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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0256.PDF
258 FLIGHT24 February 1961 Just after sunset on Thursday, February 76, MEA's second Comet AC, OD-ADQ, arrived at the airline's base at Beirut Airport, Lebanon. It was flown by Capt Hornall of MEA and by John Cunningham of de Havilland, who is assisting with crew training. Much praised is the grey and dark red interior, designed by 24-year-old Sovine Khatib (right), a Lebanese interior designer Middle East Melting-pot THERE are bright hopes for the sale of more Comets in theMiddle East. Sheikh Najib Alamuddin, chairman of Middle East Airlines, may exercise his option on a fifth aircraft for MEA.The option has repeatedly been extended and may be taken up "for use by a combination of MEA and another BOAC associatecompany." The purchase would presumably be made on similar terms to those now in force—two and a half per cent deposit, madeby MEA, and the balance of payments over five years, guaranteed by BOAC. Another potential customer is Iraqi Airways; Saudi ArabianAirlines is another. The latter operator has contracted its man- agement to TWA, but this contract may be replaced perhaps byone secured by an Arab airline, possibly MEA or Misrair, both of which operate Comet 4Cs. Other airlines which might buy Cometsare THY, in which BOAC holds six per cent, and Iranair. BOAC-AC and MEA are now "in perfect agreement," SheikhAlamuddin said in Beirut last week, and he added that "I would like to see as many Comets in the Middle East as possible. Wehope to use those that we have for ten years." His reason for wanting to see airlines in the Middle Eaststandardize on Comets was the technical assistance and main- tenance facilities that are now available throughout the area.BOAC and BEA spares pools were also a considerable potential asset to any prospective operator. The problem in the MiddleEast was one of low-density traffic; the Comet might be 10-12 per cent more expensive to operate per seat-mile than the Convair 880or Boeing 720, but it was the right size and on cost per plane-mile it was cheaper. No Iraqi decision about Comets can be expected until theairline leaves Iraqi Railways and becomes a separate company on April 1. Several re-equipment studies have been made in Iraq.Of two committees set up to decide upon a new aircraft, the first considered the Comet, Boeing 720, Convair 800 and Tu-104. Butthey were unable to reach a decision and decided to recommend a turboprop. This was said to have been done so that a choicecould be made between the Vanguard, Electra and 11-18—the latter standing up much better amone its competitors than did theTu-104 to the British or US jets. KLM, who were called in as impartial advisers by the second committee, recommended Iraqito buy Comets. Opinion in Beirut is that this airline only requires a period of stability to be able finally to make up its mind to placea Comet order, possibly for three aircraft. The airline on which MEA's own plans for a fifth aircraftdepend could be Kuwait Airways. Managed by BOAC since 1958, this airline is owned by Government and local interests in Kuwait,but a profit is guaranteed by BOAC Associated Companies. Kuwait has an affinity towards the Lebanon, and towards MEA, who maypossibly take over from BOAC the management contract and operate a Comet on Kuwait Airways behalf. This would giveMEA a useful toehold in oil-rich Libya, and valuable traffic rights on the service Beirut - Tripoli - London. THE two news items under this common heading follow the visit of astaff member to Middle East Airlines in Beirut. Out of the present fluid situation may come more orders for Comets and eventually—if Arabdreams are fulfilled—a Pan-Arab airline. ]>JO Middle East airline question is so controversial as the-L" Pan-Arab Airline proposal. As long ago as September 1959, Sheikh Najib said of Air Arab, as then it was called: "It is boundto come, and we shall be included." Much more recently Col Nasser Aljanbi, director of Iraqi Airways, is reported to have beenurged by Gen Kassem, Iraq's prime minister, to "support any Arab proposal even if it may injure the interests of Iraq." An Arabairline study group is to meet in Baghdad on March 26. Yet how strongly MEA—or any other Arab airline—believesthat such an airline grouping could really be achieved is hard to gauge, since a Pan-Arab airline must depend upon a degree ofpolitical agreement and stability that the Middle East has not often achieved. Admitting that political and economic difficulties lie in the way,MEA's chairman said in Beirut last week that "a Pan-Arab airline is going to be a reality." It was logical that common culturesshould get together, and although Pan-Arab could not come about until these difficulties were settled, agreement was only a matter oftime. At present, Arab states' bilateral agreements were negotiated individually; the Sheikh looked forward to a time when they wereobtained on a bloc basis. He thought that pooling and technical agreements were the key to integration. MEA had a technical poolwith UAA in Cairo, they were negotiating a pool with Iraq, and hoped to move closer to Kuwait Airways and Gulf Aviation. ButMEA was also worried about some 22 Comet and two Viscount flights a week through Athens which, operated by the BEA con-sortium of BEA, Olympic and Cyprus Airways, fan out across the Middle East. Although these arrangements have been agreed by the chairmenof the two corporations, MEA regard this as the sort of competition which should not occur in view of the association of Arab airlineswith BOAC. "We cannot fight BEA," he said, "without affecting relations with BOAC also." The problem facing BOAC, it seems, is to decide to what extentAssociated Companies should attempt to hasten Pan-Arab by building-up MEA and by supporting other Middle East airlines.There is a risk either that the Arab airline idea would remain a dream, or that Pan-Arab would be led, in spite of BOAC-ACeffort, by UAA, in which BOAC has no share. UAA now comprises Misrair and Syrian Airways; three DC-6Bs have recently beenpurchased to supplement its six Comets, and new routes are to be announced. Sheikh Alamuddin believes that a unified Arab airline wouldhave to join a major airline group to obtain reciprocal benefits, and that there is nothing to stop a close association between thecorporation and an Arab airline. "Our sincere wish," he said, "is that we develop into Pan-Arab with BOAC." MILWARD ON AMERICA AT London Airport last Saturday Mr Anthony Milward, chief•**• executive of BEA, talked to the Press on his return from a three-week visit to the United States. The amount of money the Americans were spending on theirairports was, he said, "absolutely fabulous." They were building enormous new car parks; this was a major source of revenue—hethought about one third—and it was the way the Americans made their airports pay. He confirmed that BEA would like their ownterminal at London Airport Central. It would cost at least £1 million, and it would be on the north-east face. The Ministryhad agreed that the building was necessary (a new passenger terminal in this location had been recommended by the Millbourncommittee in 1957) and he thought that it would increase the airport's terminal capacity to the point at which this would roughlymatch runway capacity. He preferred the finger-and-gate system: though he had not seen Washington, "I don't like the mobilelounge idea very much because you can't trickle-load the aircraft. He had been to Boeing to see the 727, and "they came out with
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