Night Mail

I was interested to read Keith Davies’s letter regarding ‘Night Mail’ aeroplanes [ FT363:72]. I’m not sure the notion of propellerdriven Royal Mail aviation services is in fact a foaftale, as he suggests. Royal Mail awards contracts for specific routes (typically for five years) to an assortment of airlines, not necessarily UKowned, operating out of various British aerodromes. Such services use a variety of planes, including recently BAe ATPs and SAAB 340s, both twin-engined propeller types. I can confirm that back in 1986 there was definitely a plane operating in and out of Liverpool Speke (as it was then called) that was actually painted in Royal Mail colours. It was flown by Manx Airlines. I don’t know if any such services were ever flown by the aircraft type mentioned in the letter (Shorts Skyvan), but the Manx aeroplane I saw regularly was a very similar but larger Shorts 360, again a twin-engined turboprop, and an easy misidentification to make. There really are dedicated propdriven mail aeroplanes trundling up and down the country in the wee small hours. It’s somehow a comforting thought! Simon Ramshaw Woodham, Surrey Royal Mail transported post in the 1970s using an Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante aircraft, which was a 21-passenger turboprop. I worked for Royal Mail during the 1970s and recall that the service was run by Air Ecosse, from Aberdeen to various cities in the north of England. At some point the aircraft flew with Royal Mail “Datapost” livery. I think the flights were extended to more southerly airports in the following decade. David Sutton (not FT’s Editor) By email