On 14 November 1930, the type's maiden flight was conducted by G-AAGX, later to be named "Hannibal"; it was flown by Squadron Leader Thomas Harold England. During May 1931, the aircraft was granted its certificate of airworthiness, permitting the instatement of commercial services. On 11 June of that year, the first flight with fare-paying passengers was conducted to Paris. Due to the high cost of air travel at this time, typical passengers were usually members of high society, such as , celebrities, and senior business figures; the H.P.42/45 fleet were viewed as the flagships of Imperial Airways and were accordingly provided with prodigious onboard service and an elaborately decorated interior. The type acquired a favourable reputation with the flying public, particularly for their dependability. It would accumulate a combined fleetwide mileage in excess of 10 million miles during a nine year service life with Imperial Airways.