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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0048.PDF
46 "The walls are decor- ated with a mottled pattern representative of an Irish stonewall." The passengers are the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Bristol A GREAT DAY FOR THE IRISH . . . Boeing 720s is that the bulk of the 117 seats are economy-class,only 16 being available to first-class passengers. This configura- tion reflects the nature of the business for which the 720s havebeen purchased—the attraction of large numbers of American tourists to Ireland en route to other places in Europe. The airlineis now well equipped to cater both for transatlantic travellers to Shannon and Dublin—for whom the fast 720s should have aspecial appeal—and for those travelling on from Dublin to various destinations in Europe. By the same token, the airline is activelycampaigning for new first-class hotels in Ireland and for good conference facilities in Dublin as promotional aids for sellingtravel. In his study Irish Airlines, the Irish economist GarretFitzGerald suggests that the Aer Lingus - Irish International transatlantic operation has advantages which make it uniqueamong the North Atlantic jet coterie. In the first place, from Dublin the airline can offer a wider range of direct routings toplaces in Europe than can any other transatlantic airline. This derives from Ireland's position on the north-western edge of theEuropean continent. Unlike other European airlines, which have their transatlantic termini further east, Aer Lingus has no occasionto "back haul" passengers from North America to their final destinations at the western edge of the European continent. Also,while the "beyond" rights to European countries of the two US transatlantic airlines are restricted, Aer Lingus "has a right ofaccess to all of them and has exercised the right in nearly every case." At present only about ten per cent of American touristsen route to Europe stop-off in Ireland. Increasing that number is the raison d'etre of the jet fleet. Another advantage claimed for the Irish airline in developingits transatlantic jet operation is its continued low level of overhead costs (see Flight, November 11 and 25, 1960) and the lowoperating costs per aircraft mile of the Boeing 720. By taking advantage of their favourable geographic position, Aer Lingushave been able to purchase for Atlantic operation the smallest, lightest and lowest-first-cost aircraft in theBoeing family. ^ ., v ,But it is doubt about the wisdom of this action—the query that exists aboutthe capability of the essentially medium- haul 720 as an Atlantic all-the-year-rounder—that has given rise to one of the controversies that surrounds thisservice. Against this must be set the advan- tage that in future years the companyshould gain from having available jets of a type suitable for service within Europe.Another controversy concerns the specu- lative nature of Ireland's investment in afleet of three aircraft, a further two of which have been placed on option. For aprofitable return to be shown on this £6m purchase not only must traffic betweenNorth America and Ireland continue to increase, but Aer Lingus must wrest anincreasingly greater share of it from its well-entrenched transatlantic competitors.It has also been aueried in Ireland—not for the first time—if there are not more pro-fitable and socially urgent lines of Govern- ment investment than in air transport. In placing an order for three Boeing720s for the Atlantic service the assump- To be delivered this month is the second of the 720 fleet "Brighid," seen here at Renton, Washington. The third aircraft will be delivered towards the end of February FLIGHT, 13 January 1961 tion was made that Aer Lingus transatlantic passenger trafficwould rise from 13,380 in 1958-59 to 42,500 in 1961-62, the latter figure being that required for the jet service to break-even in its first full financial year. In the first year of opera- tions (with Super Constellations chartered from Seaboard andWestern) a better-than-forecast figure of 14,176 passengers was carried. The following year, however, when it was hoped thatseats would be bought by 25,000 passengers, numbers travelling both by air and by sea fell off, partly owing to a decline inemigration to North America. This gave the airline cause for concern; total passengers carried during the year was about 21,500,so that the already substantial task for 1960-61 was increased. It meant, in effect, that the estimate of 27,000 transatlanticpassengers had to be revised to make up for the deficit of the previous year. The passenger increase required was about 40per cent and in the summer of 1960 Aer Lingus - Irish Inter- national was the only remaining airline operating transatlanticscheduled services with piston-engined equipment. Great efforts by the airline's commercial department resulted in22,800 seats being sold in the first six months of the 1960-61 financial year, and there is a firm prospect of the target figureof 30,500 being reached over the twelve months. Against this background of achievement, the aim to increase passenger trafficby another 40 per cent in 1961-62 on the new jet routes between Ireland and New York and Boston does not appear impossible.Even so, the task is formidable. Great strides have also to be made in freight uplift, since theBoeings have two-and-a-half times the freight capacity of the Super Constellations which they replace. (The contract withSeaboard ended at the end of the year.) Relatively little trans- atlantic freight originates in Ireland, and it is from England andfrom Continental sources that an increased force of Aer Lingus representatives are seeking fresh business for their westboundflights. A peculiar difficulty is that this freight has all to be trans-shipped at Shannon, a disadvantage that would be cripplingwere it not for the lack of Customs at this duty-free port. In some countries the arrival of a new type of aircraft causes nomore than a ripple of national interest, but enthusiasm for the first 720 has even surprised Aer Lingus. Any doubts that there mayhave been about the economic wisdom of Ireland's expensive purchase appear to have been dispelled by the aircraft's arrival;the subsequent inaugural flight was exuberant indeed. This solid national support is greatly in Aer Lingus' favour, thepresent Prime Minister of Ireland, Mr Sean Lemass, having been godfather to the airline when he was Minister for Industry andCommerce; he has encouraged and nurtured it over the years. Such an uplift to already good morale has been given by theBoeing service that the economic burden of its introduction cannot easily be weighed. The effort made last year has shown that thebreak-even traffic target is not so far out of reach as might be supposed; and if traffic can next year be increased to 50,000passengers annually Aer Lingus should show an operating surplus. The problem is going to be for the airline to maintain its lowcost-levels; if these are allowed to slip, that Atlantic break-even target could be very elusive. A. T. P.
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