Instone Air Line
United Kingdom
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S. Instone & Co., a shipping company, opened a private service from its base in Cardiff via London to Paris late in 1919. The London to Paris segment was turned into a public service in April 1920 under the name of Instone Air Line. For a couple of years there were 4-5 competitors, both British and French, on the route, so the British airlines eventually agreed to let Handley Page Transport compete on its own from October 1922. Instone withdrew, but in the meantime (May 1922) it had opened a route to Brussels, extended to Cologne in August.
In 1923, a Government committee recommended that the main British airlines should merge, to establish one, financially strong, airline, and to enable it to undertake the necessary expansions. Following this recommendation, Imperial Airways was created on 1 April 1924, absorbing the assets and routes of Handley Page Transport, Instone Air Line, Daimler Airway and British Marine Air Navigation. |
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This page last updated February 6, 2016.