FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1952
1952 - 1667.PDF
FLIGHT, 13 Jum 1952 725 CIVIL AVIATION INDEPENDENTLY TO AFRICA SATURDAY, June 14th, will see the opening of the new weekly service between London and Nairobi operated jointly by Airwork, Ltd., and Hunting Air Transport, Ltd. The service, which has been named "Safari," has been described as "C-rate"— denoting that it offers slower travel over shorter stages in less luxurious aircraft but still with a "high degree of personal service." Both companies will use Vikings, which will take two-and-a-half days for the journey with night stops at Malta and the Sudan in both directions. The fares, £98 single and £180 return (compared with £140 and £252 "first class"), include the costs of coach ser vice between airport and terminus, baggage allowance of 66 lb and meals and accommodation en route. Services will be flown alter nately by the two companies. Aircraft will in each case carry 27 passengers, attended by an air hostess. Huntings and Airwork will continue to fly from their own bases at, respectively, Bovingdon and Blackbushe, and will operate their aircraft and crews under their own insignia and uniform. Tickets will be interchangeable, allowing passengers to take advantage of the co-ordinated frequencies. Both companies have considerable experience of operating the London-Nairobi route on a contract and charter basis. Their new combined service is, of course, to be operated under an associate agreement with B.O.A.C. Inaugural flights scheduled to reach Nairobi on June 16th will be made by both companies. This announcement, foreshadowed in Flight of May 23rd, follows closely the Government's promise to increase opportuni ties open to private operators at home and abroad. The Hunting- Airwork Service is intended to be complementary to rather than competitive with the faster B.O.A.C. Comet and Hermes services on the same route. Its progress will be closely studied, and the lessons learned may have a direct influence on the opening—or otherwise—of further overseas services by independent companies. THE HERMES INQUIRY BOARD IT was announced by B.O.A.C. on June 4th that Sir Miles Thomas, chairman of the Corporation, in accordance with the announcement already made by him that a full official investigation would be held into the recent off-course landing by a Hermes in French West Africa, has appointed a board of inquiry which will meet in London. The board will sit as soon as the members of the Hermes crew are available to give evidence. Chairman of the board will be Major J. R. McCrindle, adviser on international affairs to B.O.A.C. and a barrister-at-law; the other members will be Mr. H. L. Newlands (another member of the board of B.O.A.C., who deals particularly with trade union relations), Capt. O. P. Jones, senior captain of B.O.A.C.'s Stratocruiser and Constella- CENTRE OF ATTRACTION at San Diego Airport recently was the first Convair 340 to be delivered to United Air Lines. As reported overleaf, the company has 40 more on order and may acquire a further ten. tion Fleet, and Nav. Off. H. E. Smith, Comet Fleet navigation officer. The aircraft, Hermes IV G-ALDN Horns, made a forced land ing 90 miles N.N.W. of Atar on May 26th. Although the port wing was torn off only slight injuries were suffered among the ten passengers and crew of eight; however, F/Off. Haslam died from heat exhaustion on May 31st. It is reported that no attempt will be made to salvage the aircraft. CENTRAL AFRICAN PLANS CENTRAL AFRICAN AIRWAYS (writes a Johannesburg correspondent) want to operate their own trunk air service from Salisbury to London and also to establish a cheap tourist fare service from Central Africa to the United Kingdom. This has recently been made clear by Mr. Robert McCoy, the general manager, whose progressive ideas have done much, in the last two years, to put the company's services on the African map. It is improbable that either B.O.A.C. or S.A.A., in their joint operation of the Springbok service, are keen to see Mr. McCoy's plans come to fruition, although he has emphasized that the Central African operator wishes to work in close co-operation with both the present partners in the African trunk routes. Commenting on the prospect of B.O.A.C. Comets using the new Salisbury airport later this year, Mr. McCoy said that the public interest demanded that Salisbury should have a trunk service to London as soon as possible; traffic arising in Salisbury warranted a new service, and Salisbury should not be relegated to the position of being merely a stop to add to the traffic on the existing Springbok service. With regard to a cheap fare service between Central Africa and London, he said it was C.A.A.'s intention to do its utmost to obtain the requisite Government approval for such a service. This proposal was again recently discussed with Sir Miles Thomas, chairman of B.O.A.C. Previous discussions took place in Salisbury last December with the primary object of finding a way to protect C.A.A.'s existing passenger and mail revenue once the B.O.A.C. Comet service passes through Salisbury, taking with it traffic now conveyed by C.A.A. between Johannesburg/Salisbury and Salisbury/Nairobi. Mr. McCoy emphasized that this traffic was worth a great deal every year to C.A.A. and said that two Comets a week alone could reduce the corporation's revenue by £100,000 a year. This estimate presupposed that only nine of the 36 seats in each Comet would be available for traffic from and to Salisbury. Obviously these few seats were quite inadequate and it followed, therefore, that if and when the trunk services were stepped up the loss to C.A.A. would become progressively more serious. The result might well mean that C.A.A. would have to ask the Governments SIR FREDERICK TYMMS (centre), U.K. delegate to I.C.A.O., signs the protocol of extension of the agree ment on North Atlantic Ocean Weather Stations. With him are (left) Dr. Edward Warner, president of the I.C.A.O. council, and Mr. E. C. R. Ljungberg, secretary-general of I.C.A.O. The occasion is further reported on page 726.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
