REACHING NEW HEIGHTS

Slow, noisy, dusty, bumpy and very, very dangerous. The early days of commercial air travel were anything but comfortable. In 1938, on the f ledgling Imperial Airways, it took four long days in a Short Empire flying boat from Southampton to South Africa, with 24 stops en route in France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanganyika and Portuguese East Africa (see picture, page 44).

Passengers had to endure airsickness, technical failures, empty fuel tanks and even crash landings. Fatal accidents occurred with startling regularity. In its 15 years of operation, Imperial Airways suffered 20