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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0028.PDF
28 CIVIL AVIATION . . . AIR FRANCE ORDER SUPER GsT OCO days after the announcement of Air France's order for10 Boeing 707s came the news from Lockheed that the French airline has placed an order for four L.1049G Super Constella-tions for delivery "early in 1957," at a cost, it is reported, of more than $8m (£2.8 million). This is in addition to the AirFrance order for 12 L.1649s for delivery in 1957. TRANS-CANADA's "MEMORABLE YEAR"I N his yearly review of T.C.A.'s operations during 1955 Mr.G. R. McGregor, president of Canada's state airline, recalled that the year's activities included the carriage of the ten-millionthpassenger since the trans-continental service started in 1937. In addition turboprop Viscount services had been introduced toNorth America on April 1st, and Canada's first scheduled air cargo service had been inaugurated by T.C.A. Their routes nowlinked Canada with the U.S.A., United Kingdom, Iceland, France, West Germany, Bermuda and the West Indies. - .;- 1955 TRAFFIC UP BY ONE-FIFTH AT the turn of the year I.A.T.A. recorded that traffic on theworld's scheduled airlines increased by 20 per cent during 1955, and shows signs of even greater expansion this year. SirWilliam Hildred, Director-General of I.A.T.A., said that the number of passengers in 1955 was 70m compared with 59m in1954; cargo and mail had increased in about the same proportion. "We may carry 85m passengers in 1956, and reach the 100mmark in 1957." During this period operators will, of course, be preoccupied with the financing of the greatest re-equipment pro-gramme the industry has ever undertaken, involving orders for turbine transports totalling over £357m. U.A.L.'s $150m FINANCE PROGRAMME TTNITED Airlines, who recently announced an order for 30*-' DC-8s costing, with spares, $175m (£63m) have completed arrangements for what is believed to be the largest single airlinefinancing programme to date. Mr. W. A. Patterson, U.A.L. president, said that the company has provided for a maximum of$150m to be available over the next five years. Of this amount, $120m is to be available from the sale of new debentures, and upto $30m is to be borrowed under credit agreements. The deben- tures, at 4 per cent, will be sold as funds as required to threeinsurance companies: Metropolitan Life, Prudential (America) and Mutual Life. The terms of the agreements provide that the$120m may be sold as needed over the next several years. The credit agreement is with a group of 38 banks headed bythe First National City Bank of New York. Effective as from December 1st, it will make loans available up to December, 1960,with repayments up to the end of 1965. Commented Mr. Patterson: "With the accomplishment of this programme Unitedis assured that it will be in a strong position to meet the financial needs of the jet age." INDEPENDENCE FOR C.A.A. A NEW voice, that of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Asso-**• ciation of America, has been raised in support of the proposal to return the United States Civil Aeronautics Administration toan independent status. The A.O.P.A. president, Mr. J. B. Hartranft, said: "The time has come when industry must demandpoliticians to stop playing 'patsy' with the C.A.A." He pointed out that the last three Administrators, including Mr. Fred Lee,had served on the average only 21 months in office. Hartranft said that unless C.A.A. could again be independent of pettypolitical influences, another new Administrator could be similarly removed "at the mere caprice" of someone in highpolitical office. He continued: "In the interest of flying safety and the preservation and expansion of civil air power in theUnited States, the job of administering C.A.A. must be based upon merit, and must not be trifled with by 'pork-barrel'politics." He argued that civil aviation could never achieve sound long range planning on air transport affairs while the chief officialsresponsible for such programmes "were bounced in and out of office like tennis balls." The 33 months during which Mr. Leehad been in office had involved "incessant Commerce Depart- ment sniping and bushwhacking over plans for air navigationfacilities, airport expansion and other fundamental aviation policies." Such factors had led to the undermining of morale atlower levels within