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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 2169.PDF
FLIGHT, 30 September 1960 likely to be a contentious issue, since the fares war is still raginghere, vmn some South American operators to Europe and North America reportedly undercutting IATA rates by up to 40 per cent. The conference is expected to last for up to five weeks, but itshould be less turbulent than the Paris and Honolulu meetings which established two important principles: a fare structurecomprising two basic classes of service, and fares based on jets with propeller aircraft being granted advantages in either price orservice. Following the resignation last July of Mr John BranckerIATA's Traffic Director, Sir William Hildred, the Association's Director General, is for the first time fulfilling the role of trafficdirector at the conference. BALPA AND CAPT KEY WRITING in The Log, the journal of the British Air LinePilots' Association, Capt S. J. L. Key of BEA criticizes BALPA for questioning the motives of the German Commissionthat inquired into the Munich accident in February 1958. He describes BALPA's action as "most unworthy" and considers that"it verges on a gross breach of privilege." Capt Key was a representative or BALPA at the Germaninquiry, and he has subsequently resigned from membership of the Association. It is his "firm opinion" that BALPA has notgiven the evidence objective and impartial study and he considers that this is incompatible with BALPA's "claim to professionalstatus." In their report on the accident submitted last April, BALPAsaid that they regarded the German findings as being based on a number of assumptions which they considered inaccurate andcontentious. Capt Key says: "I see no reason to assume that the German Commission was concerned with any o'.ier objective thandetermining the real cause of the accident." He does not think that anyone would contend that the German report cannot becriticized. But he thinks there is "a vast difference between constructive criticism and a deliberate attempt to discredit thosewho are charged with the duty of investigating a disastrous accident involving loss of lives." He goes on: "To attempt to discredit the German report bythe publication of a report based on selected evidence, some of which is directly contradicted by the evidence given to the Germancommission by the principal witness, is not an action which can be condoned by those who feel that the pilots' Association shouldretain a serious place in the field of accident study. "If it is thought impossible to reconcile the trade union functionof the Association with the wider requirement to be associated in the investigation of accidents for the good of aviation in general,and the safety of pilots in particular, the attempt to do so should be abandoned." In its editorial The Log says that the committee producing theBALPA report "could not have been more objective or open- minded." The fact that evidence had been selected from theresume of the German report did not mean "that all the other mass of evidence was not considered." The Log adds that "It willbe very interesting" to read the findings of the Fay Commission at present reconsidering the accident, including evidence of thesurviving captain, Capt James Thain. UP GO THE FEES TV only does the Government propose to introduce a pas--L^ senger-service charge of 3s 6d for UK domestic flights (Flight, September 16, page 479); it is also reportedly planning toincrease the 7s 6d international passenger-service charge. It is also likely that landing fees will be increased, by considerableamounts, early in the New Year. The precise increases proposed are not yet known; but the graph below indicates the way inwhich fees have risen over the past decade or more, with pro- jections into the future which, though not all straight-line extra-polations (an average percentage for all five types based on past trends has been applied), are believed to give an indication of thelikely increases. A glance back through the records to 1922, when fees were firstintroduced, shows that a multi-engined type in those days had to pay a mere fifteen bob by way of a landing fee. Today a 707 cancost as much as £250 including the passenger-service charge. UK government revenues from typical aircraft since 1948 (see text). Assumptions: DC-3s operated in the UK; Viscount, Comet and 707 landing from Rome, Singapore and New York respectively and departing with a full load of passengers at 7s 6d each £2OO- £IOO- COM" VISCOUNT / DC-3 2OOmilcs j . DC-3 IOO knifes i tt * __-— 1948 49 SO 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 SB 59 60 61 62 BREVITIES Avro are going ahead with sixty 748s, a doubling of the previousproduction programme which called for the building of thirty. This news was given last week by Mr J. A. R. Kay, Avro's managing director. Mr E. W. Metcalfe, senior operations representative in Europe forAerolineas Argentinas, has returned to Buenos Aires to take up a new appointment as the airline's director of operations. The weekly Qantas London - Singapore - Sydney cargo service, which was started last November, has been so full that a second weekly opera- tion, via Hong Kong, is to be introduced next month. It will be operated in association with BOAC. The Australian Department of Civil Aviation has "examined thecooling test data for the Piaggio P. 166 and finds that there are sufficient margins in the cooling to permit operations in temperatures of ISAplus 25 °C without the need for further testing and the Department will dear this aircraft for operations under these conditions." Some 22 P. 166shave now been sold. In evidence to the CAB, United Air Lines make it clear that theywill not proceed with the proposed merger with Capital if, as is being suggested by protesting US carriers, major parts of Capital's routesystem are removed. Also, in evidence to the CAB, Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) say that their foreclosure suit against Capital will be pressedif the United-Capital merger falls through. United have asked the CAB for a decision by February 1. Following the recent announcement by Aer Lingus that they are tore-in'roduce their Dublin - Belfast service in December, BKS state that a Belfast - Dublin route is to be inaugurated in October with Ambas-sadors. Though BKS has operated Newcastle - Belfast and Newcastle - Dublin Ambassador services, hitherto no local traffic has been carriedbetween the two Irish capitals. When Cork Airport opens next May, BKS will operate from Newcastle and Leeds/Bradford to Cork as wellas to Belfast and Dublin. "Bigger, bolder and easier to read and understand" is BOAC's descrip-tion cf a "completely replanned" new timetable just issued. It has an entirely new form of presentation. As we go to press it is reported that an Austrian Airlines' Viscount ona flight from Vienna crashed near Moscow on September 26. Of the 31 passengers and six crew on board thirty were killed. Just published is the third edition of the ABC-series booklet onLondon Airport. Attractively illustrated, it describes the facilities and the aircraft that use the airport. Published by Ian Allan, it is availablefrom Craven House, Hampton Court, Surrey, price 2s 6d. The "special task force" recently formed by IATA to speed up thehandling of passengers and cargo at airports, and entitled Ground Handling Advisory Group, will have as its chairman Mr E. P. Whitfield,BEA's traffic director. Vice-chairman is Mr J. A. Clay of TWA, and secretary is Mr V. H. King of IATA's technical liaison office in London. The talks between the Japanese and British civil aviation authoritiesfinished in London on September 22 with "full agreement on all matters discussed." The talks included JAL's plans to fly from Tokyo toLondon over the Pole and via India, and BOAC's plans to expand round-the-world services via the Pacific and the eastern routes. From October 20 BOAC 707s are to serve San Francisco. Therewill be two flights a week and there will be an additional once-weekly Britannia service between London and San Francisco. Britannias willcontinue to operate for the time being on to Tokyo and Hong Kong, a twice-weekly service. However, following the UK-Japanese air agree-ment talks in London (see brevity above) 707s will replace Britannias on the San Francisco - Tokyo - Hong Kong route on December 8—thus inaugurating BOAC's round-the-world service by pure jet, the 707s connecting in Hong Kong and Tokyo with "eastabout" Comet 4sfrom London.
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