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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 0611.PDF
FLIGHT, 30 March T950 nine flights weekly, two of which will stop at Hamburg DC-os will lie used on this route. Among many other changes, the night stop in Rome is being discontinued on the two DC-6 routes from Persia and East Africa to Scandinavia. On April 17th a route is being opened to Tromso, using Sandiingham flying-boats, which, after May 15th, are being diverted so that passengers on this service will be able to enjoy one of the most spectacular scenic flights in Europe " by the light of the midnight sun "- before landing at Kirkness. Under the new timetable Rome has become one of the main traffic centres, and is now almost a secondary "hub"' of the S.A.S. intercontinental network. The overall numbei of services being offered is 20 per cent greater than last year's figure. With this bold policy oi increased capacity in 1950, and the recent move to centralize and generally streamline its administrative structure, it is apparent that S.A.S. is making a very determined effort to improve on the unsatisfactory financial results of the last two years' operations. Incidentally, the first production SAAB Scandia was delivered to S.A.S/A.B.A. and Bromma airport on March 13th. WORLD FAKE CHANGES AS the result of the increased cost of iuel, aircraft sparesand" maintenance of bases, due to devaluation, major alterations in airline fares and cargo rates throughout the world were implemented on March 22nd. The general effect of the new fare structure—which was recommended at the last l.A.T.A. Traffic Conference, held at Mexico Citv—is that fares and freight rates on routes to Africa, the Middle East and the Far East from points in Europe have been increased by amounts up to 10 per cent. On the North American routes, however, basic fares will be unchanged, while in some cases cargo rates will even be reduced. To encourage the public to fly during periods outside the busiest season, a new transatlantic fare structure has been introduced, lower fares being ciiarged on both east- and west- bound Atlantic crossings. Thus travellers whose bookings avoid the peak of the Holy Year tourist season can fly at a considerably reduced rate. While the discount periods on east- and west-bound services are slightly different, the new schedule makes it possible for a passenger to make the transatlantic crossing at the reduced fare during seven of the twelve mouths of the year. All tickets will be valid for twelve months. Broadly, three different round-trip rates for the north Atlantic route have been established—one when both flights are made during the peak traffic season, the second when both flights TRADE FLIGHT : The smiles of the party boarding che Vickers Viscount before its departure from Northolt suggest confi- dence in the commercial outcome of its European Tour. Left to right are Mr. B. W. A. Dickson, general manager, Vickers Armstrong (Aviation), Ltd. : Lord Douglas of Kirtle- side, chairman of B.E.A. ; Sir Hew Kilner, Vickers Aviation managing director; Lady Kilner; and Mr. Peter Masefieid, chief executive of B.E.A. are made during the off-season period, and thirdly, when aflight is made one way during the peak season and the return during the less-busy months On east-bound flights, full fareswill be charged from April to August, while the lower rates are effective from September to March. In the other direc-tion, full tares are effective from July to November, and reduced rates from December to June. The following examples indicate the substantial savingswhich can be achieved by travelling when traffic is lighter. From New York to London, the round-trip fares will be $630in the peak season, $466 in the off-season and $548 when travelling in both seasons. Fares between other points varyin proportion. The new fare structure has been approved by all member-airlines of I, AT. A FOR AUSTRALIAN NAVIGATION REPRESENTING a major advance in the efficiency ofAustralia's air-navigation aids, the installation of visual- aural radio-ranges throughout the Commonwealth is now almostcomplete, and it is expected that this type of equipment will be in full use by June of this year. The new system is designed: to give much better coverage for Australian routes and pro- vide a more reliable guide than the present 33mc/s rangenetwork. Additionally, it will give visual as well as aural indi- cations to the pilot, mark out four courses instead of only twofrom each range station, and—perhaps most important— eliminate the present difficulty of reflected interference betweenbroadcasting stations. Although the network of transmitters is almost complete, itis likely to be some little time before all operators will have fitted the requisite airborne installations, and in the interimperiod the visual-aural system and the 33 me / s ranges may be worked jointly to meet "operating requirements. The cost olthe entire programme is estimated at approximate]) £A4,0O0,OO0. ,j,. , . . , • -v:,,t y AER LINGUS' EXPECTATIONS ^ u A ER LINGUS' summer schedules, which will be effective -**• on April 16th, provide for an increase in services of almost 20 per cent over the number operated in the same period last year On the Dublin-London route, which carries by far the larger proportion of traffic, services will increase from an average of 56 per week in April to 72 per week during the peak of the season The traffic is expected to be heaviest on this route in mid-week ; to cater for it, 13 round trips daily will be flown on certain days in July, August and September Advance bookings already received indicate that the Dublin Glasgow route will carry a record number of passengers. The Dublin-Birmingham route, inaugurated only last year, vill have twelve flights per week instead of the present six. Fre- quencies on the Dublin-Liverpool and Manchester services will also be increased considerably, that oi the former to as much as 36 per week during August. A three-times-weekly all-cargo service to London will be introduced on June 1st. No increase is being made in the size of the Aer Lingus fleet, but the company is aiming at increased utilization of existing aircraft. CHARTER RATES IT is the view of the Airbrokers' Association that undercuttingof rates by some British operators is one of the major factors in the current difficulties in which the companies findthemselves. Commenting on a paragraph, "The Charter Trail," which appeared in these columns last week, Mr. J. L.Logan (secretary) says that, in the Association's opinion, the reasons for the present unsatisfactory state of affairs are, inthe first place, the well-known ones (the Air Corporations Bill, restrictive practices by foreign Governments, and the generalattitude of scheduled airlines to charter operations), and in the second place " the severe undercutting of freight and passengerrates by a proportion of our own charter operators, either be- cause of hastily conceived policy or, more likely, through animperfect knowledge of current market conditions." Many of their members, says Mr. Logan, have found that,although during the last few months some Dakota operators have confined their quotations to sound economical rates, thereare usually one or two operators who put up quotations "so ridiculous" that they undercut other quotations by as muchas 30 to 40 per cent. He instances a flight to East Africa, when, though quotations were about 3s lod per mile, oneoperator is said to have quoted at 2s 6Jd. Similar instances during the past two weeks have occurred in connection withflights to Holland, North Italy and West Africa. The rates around 3s lod to 4s per mile are low enough, in theview of the Association, but they are winter rates only for
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