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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 0705.PDF
346 FLIGHT, 13 March 1959 Profit or Prestige? about fifty could carry as many passengers as at present cross by sea and air combined) and inside the North American Continent. But when the main transatlantic carriers placed their orders other operators joined the rush, fearful of falling behind in such a keen competition. Thus there are now well over three hundred of these types on order, with a theoretical carrying capacity equivalent to that of between 6,000 and 10,000 Dakotas. At the same time, it was obvious that the two big jets were not ideally suited to inferior airfields. Perhaps that is why the American Government have been considering an airport con- struction subsidy of 437 million dollars. Certainly the recent analysis by Flight of the major airports of the world suggested that 97 per cent of the world's airfields would have to be improved for these jets to operate efficiently. There was obviously a need for aircraft which would require less concrete, and for some with other specialized advantages. Thus a second round of orders was placed, for aircraft like the Caravelle, Comet variants, Electra, Vanguard and so on; and now a position has been reached where it seems improbable that in 1961 any airline will be able to fill its aircraft regularly. Financially, the airlines could not afford to place themselves in this position; but they were manoeuvred into it by competition and prestige demands. Ironically enough, the present situation already seems likely to recur. The jets now being delivered are all subsonic, and this applies also to the later orders, such as those for the VC.10. They will be able to link any two points in the world in twenty-four hours, which should be fast enough for all but the Dulleses amongst us. But already constructors are working on supersonic NATIONAL "one-upmanship" policies of ordering bigger and fasterairliners have frequently been the subject of comment in our pages. Pilots no less than passengers are likely to be affected in one way oranother, and here an airline captain adds his voice. While lamenting the trend, he admits that Britain cannot afford to stay out of the race. AIRLINES AS POLITICAL INSTRUMENTS By An Airline Captain IAN the huge new fleets of airliners now on order possibly attract enough passengers for them to be operated at a profit?" Throughout the world this is a question that is frequently being asked, yet something far more basic is really in dispute: "What is wanted from the airlines, profit or prestige?" In the case of many privately controlled companies the answer is "profit." But most of the big companies are not private; they come under national control or influence. During the early years of aviation these main international carriers were not expected to make money. In one way or another they were helped by subsidy to fulfil their various duties. But after the war, which gave such impetus to airfield and aircraft construction, they were expected to make profits, and in general they have done so. Now, however, there are indications that airlines are being used as a means to an end. More and more they are expected to show the flag; to demonstrate national prestige; or even to act as weapons of political penetration. The extent to which this is true is illustrated by the growth in the number of airlines, of which there are now about three hundred. It is difficult to think of a country without its own "national" airline. Almost every state, determined to keep up nationally with the Joneses, has its own—even the smaller ones like Ghana, Cuba, Thailand, Eire and Ceylon. In some cases these small national airlines are operated by outside interests, but their policy is influenced by the government concerned. Even the step into the jet age has not deterred small airlines, and a dozen of the orders for big American jets average less than three aircraft each. National pride is influencing airline operations to a remarkable extent. For example, when K.L.M. encountered difficulties in negotiating traffic rights with the U.S.A. and the United Kingdom, the Netherlands Government made the issues points of national honour. Again, when Pan American prematurely advertised their "First Jet Service on the North Atlantic," there was almost a national outcry in Britain for this claim to be challenged, and there was great delight when B.O.A.C., with the Comet, was able to do so. It is true that one newspaper did somewhat deprecatingly say: "Aviation is not a sport ... it is primarily concerned with making profits." This was a lone voice; the overwhelming con- sensus of opinion was that to a country like Britain, dependent on industrial exports, the achievement was of incalculable prestige value. This demand for national prestige helps to explain the situation which has developed with regard to buying new aircraft. Already the profit margin of the world's airlines has dwindled almost to nothing, and some of them are losing money. Despite this, several have ordered new fleets of aircraft which are capable of offering more seats than can be filled. They may have over-ordered, and perhaps to a considerable extent. The situation seems to have developed this way. When the Boeing 707 and DC-8 were first offered for sale it looked as though their use might be confined chiefly to the Atlantic (where airliners (see pp. 348-51), and pressure groups are advocating that orders should be placed for such types. Most people flying to New York can afford the time between lunch and dinner for their journey. To aim for an even higher speed would surely be scaling another Everest, adding just a little more chrome, all to satisfy prestige. It is not only the West which is engaged in this struggle. Russia's Aeroflot is coming increasingly into competition with other airlines; for example, it is said that the cheapest way to fly from Delhi to London is via Moscow. Far from being primarily concerned with making profits, Aeroflot has been adjudged by Americans as a "vehicle for economic and political penetration." There is nothing surprising about such an object; most chosen- instrument airlines have a national responsibility to show the flag. What is more, they do it far more constructively, and certainly far more cheaply, than capital ships or sputniks. Some of the Russian airliners, including the Tu-104, have been described as "converted bombers." This again is nothing new. Most aircraft construction firms require civil orders as well as military ones, and the Boeing 707 is derived directly from a military machine. This association of interests extends beyond the construction stage, and one can safely assume that such infor- mation as Aeroflot amasses is available to the Red Air Force. Britain's own airlines are subject to special powers in cases of national emergency, and, in fact, they have been called on at such times as the Berlin blockade and the Suez crisis to carry out supply duties. In fact, the 1949 Air Corporations Act had much to say on this subject, whilst not apparently stating that the Corporations should make a profit. In some ways it seems a pity that a young industry like aviation cannot be left alone to work out its own salvation. But public transport of all kinds—air, canal, road or railway—has always been so inextricably involved with national interest that it is bound to be influenced by the moods and needs of the day. Because Britain lives by selling and advertisement, it must continue to take every benefit that aviation can offer in this respect. TWIN-SCINTILLOMETER SURVEYT HE Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources has developed a dual scintillometer installation for the location of radio-active ore bodies from the air. In order to distinguish between broad arears of weak and insignificant radio-activity and small areas of high activity which might be important, it has been usual to fly the sciptillometer over the terrain at two different heights in successive flights. Now a Dakota has been fitted with one scin- tillometer carried internally and another trailed in a streamlined "bird" some 200ft below the aircraft. Both measurements can now be made and recorded in a single flight. Following successful tests, the dual installation has been used in an actual survey m the Broken Hill area.
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