C.A.A claimed Mr. Hartranft. The Monroney proposal to restore independent status toC.A.A., it is felt by A.O.P.A., will remove non-aviation pressure from the Commerce Department and afford a C.A.A. Adminis-trator "a clear and unobstructed channel for improvement pro- grammes for civil aviation." FLIGHT EXCHEQUER GRANTS TO B.O.A.C AND B.E.A.? ALTHOUGH both B.O.A.C. and B.E.A. are now operating at- a profit, and B.O.A.C. has received no Exchequer grantsince 1951, it is understood that the Government are likely to review the Exchequer's power to make grants to the Corpora-tions, which is due to lapse on March 31st, 1956. While Treasury assistance may be unnecessary, legislation to retain the power tomake grants in an emergency is likely to be reviewed by the Government shortly. In view of the strong criticism fromindependent airline quarters that more scope should be given to private operators, it seems likely also that, at the same time, theGovernment will be pressed to include such provisions as out- lined in the terms of the "new deal" of 1952. . B LONDON-PARIS BACK TO NORMAL E.A. is due to resume its full timetable services, including• the Silver Wing flight, between London and Paris as from tomorrow, January 7th. Services since last Monday have beengradually stepped up. As reported in Flight for November 25th, services have been restricted since the strike of French airportstaff began early in November. During the restrictions there have been five London-Paris daily flights by B.E.A., who have beenusing the military airfield of Creil. Flying from Le Bourget was due to be resumed on January 1st; although the staff were stillon strike, the control tower was being operated by the French Air Force. PACIFIC ISLAND BATTLE THE New Zealand newspaper Auckland Star on December30th foreshadowed a clash between Pan American World Airways and Tasman Empire Airways for the control of touristtraffic to the Pacific islands. The opening by PanAm of a service between Fiji and American Samoa in January is, the newspaperstates, the first move by PanAm to cut into routes now domin- ated by T.E.A.L. "Once established there, PanAm is certainto spread its Pacific net further, even working into Tasman's prize tourist preserve, Tahiti." Earlier this year PanAm'sdecision to operate three services a week between Auckland and Fiji led to protests by the New Zealand Government against"unfair competition," and the matter is still being discussed in talks in Washington. BREVITIES TN a recent message to the staff of A. V. Roe Canada, Ltd., Sir-•- Roy Dobson, chairman of the company, referred to a 1,500 m.p.h. airliner of which a preliminary study is now being madeby Avro. No further details were given. * * * The Supreme Court of Victoria has awarded £24,000 to thewidows and families of three Trans-Australia Airlines pilots killed in the T.A.A. Viscount training accident at Mangalore,Victoria, on October 3rd, 1954. * * '•*•"'• " - '-'•' Capt. I. R. Stephens, acting manager of B.O.A.C.'s Constella-tion Fleet, has been appointed assistant to the Corporation's deputy operations director, Mr. H. O. Houchen. Capt. Stephensis succeeded by Capt. T. B. Stoney, formerly a member of the Comet Fleet. * * * Mr. Sranley Gewirtz has been elected vice-president of theAir Transport Association, it is announced in Washington by A.T.A.'s president, Mr. Stuart G. Tipton.* * * B.E.A.'s manager in France, Col. Selwvn Gerald Carr, O.B.E.,died in Paris on December 28th. He had served with the Cor- poration since 1946. * * * Trans World Airlines celebrated their 30th anniversary during1955 by flying a total of more than four million passengers on a 33,000-mile route network, an increase of 13 per cent overthe 1954 figure. Tourist services represented about 58 per cent of domestic passenger miles, and 80 per cent of internationalpassenger miles. Air cargo and mail had increased also. * * * Stockholm radio reports that S.A.S. are negotiating withDanish, Norwegian, Canadian and American authorities for the establishment of radio aids in the North Polar regions. Thesewould serve the future Great Circle route between Scandinavia and Japan, and, it is hoped, would be ready for the inauguralflight in the autumn of this year. S.A.S. would supply equip- ment and would help to install it; the stations would be runby the appropriate countries.
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