Transport: Express

With its 200-m.p.h. Douglases linking the coasts in 14 hours, TWA this year set a new standard in air transport which other lines must sooner or later meet. Last week two major airlines famed for their safety records announced their entry into the superspeed class. Eastern Air Lines, which has flown 300,000 passengers 25,000,000 miles without a single fatality,* will operate an eight-hour express service from New York to Miami with a fleet of Douglases to be delivered by Jan. 1. Northwest Airlines, which in eight years has flown 80,000 passengers 8,500,000 miles without a single fatality, announced future schedules of eight hours between Chicago and Seattle.

*Two years ago a passenger on an Eastern Airliner committed suicide by jumping out 2,000 ft. over a South Carolina swamp. His body was recovered eight months later.