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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 0021.PDF
JANUARY IST, 1948 FLIGHT , OLLEY SPECIAL: The second Dove to be delivered to Olley Air Services is an "executive travel " model having six seats. The first delivered was a normal eight-seater as will be the other four on order. Since June, 1946, the company has flown well over 850,000 miles involving 2,500 flights. The Ambassador Order : Italian Airline Sale : Pakistan Air Policy The B.E.A.C. Balance Sheet BRITISH EUROPEAN AIRWAYS' Annual Report andStatement of Accounts is the first of the three to be pub- lished. The total deficiency on the operating account is^2,094,939. In addition the surplus and deficiency account with provision for losses of associated companies brings the total_'; deficiency up to ^2,157,937. As stated in the Report the .deficits are substantial but should be judged in their proper^perspective in order to make appropriate deductions and apply ".suitable remedies. In a review of the operating conditions,attention is drawn to the difficulties encountered in the course of transformation of civil aviation from a wartime organizationancillary to the R.A.F. to the establishment of a peacetime or-> sjaaization. It was necessary to recruit aircrew, and since thetion had to start from scratch, arrangements had to be for their immediate training in the different standardsTechniques required for civil operations. The aircraft situa- tion was such that the Dakotas were handicapped by an in-sufficiency of spares which rendered a fleet unserviceability varying from 8 to 24 per cent. The withdrawal from operationsof the Viking, owing to instability in icing conditions, lasted from December 8th, 1946, until March 31st, 1947, resultingI in the loss of four months' flying experience with the type S under actual operating conditions as well as of considerablerevenue. The remainder of the fleet consisted of aircraft taken t from the A.A.J.C. group and included Dominies, Avro XIXs,Junkers Ju.523 together with a few Dakotas. The JU.52S wen: uneconomical in operation and involved technical difficultiesdue to the stock ol spares being made from sub-standard material. B.E.A. was handicapped at home and abroad by delays inthe provision of adequate ground facilities. Whilst appreciat- ing the assistance of the M.C.A., there had been three rootcauses of operational disorganization, and the checking of forward planning. At most airfields the buildings were inade-quate and unsuitable, especially at Northolt where no adequate hangar lighting and heating were installed in time for lastwinter and night maintenance was impossible. The booking and handling of passengers in Airways Terminal, London, whichwas not designed to cope with the volume of traffic of the two Corporations, had resulted in serious overcrowding and con- fusion in booking arrangements and so caused a loss in revenue.Another site had been leased but repeated unsuccessful efforts to have the property derequisitioned had necessitated the acqui-sition of yet additional accommodation. In the absence of suit- able radio navigational and blind-approach aids throughoutEurope, three out of every ten Continental services had been cancelled during the severe winter weather and the extra fuelloads carried as a safeguard in the event of diversions had restricted payloads. Future Prospects In planning the organization of B.E.A. it had been antici-pated that civil aviation in Europe would undergo a period of rapid expansion. The slow economic recovery at home andabroad, currency restrictions on foreign travel, and the limi- tations on the import of goods had necessitated a revision ofplan, however, and the immediate aim was now to eliminate those operations which held no hope of financial success, at thesame time keeping the organization efficient and flexible so that advantage could be taken immediately of any improve-ment in trade conditions. Of the internal services, which were largely seasonal, the review covered only two winter months,February and March, 1947, and was not therefore indicative ot a full year's result. The fare structure was below that of theContinental seivices, according to the Report, and in addition they were under the handicap of high landing lees and the pay-ment of full excess duty without rebate on fuel and oil. Future internal services would therefore be confined to those which arelikely to prove economic or provide a special public require- ment. The Corporation had maintained the policy of safetyas the overriding consideration-—and would continue to do so. In conclusion the Report emphasized that special importancehad been attached to the creation of an efficient organization to place in the forefront British civil aviation in Europe, realizingat the same time that large expenditure and relatively small returns would be necessary in the initial stages. Particular attention was drawn to the fundamental partwhich must be played by ground organization at home and abroad in the realization of economic operations, the imple-mentation of the majority of which are outside the control of
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