters stating pre- cisely how the proposed service would be carried out, and giving the information indicated in paragraph 12. They should be forwarded in sealed covers addressed to the Secre- tary, General Post Office, and should be marked outside, " Tender for air ma.il service." The latest date for acceptance will be May 15, 1920. ..: x ...... ... Two [of ^the star- board 150 h.p. Sunbeam engines on the Sikorsky biplane f 444
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