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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0673.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded 1909 No. 2417 Vol. 67. FRIDAY, 20 MAY 1955 ED/TOR MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. and Bar ASSOCIATE EDITOR H. F. KING, M.B.E. TECHNICAL EDITOR W. T. GUNSTON ART ED/TOR JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1. Telegrams, Fitghtpres, Sedist, London. Telephone, Waterloo 3333 (60 lines). Branch Offices: COVENTRY 8-10, Corporation Street. Telegrams, Autocar, Coventry. Telephone, Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM. 2 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). Deansgate 3595 (2 lines). GLASGOW, C.2. 26b, Renfield Street. Telegrams, Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone, Central 1265 (2 lines). SUBSCRIPTION RATES Home and Overseas: Twelve months £4 10s. U.S.A. and Canada, J14.00. IN THIS ISSUE : A Triumphant British Picture 674 675Luftwaffe Redivivus - - The Party Line on Air- lines ------ 677 680Supersonic Fighter - - Introduction to Air Freight 685 The S.N.C.A.S.E. S.E.210 Caravelle - - - - 689 Regularity in the Making 695 Flight Control - - - - 696 Deutsche Lufthansa in Service 697 At the B.I.F. - -.- 699 Decca Evaluated - - - 701 Cause for CongratulationsF IFTY thousand pounds—the profit earned by British European Airways in their latest financial year—is little more than a drop in the modern airline's ocean of expenditure. But though the sum itself is not of great account, it does mark an important change in the Corporation's affairs—the transition, we may confidently hope, into an era of truly competitive and healthy operation. B.E.A.'s executives and staff have worked long and hard for this moment, and are to be congratulated on beating last year's expenditure budget by so handsome a margin. Hard work and good planning are not, of course, the only factors behind the airline's success. Dependability and economy of equipment are equally essential; and in this respect the performance of B.E.A.'s Viscounts has been most impressive. Anyone who spends a few hours in the vicinity of London Airport has the opportunity to admire these splendid machines as they carry the British flag to and from Continental cities. Such an opportunity came our way last week-end, when we chanced to see among the swarm of London air traffic the first Capital Airlines Viscount—a gleaming vision in white, silver and scarlet, trying its wings over the Surrey countryside on an early flight- trial. It reminded us of another, less-publicized achievement of B.E.A.—in the role of salesman for the first turboprop airliner (scoreboard to date: 200). Without B.E.A.'s original contract, it is doubtful whether the type would have reached the market; most orders for 700-Series Viscounts depended to some degree on the development work performed by the Corporation, and other companies may also follow B.E.A.'s lead in ordering the enlarged Viscount Major. Though it can never be shown in the airline's accounts, these facts are worth keeping in mind when considering the past two or three years' profit-and-loss figures. The Capital Viscounts will soon be piling up flying hours on U.S. inter-city routes. It is a sobering thought that these aircraft are likely to earn more profits for their operators than will European Viscounts, even though airliners in American domestic service yield less money per flying hour than in Europe. Room for Improvement This paradox was most competently investigated and explained by the Air Research Bureau, an organization set up in 1952 by six European airlines. One of the Bureau's reports conceded that airline operators in Europe encountered many restricting influences unknown to American domestic carriers, but insisted that some ways of decreasing Euro- pean costs had not been fully exploited; and, furthermore, it predicted that air transport on this continent would not develop as it has done in North America until cost-reduction made it possible to reduce fares to well below their present level. Certainly there is no denying that air travel within Europe is still far too expensive. The American flies for an average of less than 5d. per mile, compared with the 7d.-10d. paid by the less affluent European. Among the factors which restrict traffic and increase operators' costs in Europe are Customs barriers; non-convertibility of currency; public reluctance to travel at off-peak hours; and high fuel costs and landing fees. Seasonal traffic-variations also are generally more pronounced in Europe than America; the drop from summer peak to winter trough is probably the most acute of B.E.A.'s problems. Despite all these difficulties, certain aspects of European air transport are not beyond the operators' powers of improvement. Utilization is one obvious instance; it is quite usual for American, Canadian or Australian airlines to work an aircraft twice as hard as European operators using similar machines over corresponding stage-lengths. Produc- tivity of employees, also, is generally lower in Europe. Perhaps the greatest weakness of European airlines is the tendency to operate services which suit the carrier rather than the customer. All too often the requirements of local traffic are subordinated to those of the main trunk routes. The value of frequency, in particular, does not seem to be fully appreciated. It is significant that B.E.A.—more deeply concerned with these questions than any other airline—are at last showing renewed interest in finding a replacement for the DC-3.
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