McGinness and Baird flew joy riding and demonstration flights. It was tough work keeping the two machines in the air. The Avro 504s Dyak engine struggled in the thin hot air and boiled on the shortest trips. But Baird, a superb engineer, modified the aircraft to improve performance. In this period 871 passengers were taken aloft and the biplanes logged 54,000km without serious mishap.
In November 1922 Qantas began to operate a scheduled airmail service between Charleville and Cloncurry. This was the first scheduled air service and provided a measure of financial security although the initial air mail contract was only for 12 months.