Time Frame: When London to Karachi was a weeklong trip

Was there ever a more romantic way to fly to the East than in an Imperial Airways Handley Page HP42 airliner?

Entering service in 1932, the aircraft linked the imperial capital (via Croydon Airport) and Karachi, then part of British India.

The HP42 had a range of just over 900km, so the journey took almost a week with several overnight stops. A pressing difficultly was that the Shah of Persia had withdrawn permission for the British to land in what is now Iran.

Initially the airline planned to use flying boats, but a deal struck that year allowed Imperial Airways to land at Sharjah, after flying from Bahrain.

An article in Flight magazine from September 1932 noted: "The local sheikhs, although quite friendly, are rather conservative gentlemen, and fear that their people would not be too enthusiastic about the advent of such a modern innovation as a regular air service.

"Then the sheikh of Sharjah made an offer of a land aerodrome in his territory and this practically settled the matter."

Aircraft did not fly directly across the Gulf, but followed the coast, where there was a backup RAF landing strip on Yas Island for emergencies.

As the image shows, the ruler of Sharjah also offered his own security services. Eight aircraft were operated by Imperial Airways, all named after historical characters. Hanno, shown here, was named after a Carthaginian explorer who sailed down the west coast of Africa.

In 1939, Imperial Airways became BOAC and the following year the service suffered its only serious accident; the mysterious loss and disappearance of the aircraft Hannibal somewhere off the east coast of the UAE.

Time Frame is a series that opens a window into the nation's past. Readers are invited to make contributions to yourpics@thenational.ae

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Tips on buying property during a pandemic

Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.

While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.

While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.

Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.

Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.

Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.

Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.

Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash

Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.

Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.

Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.

Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.

Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.

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