Well, Air Travel was a different proposition to the Brits. The
purpose of Imperial Airways/B.O.A.C. was to deliver Official Mail and
the occasional King's Messenger to the far-flung reaches (But stopping
at every villiage along the way) of the Empire. ..... fewer passengers than a
DC-4. (A very well stocked Bar, no doubt, and servants up the
Ying-Yang.

If I remember correctly what I read a long time ago, the Brits ran a
flying boat service pre-WW II from Capetown northward, up the Nile, to
London, and probably other lines as well. Huge boats, four or five
stories high, and they carried about eight passengers.

vince norris