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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 1966.PDF
732 FLIGHT. 8 December 1949 CIVIL AVIATION NEWS..; panies have recently played in three great national services—the Berlin airlift, the "milk-run" and the provision of internal services within the United Kingdom—the report points out that had these contributions not been forthcoming, none of the regular airlines could have assisted in the operations without abandonment of some of their regular work. These three big efforts by the charter companies, made simultaneously with their normal operations, were only possible by virtue of the flexibility of their operational arrangements, which permit them to concentrate aircraft at any point and any time within reason. Also, says the B.A.C.A., the services run under associate agreements with B.E.A. have conferred the benefits of air transport on thousands of people who could not otherwise have enjoyed them. " In spite of the uncertainties and fluctuations, and the universal feeling of frustration due to the financial and political state of the world," con- tinues the report, " the charter operators in Britain have not only maintained the position which they have held but have succeeded in expanding and increasing their operations. There is no doubt that if the charter companies were free to develop their services and provide air transport in any direction, the success they would achieve would prove that real commercial aviation is not a matter of subsidies, nationalization and monopoly, but of individual enterprise." Reviewing its activities during the past year, the Association states that it has been represented at 50 meetings and interviews with the various trade unions at which the question of conditions of employment and the rates of pay for personnel employed by the charter companies, as compared with the conditions in force for Corporation employees, has been discussed. It is emphasized that the charter companies, unlike the Corpora- tions, are prevented from undertaking an unlimited variety of work; they are thus restricted in earning capacity and accord- ingly " cannot meet the demands made upon them." Negotiations with the Baltic Air Brokers' Joint Committee had resulted in the production of the Baltair Charter Parties which would, to a large extent (because they can be used inter- nationally) take the place of existing documents. The question of charter work for Government departments is at present causing concern to the Association, which has already protested to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. "It is considered," said the B.A.C.A., "that the only way in which the Corporations and the Government may be prevented from closing the door completely to charter companies, as far as Government contracts are concerned, will be by a reversal of public opinion." Progress, nevertheless, is favourable, as is shown by the following statistics of B.A.C.A. member companies' operations : 1946 1947 1948 Miles flown 2,861,845 .. 7,944,721 .. 9.°73.537 Passengers carried 57,429 .. 131,357 .- 148,191 Cargo carried 284.8 tons 1,686.4 tons 26,854.75 tons AUSTRALIAN PROTEST T~>EITERATING the familiar plaint of charter operators whoiA. find themselves in opposition to State-controlled airlines, two Australian companies allege that obstacles are being placedin their path to prevent them from participating in the con- siderable immigrant traffic from Europe. They say thatpreference is being given to foreign companies. This allegation has been denied by Mr. Drakeford, theMinister for Air, who states that Australian companies had not bothered to apply for permits to operate these charter flights.In reply, Mr. Ivan Holyman of A.N.A., says that his company was not informed that the Government ban on such flights hadbeen lifted until a permit had already been granted to a foreign operator. Because of the ban several companies were forced toclose down; they now fear that by the time they have gathered a competent staff and had their aircraft approved the banmay possibly be re-imposed, and they are thus unable to re- establish their organizations to take advantage of the existingmarket. They surmise that the Government would consider that Q.E.A. and B.O.A.C. could cany all the traffic offered. According to an Australian correspondent, the charter com-panies claim that the Government is determined to eliminate the opposition to state airlines and that it has discovered an effectivemethod of doing so. THE GOLDEN FLEECE ? To mark the completion of the delivery of theB.O.A.C. Argonaut fleet, Sir Miles Thomas presented a parchment scroll to Mr. Oliver West, president of Canadair, Ltd., at a ceremony at LondonAirport. Left to right: Mr. Whitney Straight, deputy chairman, B.O.A.C.; Mr. Oliver West; Mr. E. W. Hives, managing director, Rolls-Royce, Ltd.;Mr. G. S. Lindgren, Parliamentary Secretary, M.C.A. ; Mr. L. D. Wilgress, High Commissioner for Canada; and Sir Miles Thomas, chairman of B.O.A.C. JETS FOR BERMUDA? ; ON December 1st Trans-Canada Airlines inaugurated a newservice to Barbados. It calls for an additional stop in the T.C.A. weekly flights from Montreal to Bermuda andTrinidad. Four-engined North Star aircraft are used on the route, which will now enable Barbados to be reached in lessthan ten hours from Montreal. Indicative of the importance which is attached to operationsin this area is the suggestion, understood to have been made by Avro Canada, that Jetliners could be used on this service.A second prototype is now being built, incorporating minor improvements. The cruising speed of the Jetliner has provedto be in the region of 450 m.p.h. at altitudes between 30,000 and 35,000 ft, which is 20 m.p.h. faster than was expected. Meanwhile, British West Indian Airways are considering thepossibility of using Viscounts in the Carribean area and, although the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of CivilAviation, Mr. Lindgren, recently stated in the House of Com- mons that "B.O.A.C. is planning to operate the Hermes inthat area," no information is available with regard to any prospective date for the introduction of this type into service.Considerable development still remains to be carried out on the Hermes V and VI and there must be some delay before eventhe earlier Mk. IV can go into service. As supplementary or alternative aircraft, the Bristol 175and—with its range increased to meet the requirements of the route—the Viscount 700 are to be considered. Mention hasalso been made of the possibility of using the Comet to exploit fully the potential dollar income of the South American andWest Indian routes. The question is, of course, one of availa- bility, so it is a matter of speculation as to which turbopropor turbojet-powered aircraft Britain will first be able to operate under, so to speak, the noses of her American friends. ACTION UPON REACTION? A LTHOUGH no jet transports have yet been developed in•** the United States, flight-control systems are already being planned in preparation for the time when such aircraft operatebetween major U.S. cities. The work, which is being carried out by the Air NavigationDevelopment Board, co-ordinating the efforts of Army, Navy, Air Force and civilian technicians, is said to be directedtowards the development of three main schemes: — (1) A communications system in the form of what is knownas "airport time utilization equipment," which would make reservations of landing times at congested airports before thecommencement of all flights. (2) A secondary radar system, with aircraft installations
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