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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 2266.PDF
JHT, 13 August 1954 CIVIL L& AVIATION 219 AIRPORT SERVICE: Dublin Airport's fine terminal build ing makes an unusual setting for a religious ceremony—the recent blessing of the Aer Lingus fleet. Paraded on the apron are four Bristol 170s, two Dakotas and a Viscount. "Aerophotos," Dublin RENFREW: A B.E.A. STATEMENT CONTROVERSY over the future of B.ElA.'s maintenance base at Renfrew, Glasgow, has been brou^it to a head by the news that all Vikings will be withdrawn from B.E.A. service in October. During the course of the next jlw years the Corpora tion's Pionair DC-3s are also due to pais out of service as their work is taken over by Elizabethans and Viscounts. In a state ment issued on August 5th, B.E.As" said that in these circum stances, "a substantial financial economy would result from the transfer of the remaining Pionair work from Renfrew to London Airport, together with a proportion of those of the skilled Scottish engineering staff who are willing and able to move with them to London." JT While convinced that on commercial and economic grounds the transfer should take place, and that a public court of inquiry would be inappropriate to the situation, the Corporation states that it has sought the opinion of the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation on whether wider national issues—including that of light industry in Scotland—should prevail over what would otherwise be a normal commercial decision. To counteract trade union allegations that B.E.A. are exaggerating the economic effects of centralizing their maintenance work, the Corporation will submit its figures to an independent assessor for scrutiny. THE AMERICAN AIRLINES STRIKE iyf ORE than 170 aircraft have been grounded and flights have 1TA been cancelled at the rate of nearly 400 daily by the strike of American Airlines pilots which began at midnight on July 30th. At the time of going to press there was no news of a settlement between the company and its pilots, numbering 1,243. The dispute centres on the non-stop service from New York to Los Angeles introduced with Douglas DC-7 aircraft in Novem ber last year. Section 40.320 (B) of the Civil Air Regulations stipulates that the duration of American domestic air services must be limited to eight hours; the New York-Los Angeles flight was originally scheduled to take 7 hr 55 min. Experience soon showed, however, that this schedule was unrealistic: with the prevailing head winds, the average block time for the westbound non-stop crossing proved to tj£ about 8 hr 40 min. American Airlines accordingly petitioned the Civil Aeronautics Board for a waiving of the; "eight hour rule" and similar peti tions were filed by UnitedAir Lines and T.W.A., who were also contemplating non-stop 0:ans-continental services. This peti tion was granted by the adoption of an ad hoc regulation which, in effect, permitted non#stop flights of up to 10 hr only by DC-7s or Super Constellatigfes operating coast-to-coast services and manned by a crew of at least two pilots and a flight engineer. The waiver was oroosed by two of the five members of the C.A.B. and by the jGr Line Pilots Association. On August 5t|f, letters were sent to all the striking pilots advising them tbfit they had been suspended from duty and that th~y would receive no pay during the period of suspension. • )ts were \pirned that if the strike continued the company reserved the iright of stopping the accrual of seniority and of terminating/their employment. All American Airlines sales o ^ces wer# kept open and it is reported that other companies "eived about 70 per cent of the traffic which normally would 'e beap carried by A.A. Many of American Airlines' em- yees*esponded immediately to the company's proposal that v should take a week or more of their annual holiday during - Pyiod of the strike. Subject to the availability of seats, the inf personnel and their families are normally allowed unlimited e air travel to and from their holidays; those on vacation during jsirike will be credited with a backlog of free travel. yn August 3rd American Airlines filed a suit against three ambers of the A.L.P.A. claiming $lm damages as the result of * strike, plus further damages to cover losses subsequent to that date. The suit also asks for $250,000 damages for "illegal activities on the part of the union and its leaders to induce the individual pilots of the company not to fulfil their obligations under contract." -mm An A.L.P.A. spokesmfm-^rated that die dispute cotrTcTtoe settled quickly if the company would schedule a 2(Kminu|e sttjip on the westbound service to pfecmit crews to be slipped. The company replied that such a s»p vfo^ld add fet feast #M) ftinutes to the schedule and would a£o take »way tB^pilotY abilty to pick the most advantageous routcfer each qay's particular wind and weather conditions. * J \mm^r *^** For long-haul international seryi&s by U.S. airlines, the C.A.B. stipulates a 12 hr limitation on Jne duration of flights by crews consisting of two pilots and a third member. The eight-hour rule for domestic services, although originally adopted in 1931, has been retained despite improved cockpit conditions for pilots from the aspects of comfort, noy€ level, instrumentation and flight aids. The Board believes, howler, that in general, the retention of the rule is justified in vi^v of the congested condition of U.S. domestic airports an#the lower reaches of the airways, which "undoubtedly prodjfce a tension on the flight crew on each landing and take-aC." In the case of the trans-continental ser vices by high-altitude pressurized aircraft, however, it is claimed that cockpit conditions are comparable with those on overseas routes where dfe 12 hr rule applies. Some piljKs are reported to favour the non-stop schedule, since it allcfws them to fulfil their monthly flying commitment within ten days. Nevertheless, there appears to be solid profes sional backing for the A.L.P.A. view that normal safety regula tions have been relaxed in the interests of commercial expediency. A.T.A.C. APPOINTMENTS THE Lord Chancellor has re-appointed Lord Terrington as chairman of the Air Transport Advisory Council for a further two years. Mr. Gerard d'Erlangpf, Sir John Ure Primrose and Mr. J. J. Taylor have also boanre-appointed for a further two years by the Minister of Trpffsport and Civil Aviation. Mr. d'Erlanger has basff appointed deputy chairman in succes sion to Lord RuncimaflT whose other commitments do not enable him to continue a*<afull member of the Council. On his appoint ment as depttff chairman, Mr. d'Erlanger is relinquishing his directorship of the British Maritime Trust. The Council have appointed Lord Runciman as an assessor. I.A.T.A. IN PARIS PARIS will be the scene of the tenth Annual General Meeting of the International Air Transport Association. The timing of the meeting—sessions begin on September 13th and end on September 17th—will undoubjtedff provide senior executives of the 70 member airlines wjrifan additional incentive to attend the S.B.A.C. flying disphyaSd exhibition, to be held at Farnborough during the preceding week. On the opening day of the meeting M. Max Hymafls\ president of Air France, will take over from Mr. GordojafMcGregor, his Trans-Canada Airlines counterpart, as the first French president of I.A.T.A. The scheduled airlines of France will act as hosts to the delegates. AVTANCA CONSTELLATION LOST ALL 30 occupants were killed when an Avianca Constellation • 749A struck high ground and caught fire soon after take-off from Lagens, Azores, in the early hours'of August 9th. Santa Maria Airport is the normal stopffSng point in the Azores for Avianca's weekly flight frojs-'-flamburg to Bogota, but on this occasion fog caused a ^iitffcrsion to the military base at Lagens. The Constellation was* one of two operated by the Colombian airline, which k^fhe oldest in the Western Hemisphere; three Super Constellations are on order.
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