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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0689.PDF
687 20 May 1955 Outbound loads are conveyed by fork-lift (left) to all-freight aircraft parked outside the terminal or by cart to the passenger apron, for stowage in combination aircraft. The final scene (right) shows the rear hold of an all-freight DC-6A. average yield, though individual rates vary (according to distance,direction and type of load) over a range of approximately 16 to 24 cents. In exceptional cases air freight is carried for as littleas 12 cents per ton-mile. To put these costs into some kind of perspective it may beadded that road-transport charges for the class of goods carried by air are in the region of 6 to 7 cents per ton-mile, and thatequivalent rail rates are perhaps 3 to 5 cents. The earnings of transatlantic carriers are now standing atabout 40 to 44 cents per ton-mile of air freight. Air freight is still in an early stage of development on the relatively short andlow density air routes of Europe, and this is naturally reflected in high rates and a low volume of traffic. A shipper in New York pays about $6 to have a 100 lb con-signment flown 500 miles to Detroit; a London merchant will pay the equivalent of $6 45 cents to have a similar consignment air-freighted from London to Paris—a distance of about 230 miles. Similarly, the charge for air freighting a 100-lb load from NewYork to Los Angeles (about $25) is little more than the rate for sending the same shipment by air from London to Rome, eventhough the distances involved are, respectively, 2,500 and 900 miles. The problems faced by the operator—and his solutions to them—are reflected in the pages of the air-freight tariff. A funda- mental difficulty is that most freight travels only once; returnloads are not guaranteed. The rate charged must, therefore, be reduced when necessary to attract some kind of load aboard anaircraft which would otherwise return to its base empty after a profitable outward trip. Thus, 50-odd commodity groups arelisted in the American Airlines freight tariff, and it will be seen, for example, that fruit and flowers from the West Coast can beshipped to New York at a more favourable rate than clothing or electrical parts moving from the industrial east to the agricul-tural west. A second reason for the commodity-rate system is, of course, that reduction of a cent or two may turn the scalesin the airline's favour when competing with a surface carrier for a large contract.Handling costs vary according to the size of load carried, and the tariff system covers this problem by the incorporation of"break-points," which define the minimum weights at which various bulk discounts apply. Break-points vary with the type ofcommodity and the route. Normally, however, the first discount is offered for loads of about 50 lb and in some cases there arefurther break-points at 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 lb. The economy of American air freight is thus largely based onthe carriage of items weighing at least 50 lb and consignments below this weight can generally be considered as being moresuitable for shipment via the air express service. At this stage the freight forwarder makes his appearance.The forwarder's function is to consolidate a number of small separate items into a single shipment which exceeds the break-point weight and thereby qualifies for a discount which the air- line cannot offer to the individual shipper. The forwarderreceives the whole discount, allows part of this to the customer and pays himself with the balance. In New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, forwarders feed in asizeable proportion of the freight flown out of these cities by American Airlines—probably 25 or 30 per cent in the case ofNew York. Contrary perhaps to general belief, most air-freight revenuecomes from consignees rather than consignors. Something like 90 per cent of American's freight traffic is routed by consignees.Unlike air express, air freight is essentially an airport-to-air- port service. Rates are based on the cost of carriage betweenairports, though for an additional charge truck delivery is avail- able to and from any airport; the airline does not itself main-tain vehicles for this purpose and allocates the work to local transport services. The question "What sort of goods are moved by air freight?"is answered by the list overleaf. It separates into 20 categories the total freight uplifted by American Airlines during one monthof 1954. The diversity of the list is its most impressive feature, indicating that air freight is being appreciated and used in a widecross-section of American industry and agriculture. Progress so far in the United States has been encouraging, but Airbill, envelope and lot label. (Below) Diagrammatic layout of the La Guordio terminal:— Freight is accepted crt A, ami weighed, identified and rated at B. The airbill if completed at C and placed in an envelope which is taped on to the consignment (when several consignments move under a tingle airbill, let labels are used). Loads ore assembled on wooden pallets (D) and warehoused in racks (E) according to destination (the La Gaardia racks have M divisions). Loads consigned to combination aircraft are placed in carts at F and towed oat to the apron. Consignments for all-freight aircraft are pre-ossembleii at G and taken out by fork-lift for on-loading. Inbound loads are stowed at H for delivery or placed in the racks for onward shipment. H I H ! H T H T H. E b I D|D|P I D JD PALLETS WSWCWN6DOCK RECEIVINGDOCK LAW© UK
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