A great aunt of mine (now long gone) used to talk about the Imperial Flying boats. She lived in Cape Town and, IIRC, the route was, Day:[list=1][*]to Southampton by train[*]fly to the Italian coast[*]fly to Egypt, landing on the Nile[*]fly to Kenya and land on Lake Victoria[*]fly to the southern part of the Transvaal and a lake there (for transfer to Johannesburg and Pretoria)[*]fly to Cape Town, landing in the bay[/list=1] Then her husband sent the chauffer with the car to pick up and carry the bags!!! This was against some 15 days on the Union-Castle Line.
Each night, they trooped off the flying boat and checked into a hotel. Dinner was served with the Captain's Table, the First Officer's Table and so on. By the end of the trip, everyone had dined at the Captain's table.
I sit to be corrected on the route and timings as it is a good 30 years since the conversation with my great aunt and she has been dead for about 28 of them.