Overseas Airmail Rates from 1947

The three major revisions that took place within this period were as follows.

1947

On 17th February 1947, the complicated web of numerous different airmail rates for various destinations was replaced by a simplified arrangement in which the countries of the world were grouped into zones.

The three zones for countries outside Europe were designated A, B, and C: a complete listing showing which countries were in which zone at which times is very much on the "to-do" list, but the groupings were basically as follows:
  • Zone A: North Africa and the Middle East
  • Zone B: The Americas, most of Africa, the Indian subcontinent
  • Zone C: East/Southeast Asia and Australasia/Oceania (also included Latin America and much of the West Indies up to 30th April 1948)
Letters to Europe were not part of this system, and with minor exceptions, from mid-1948 to early 1991 they were sent "all-up". This meant that they were sent by air if this was quicker (as it normally was) at surface mail rates, carriage by air being the preferred method of despatch.

1991

On 7th January 1991 the three-zone division of world destinations outside Europe was reduced to two. Zones A and B were combined to form a new Zone 1 (the rates had been equalised a few months before), and Zone C was renamed Zone 2.

Also in 1991, the surface/airmail distinction was reintroduced for European letters, with airmail postage to Europe becoming (slightly) more expensive than the equivalent worldwide surface rates.

2007

Differential rates for stamped and franked mail were first introduced in 2007.

In 2008 the two zones outside Europe were themselves combined into a single "Rest of World" zone. The lower rates (or for some classes of mail all rates) had been similar for the two zones for some years. The zones were split again in 2012.