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Aviation History
1950
1950 - 1792.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2179. Vol. LVIII. THURSDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER, 1950 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR G. GEOFFREY SMITH, M.B.E. ED/TOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. ASSISTANT EDITOR H. F. KING, M.B.E. TECHNICAL EDITOR C. B. BAILEY-WATSON, B.A. ART EDITOR JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices : DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET. LONDON, S.E.I. Telegrams : Flightpres, Sedist, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (60 lines). Branch Offices : COVENTRY 8-10, Corporation Street. Telegrams : Autocar, Coventry, Telephone : Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM, 1. ^ King Edward House, New Street. Telegrams : Autopress. Birmingham. Telephone : Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER. 3. 260, Deansgate. Telegrams : Iliffe, Manchester. Telephone : Blackfriars 4412 (3 lines). Deonsfate 3595 (2 lines). GLASGOW, C.I. 26b, Renfield Street. Telegrams : Iliffe. Glasgow. Telephone : Central 4857. SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home and Overseas : Twelve months £3 Is. Od. Six months, £1 10s. 6d. U.S.A. and Canada, «10.00. BY AIR ; To any country in Europe (except Poland). Twelve months, £5 Is. Od. Six months. £2 10s. 6d. Canada and U.S.A. Six months, $16. Ira this issue: On the Ice Wagon • 346 Over Africa - - - 351 Coast Race in Retrospect 356 London's Airport Transport 358 The Corporations' Year 366 Two Years of Progress 368 Not so Black . . .F ROM the statistical morasses which are the recent Annual Reports and Accounts of the British airline Corporations for the past financial year, some very signi- ficant and by no means discouraging facts emerge. For a synopsis of these the reader is referred to a later page of this issue. He will find, we suggest, that not only does the initially stunning announcement of a £9,000,000 deficit tend to convey a deceptively gloomy impression of our nationalized airline industry, but that, without further investigation, it stands in apparent contradiction of the fact that both Corporations have actually made very substantial progress in the past twelve months. The traffic figures speak adequately for themselves. B.E.A., having increased its traffic capacity by 41 per cent with a rise in operating expenditure of only 3.6 cent—in spite of devaluation—enjoyed a 39 per cent increase in its business, reduced the cost of each capacity ton-mile by 26.6 per cent and the amount of its deficit to less than half that of the previous year. In the throes of re-organization following the merger of British South American Airways Corporation and having to regain traffic lost in the South American area by the Tudor withdrawal, B.O.A.C. still managed to increase its capacity by 15.2 per cent, increase revenue ton-mileage by 7.8 per cent, and lessen the deficit on its operating account by £670,000—a reduction of 11.5 per cent in direct operating-cost per capacity ton-mile. While leaving no ground for complacency, these figures surely prove that progressive all-round improvements are being achieved. Certainly they belie the apparent lack of progress which the combined overall deficit seems to indicate. Obstacles in the Path It was not until the end of 1949 that the Corporations were equipped to any appre- ciable extent with economic and competitive aircraft, and even then there still remained the vexing problem of dispersed maintenance bases. Aside from con- tending with the inevitable difficulties of "streamlining" new organizations, both B.E.A. and B.O.A.C. have had to meet the ever-growing competition of foreign services. This in itself is a task of greater magnitude than is at first apparent, for what intending passenger would not be swayed by the prospect of having the Con- tinent's gastronomic delights placed before him at no extra cost, even on a one- and-a-half-hour flight? On longer routes too, the policy of airline showmanship, which several international carriers found it possible to follow while we were but slowly shedding the bonds of austerity, must have made it no easy matter to sell the British way of travel. The fact that so many sorely needed dollars did roll into the coffers, however, is proof of the very intensive efforts which were made in this direction. The immense task of developing our national airlines has gone forward, despite the severe limitations of restricted capital expenditure, a scarcity of materials and the need to conserve dollars. This takes no account of incidental set-backs, such as the withdrawal of B.O.A.C.'s Tudors (at a cost of £2,000,000), devaluation, in- creased fuel costs and the tardy delivery of new equipment. There is also the expen- sive and protracted business of acquiring "know-how"—for the profundity of an airline operator's knowledge may be likened to that of a highly skilled surgeon, the only difference being that if the operator took as long to acquire it he would be out of business. In four years of post-war operation, however, the Corporations have apprised themselves "of many of the tricks of the trade; the morale of their employees is at a high level, and the introduction of what we believe to be the world's best airliners is near at hand. Certainly their leaders are fully conscious of their responsibilities namely, to provide air travel second to none in all its aspects and, with all haste, to relieve the financial burden on the British taxpayer. May the joys of 3 speedy triumph attend their efforts.
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