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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0285.PDF
FLIGHT, 7 March 1958 299 On the left is C.P.A.L's international route-sys- tem, excluding the comparatively recent additions of Santiago and Edmonton. In the photograph taken in the cockpit at 35,000ft west- bound over Newfound- land are (left) Capt. Harvey Johnson, C.P.A.L.'s chief pilot, and (right) Capt. W. S. Raxborough, C.P.A.L.'s chief Britannia pilot. In command of the flight each way was Walter Gibb, Bristol's chief test pilot. Standard displays are Smiths' flight system and Bendix radar. VANCOUVER-RETURN BY C.P.A.L. BRITANNIA... piston-engined candidates and the Britannia. But C.P.A.L. didnot overlook the big jets: — With further development the DCS and Boeing 707-320 willprobably be satisfactory by the time we need a jet in 1961 or 1962." The airline's policy remains unchanged: at Vancouver Igathered that a fleet of big jets would "most certainly" be ordered this year. Opinions still differ within the airline about the rela-tive merits of the DC-8 and 707. My impression was that the engineering executives favour the DC-8. I asked how C.P.A.L. felt about the delay in Britannia deliveries,and the effect this had had on their plans. They are naturally disappointed, as they have been unable as yet to take bookingsfor this summer's schedules to Europe, starting on April 1. Their disappointment is manifested as sadness rather than soreness.They regret the lost year, but appreciate the accumulative reasons for the delay, and acknowledge Bristol's big efforts to make uptime lost, due—Bristol say—to the Proteus icing problems, labour disputes, C.P.A.L.'s special change-orders, and Shorts' initialunfamiliarity with Britannia production. "Talking equipment" to C.P.A.L. very quickly reveals the cruxof their planning problems. They cannot commit themselves to anything until they know the outcome of their application tooperate domestic transcontinental trunk routes across Canada. Approval of this will require a major change in Government policy,which has hitherto reserved Canada's domestic trunk services for the state-owned airline T.C.A. A political analogy in this countrywould be an application by Airwork or Eagle to operate the longer U.K. domestic routes in competition with B.E.A. When Mr. Diefenbaker took office, and Canada selected theConservatives after more than a decade of Liberal administration, C.P.AJL.'s domestic hopes were raised. The new Governmentexpressed its agreement-in-principle with the idea of more domestic airline competition. Mr. George Hees, Minister ofTransport, said: "Competition is a valuable stimulus to more efficient operation, and to the provision of better service to thepublic ... I am satisfied that the gradual introduction of some measure of competition in our domestic scheduled services shouldnot be denied, providing the changes are made with caution and on a gradual basis." But Mr. Diefenbaker's position has recently weakened on the Star-tracking over the Arctic: C.P.A.L. will transplant their DC-6B polar-navigation tech- niques to the Britannia, using three polar-path compasses (to provide a "voting system") instead of one. Differences in C.P.A.L.'s Britannia cock- pit include the skylight, and a Collins radio rack, installed—as in their DC-6Bs—along the left side. Three pilots and two navigators will be carried, together with a ground-mechanic and an electrician initially. more fundamental issue of Canada's economy—an issue which hewill put to the test in the general election later this month. Even if the Conservatives are returned, C.P.A.L. will not move into the transcontinental business overnight. How and when they will do it may depend upon a study which the airline consultant- economist, Mr. Stephen Wheatcroft, is now preparing on behalf of Canada's Air Transport Board. The whole affair is so delicate so far as C.P.A.L. are concernedthat I found them unwilling to talk about it. But their domestic planning is worth close investigation, because upon it depends thepossibility of more orders for British aircraft. The map (previous page) shows the sort of network upon whichC.P.A.L. might be planning. It is based upon impressions gained in general conversation with executives of the airline. Realization of such routes will change C.P.A.L.'s whole future.Mr. Grant McConachie has already hinted at the possibility of buying Comets for domestic routes, but I am certain that no firmdecision has yet been made. Obviously, having decided on big jets for overseas routes, he would like them to be capable of usealso for domestic routes. There is resistance to a multiplicity of types (which a senior engineer described as "the quickest way ofgoing broke I know") and there are doubts, too, whether a special jet for the projected domestic routes is justified. Part of the Britannia's international effort might be transferredto domestic routes. This aeroplane would fit in well with the varied stages shown on the map—down to 400 miles betweenVancouver and the big cities of Western Canada, and up to 1,900 miles thence to the big cities in the east. T.C.A. may use someof their international DC-8s on transcontinental domestic services, but this competition could conceivably be met by C.P.A.L.'s owninternational big jets. It is a dilemma within a dilemma. There is no certainty aboutthe granting of domestic routes; and even if C.P.A.L. get them they must decide whether a special new type such as the Comet 4Bis justified. Britannias in the meantime will take over the overseas routes,the basic structure of which is an X with Vancouver in the middle. As from June 1, Britannias will displace DC-6Bs on the 4,900-st. mile Arctic route to Amsterdam. The airline's operations people are confident that the Britannia will do the eastbound service non-stop with pretty well 100 per cent regularity, knocking 5 hours off the existing 18 hour DC-6B schedule (which includes one stop atSonderstrom). Westbound a stop may have to be made on 40 or 50 per cent of occasions, probably at Frobisher Bay. The Britannia will be a big traffic-draw, in the view of C.P.A.L.'ssales staff, who are now faced with PanAm's direct Polar service to London from Seattle (which is only a 50-minute trans-border flightaway), and also the Qantas through-service from Australia to London across the U.S.A.—a new one-carrier service which maydraw some of C.P.A.L.'s Europe-bound traffic originating in Australasia. And more competition will be presented by T.C.A.'sforthcoming through-service from Vancouver to London via Winnipeg. Here again, C.P.A.L. are up against politics: they want traffic-rights to London. This would constitute direct overseas com- petition with T.C.A., the Canadian chosen instrument. It wouldalso involve "horse-trading" with B.O.A.C., who are known to want rights into Toronto. All this complicates the central issuewhich, in C.P.A.L.'s view, is that Canadian traffic is being flown to the old country by Pan American. But the Britannia will lighten these burdens: there will be nofaster or more comfortable way for West Canadians to get to Europe, and of course Amsterdam is well placed for connections to
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