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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 0032.PDF
-26 FLIGHT JANUARY 8TH, 194S alone, bui it should be remembered that two of the English Corporations are very directly interested, and through them the English taxpayer. It is thus curious, to say the least, that apparently they were not consulted before the announcement was made of the decision to sell the Vikings. The whole matter seems to need ventilation if impressions which may be quite wrong are to be avoided. In the first report and statement of accounts of the British European Airways Corporation, published re- cently, there was a paragraph which called attention to the provision in the Civil Aviation Act by which the Minister of Civil Aviation may, with the approval of the Treasury, make grants to any associate of the Cor- porations. " It appears to us," the report states, "that it would be appropriate for the B.E.A. share of the Aer Lingus losses to be dealt with under this section, and that B.E.A. should be relieved of the necessity of making provision for such losses in its accounts." An Anomalous SituationI T may be recalled that in April, 1946 (before B.E.A.C. was formed), the British Government entered into an agreement with the Government of Eire whereby scheduled air services between Eire and the United Kingdom were handed over to the Irish national company, Aer Lingus Teoranta. There was nothing very remarkable in that, it might be argued. Granted, but what is remarkable is that although the Government of Eire owns 60 per cent of the shares in Aer Lingus, B.E.A.C. holds 30 and B.O.A.C. ten per cent. Thus the two British Corporations are made to share in any losses incurred by the Irish company., with- out having any real control over the running of the line. At the time the B.E.A.C. report was issued, that cor- CONTENTS Outlook In Memory of a Pioneer Here and There ..... Latest Bristol Piston Engines High-speed Research - ... Slfngsby Sailplanes Air Work Upturned Leonides Servo Control . New Year Honours - Civil Aviation News - Correspondence ----- Service Aviation Forthcoming Events, page 37 25 27 30 32 34 38 39 43 44 45 46 50 51 poration's share of the Aer Lingus losses had not been finally ascertained, but it was estimated at £50,000. It is to be hoped that when the board meeting is held in Dublin in a few days, the representatives of B.E.A.C. and B.O.A.C, will elicit full details. Moreover, it would appear timely for the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and indeed for the Cabinet, to review the whole position. By the time this issue of Flight reaches our readers, the report and balance sheet of the British Overseas Air- ways Corporation will have been issued, and it is likely to paint a fairly grim picture. Nationalized air transport is likely to prove to have cost the British taxpayer more than £10 million, and a thorough examination of the whole system appears inevitable. In all this, and before committing ourselves to drastic changes, it is well to bear in mind that American airline operators have also suffered heavy losses, in spite of their alleged superiority. APRON RIVULETS : A B.E.A. freighter Dakota and a B.SJi.A. York on the tarmac at Lisbon, after a heavy rainstorm, has modern buildings for passenger and freight handling and is one of the best equipped airports in Europe. B.E.A. passenger service between the U.K. and Lisbon three times a week. The airport runs a Viking
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