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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0303.PDF
11 March 1955 303 opacity ton-miles offeredaad con-mites sold ... evenue load factor ... eat-mifes available ... assenger-mtles flown assenger load factorastengers carried lail ton-mile* flown .. reight ton-milej flown k»eraa« stafftaff at December 31st 1«4 95,258,000 61.626,000 64.7 822,068,000 S57.01S.000 67.81.829,221 2.846,000 5,692,000 9.1128.903 1»53 80,905.000 51,951.000 64.3 696,706.000 463,541,000 66.61,630,690 2.569.000 5,561,000 8,8769,042 Per-centage varia- tion -17.8 4 18.8 + 0.6 + 18.0 + 20.1 i 1.8-r12.3 + 11.0-t- 2.3 -r- 2.6— 1.5 B.E.A. CORPORATIONS WITH one of Europe's most efficient short-haul fleets, B.E.A.has continued to reduce its direct operating costs duringthe past year. This modern fleet has had another effect on the Corporation's financial results, however: the increase in amor-tization charges of almost half a million pounds, recorded in the annual report for 1953-54, was a major item leading to the increasein net deficit to £1,773,797. Before providing for amortization and depreciation, however,an operating surplus of £64,000 was achieved, compared with a loss of £450,000 on the same basis during the previous year. Otherresults given in the last annual report include the facts that the specific cost was reduced by 6.1 per cent against a fall in revenuerate of 8.5 per cent; the operating-revenue rise of 13 per cent was matched by an increase in total expenditure in the same propor-tion; and a net profit of £301,000 was earned by Viscount aircraft. Subsequently, operating costs have been reduced still further. Traffic figures for the 1954 calendar year are given above. Mr.Peter G. Masefield, chief executive, has said that, during 1954, the airline's deficit was reduced by rather more than one millionpounds, so that, over the year, it stood at the lowest point in B.E.A. history. An interesting route analysis of the London-Paris sector flownby B.E.A. Elizabethans during 1954 shows that 59 per cent of the total air traffic between the two cities was flown by the Corpora-tion. The number of passengers carried increased by 121 per cent to 235,000 and, from a revenue of £1,560,000, a small net profitwas made—believed to be the first by any airline on this route since services began in 1919. The year 1954 saw the continuance of the popularity andprofitability of both Elizabethans and Viscounts. At January 1st, 1955, the Corporation's fleet consisted of 20 Elizabethans, 23Viscounts (present strength 24), 46 Pionairs, 30 Vikings, 8 D.H. 89A Islanders, two Bell 47B3s, two Bristol 171s and one WestlandSikorsky S-55. Since added are two D.H. Herons (B.E.A. "Hebrides" class), which are shortly to go into passenger andambulance service in Scotland. A second S-55 is on order; both are planned to be used on a 19-mile route between London Air-port and the South Bank site, Waterloo. In June 1954 the first scheduled passenger helicopter service to be operated with Bristol171s was inaugurated, between London Airport and Eastleigh Airport (Southampton), and in April a new scheduled fixed-wingservice to Biarritz was commenced, using Vikings. A change in the organization structure of B.E.A. was made inMarch 1954 when the commercial director was made directly responsible to the chief executive, and flight operations and trafficdepartments came under the controller of operations. There are now four main divisions under the chief executive: Operations(traffic, and flight operations), Engineering, Commercial and Finance and Property. The first includes all area managers.After eight years of B.E.A. operations, Northolt Airport closed down at the end of October, after which time all the Corporation'sLondon services used London Airport. B.E.A.'s new engineering base at L.AJ*. which came into full use during 1954, is acknow-ledged to be one of the world's best. Top, the popular Viscount. Centre, the new "Hebridean" Heron. Below, the ubiquitous Pionair.
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