In speaking to you to-night on the Economics of Air Line Operation, I propose to speak primarily from the viewpoint of the operator of an internal air line. I do not mean, by that, that I shall confine my remarks strictly to the various problems encountered by my own particular company, nor do I mean that any opinions which I may express will, of necessity, be of interest only to operators of internal services. On the other hand, I do not intend to venture into the realms of very long distance air routes, such as Empire routes, many of the problems connected with which have already been dealt with in considerable detail by Mr. Woods Humphrey in his interesting series of articles in The Times in May of this year. Such small experience as I have had so far with international flying has convinced me that the political difficulties, which are undoubtedly encountered by many of the national air transport companies, must force upon them policies other than those dictated by strictly economic requirements, and in consequence, must render a true comparison between their operation and purely European flying almost impossible.