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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 2208.PDF
560 FLIGHT, 7 October 1960 AIR COMMERCE ... ! " ' x- ' ' 'This Is Skycoach" (cont. from page 559) Connoisseurs of complex scheduling and pool-accountancyproblems may note that, of 26 return Skycoach services operated per year to East Africa, 13 will be flown nominally by EAA,though physically by BUA Viscounts, and 13 by the UK operators —seven by BUA Viscounts and six by BOAC Britannias. ToCentral Africa there will be 39 Skycoach return services, of which 19 will be flown nominally by CAA, though physically 13 will beoperated by BUA Viscounts and six by BOAC Britaanias; the other 20 Central African services will be flown by the UK airlines—seven by BOAC Britannias and 13 by BUA Viscounts, seven on behalf of BOAC (see footnote). Skycoach fares do not apply to the Union of South Africa, whichis not UK cabotage territory. But special low IATA fares, applic- able October 1-March 31, are available between Europe and theUnion. Valid for 90 days, and with stopover facilities at any point en route, they are 16 per cent less than the new return economyfares (£230 compared with £274). Whilst Africa is British United's sphere of influence, the mid-Atlantic is Cunard Eagle's sphere. Next Monday, October 10, a 113-seat Britannia 310 of Cunard Eagle will inaugurate the firstscheduled Skycoach service to Bermuda and Nassau. Six such services per year will be operated alternately by Cunard Eagleand by BOAC. In addition, first-class and economy-class services, also by Britannia 310s in each case, will be operated by each airline.Cunard Eagle, starting on October 15, will operate fortnightly to Bermuda and the Bahamas until the end of the year, and weeklythereafter. All operations will be in pool, revenues probably being shared on a pro rata basis, i.e., relative to the amount ofcapacity actually operated. The precise terms of the pool agree- ment were still being negotiated by BOAC and Cunard Eagleas this article went to press. Two points of particular interest emerge: first, the Skycoachfare to Bermuda, originally set at £153 return, has been reduced to £130. This considerable reduction is believed to have resultedfrom low-fare pressures by the authorities in the two Colonies, whose flags Cunard Eagle flies. And it is relevant here that sincelast January, Cunard Eagle have been operating special low-fare services, with a roughly twice-monthly frequency, at fares of £124return to Bermuda and £155 return to Nassau. The second point is that, for the first time, a "through-plane"connection from London to Miami is now available, because the The new Skycoach fares make it possible tor the I AT A fare structure to be undermined, and pas- sengers have to fill in the form illustrated here —a certificate of British residential qualifications. Similar forms are issued by BOAC, Cunard Eagle, EAA and CAA BRITISH CfcRTOTCATt; hereby certify ibat 1 am restdint in. rnti • below, »od thAt my )curnt> dns> m>t i ADEN (COUMO & PnorwiORAisi *MJ KAMARAN ISIANO BfeHMUDA BWITSH OlIIANA DKITISH HOMHIRA^ HKl'NU Hnu, KOM. KtNYA (COtUNV (i Pm.tlUlt'KMM NOMIH Bo«Nfctl Signature c/FaaeHgtr UNITED AIRWAYS OF RESIDENTIAL Ql'AUHCAHON if IBI tfaveURI from, one of the tomtoms to aaotlicr ir i anv war form pin of x farther journey u «t i,, ^ED«^^ATXJN OF RflOWsj* A . .SARAWAK SINGAPORE 'IRUJT TEIUUTORV OP TAXU*- I UMTCD KINGDOM OF GIUAT H AND NOKTOEIW IRELAND (Official ffarap of Airline Ofhn or Tniv.1 Agency) fSi Cunard Eagle Britannia first- and economy-class services to Nassau will be extended to Miami (a route on which, incidentally, Cunard Eagle are already operating a four-times daily Viscount service). These new British Skycoach services, like the old Colonial- coach operations that they now replace and extend, will create a fresh market for Britain's airlines and may eventually influence the international fare structure. At present frequency is very low, and all passengers have to sign a form saying that they have British residential qualifications, so as not to undermine the IATA fare structure—though, as someone has pointed out, the British airlines cannot be responsible for any non-British passenger per- juring himself in order to take advantage of the new low fares. Footnote: BALPA say that the independent [British United Airways]pilots who will be operating the new low-fare Skycoach services will be carrying out their duties "under a sense of gross injustice." This,says BALPA, is because they will be operating services on behalf of the corporations whose pilots operating similar services are paid athird more than independent pilots. BALPA says that it has been striving to obtain the same rates of pay "for all pilots who fly the sametype of aircraft and is still continuing in its fight to do this." UP GO THE FEESA S expected, UK landing fees are to go up again—as from nextApril. The increases amount to about one-third and are viewed with unanimous dismay by the corporations, independentsand foreign airlines alike. BEA, for example, say bluntly that they may now have to reconsider their plans for lower fares. The increases, say the Ministry, "will substantially reduce thedeficit [£6.4 million in 1958-59] arising from the provision of these airports and their facilities."The airlines have protested vehemently, their main argument being that there is plenty of scope for reducing the cost of runningBritain's airports—which is the other way in which the Ministry can "substantially reduce the deficit." Pertinent references hereare the Second Report from the Committee of Public Accounts, Session 1959-60 (HMSO, price 2s), and Chapter 13, "TowardsAirport Solvency" in Wings Over Westminster (published by the Bow Group, 22 St Giles High Street, London WC2, price 8s). Precise details of the increases, which average 33 per cent, arenot yet known: present landing fees (which are themselves increases introduced in June 1957) are: (1) aircraft not exceeding21,0001b, 6s per 1,0001b; (2) 21-26,0001b, £6 6s; (3) 26-200,0001b, £6 6s plus 5s 9d per each 1,0001b exceeding 26,0001b; (4) over200,0001b, £56 6s plus 6s 6d per each 1,0001b exceeding 200,0001b. There are very-short-haul rebates for internal British Isles flights,of 55-80 per cent for flights not exceeding, respectively, 115 and 45 st miles. And there are surcharges for aircraft of more than40,0001b bound for destinations outside (broadly speaking) Europe of 100 per cent minus £5 for aircraft of 40,000-80,0001b, and100 per cent minus £3 for aircraft exceeding 80,0001b. The UK passenger service charge of 7s 6d for internationalflights, which was introduced in May 1952, is rumoured to be going up to 10s. In addition, UK internal flights are to bear apassenger service charge for the first time. This charge, it is reported, will be 3s 6d. PUTTING A PREMIUM ON JETS 1AST week, a month or so before the fatality-free second anni--' versary of big-jet operations, the International Union of Aviation Insurers had their annual meeting at Taormina, Sicily.Their mood might well be summed up as: "There have been no big-jet passenger fatalities yet, but let's wait and see what thewinter brings." There is a hint—no more—in the address of Mr Alan Hunterof British Aviation Insurance that premiums may come down "if winter results show that the present encouraging trend is beingmaintained." Certainly the aviation underwriters have been losing a consider-able amount of business due, in IATA's words, to "steeply rising premiums," which are driving more and more airlines to self-insurance policies. Among the speakers at the insurers' a.g.m. were Mr R. E.Hardingham of the ARB and R. H. Jennens of British Aviation Insurance. Mr D. H. F. Graves, general secretary of the insurers'union, introduced a paper by M. Hurel about the implications of supersonic operations. An architect's model of the new permanent BEA west London air terminal. Due to be in operation in 1963, it will replace the existing temporary accommodation. It has been designed by the London firm of Sir John Burnet, Tait & Partners
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