The Argosy was initially used on European routes with each aircraft named after a city. Later services to South Africa were added. The first passenger flight was from
London to
Paris on 16 July 1926. Imperial Airways were keen to demonstrate the capabilities and potential uses for their new airliner with its interior being considerably more spacious than any of its rivals. The introduction of the Argosy led to a rapid expansion in passenger numbers being carried by the airline that started within weeks. Imperial Airways used the Argosy to launch the world's first named air service, the luxury 'Silver Wing' service, which was operated between London and Paris. Aircraft assigned to this service would have two of their seats removed, the space being used to accommodate an onboard
bar and a
steward was in attendance. During April 1931,
Edward, Prince of Wales and his brother
Prince George flew home from
Paris–Le Bourget Airport in
City of Glasgow (G-EBLF), which landed specially in
Windsor Great Park. Starting in 1929, the timing having been largely due to protracted international negotiations, the Argosy was one of the aircraft used on the first air mail route of the
British Empire, spanning from London to
Karachi,
India. Following the arrival of the Argosy Mk IIs during 1929, Imperial Airways opted to have the three Mk Is reengined with the same powerplants to boost their performance. On 28 February 1931, two of these reengined Argosies were used to launch the air mail route through to
Cape Town,
South Africa; this route proved to be particularly troublesome for the type with low reliability levels being achieved, and left the European routes somewhat underequipped in the process. Three Argosies were lost during service with Imperial Airways, one being written off in a forced landing near
Aswan, and one during a training accident, both in 1931, with no injuries in either accident. On 28 March 1933, the
City of Liverpool caught fire over
Belgium, causing a crash in which all three crew and twelve passengers were killed. Argosies continued in service with Imperial Airways until 1935, with the last example,
City of Manchester (G-AACJ), being used for joy-riding by
United Airways Ltd of
Stanley Park Aerodrome (Blackpool), which later was merged into
British Airways Ltd. It continued in use with British Airways until December 1936. ==Variants==