THE 1920s had seen railways lose passenger and freight traffic to road operators as the reliability and quality of vehicles improved, so active steps were taken at the end of the decade to ensure there was no repeat in the emerging airline industry, where a step-up in aircraft design brought the prospect of a new source of competition.
Thus the ‘Big Four’ railway companies sought Parliamentary authority to provide air services, which was granted on May 10, 1929 for operation within the boundaries of the rail network provided by the GWR, LMS, LNER and Southern Railway – including Northern Ireland and destinations served by steamer services. The four companies were also permitted to establish routes as far as longitude 20 degrees east, which provided scope for services to the greater part of Europe.
Until that time, a number of commercial flights had been provided by small scale operators that were seasonal in nature and provided services over short sea routes and estuaries. But the aircraft were generally unsuitable and there were no airports as such or navigation aids, which resulted in the Air Ministry asking railway companies to paint station names on the roof of canopies to aid the pilots of early services.
Early operators
Croydon was established as the London Customs Airport in 1920 and Daimler Airway – a subsidiary of the Birmingham Small Arms Company – started a Government-backed service between London and Paris in 1922. Government subsidy was also offered to provide a service between Southampton and the Channel Islands, which commenced in August 1923 by British Marine Air Navigation Co Ltd, a joint venture between Supermarine and Southern Railway (as owners of Southampton Docks).
The services were not operated on a regular basis, and were not economic because only a few passengers could be carried. But a game changer occurred in 1932 when the de
