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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0281.PDF
285FLIGHT, 3 March 1961 "The vexed topic of weither . . . the value of o design with low approach speeds and consequent low minima . . ." Guernsey Airways and of Isle of Man Air Services, and theyincluded the socially essential routes of Allied Airways and Scottish Airways: — Jersey Airways I Guernsey Airways Allied Airways Scottish Airways I.O.M. RailwayAir Services Air Services BEA All these services have multiplied out of recognition since theywere merged to form the network of BEA. But the most significant routes were those of Railway Air Services, which connected theprovincial capitals of the British Isles, and which are now known as the domestic trunk routes. When BEA took them over in 1947,they were operated with 18-seat war-surplus Dakotas, together with an odd Junkers Ju52 thrown in for good measure. By 1951some slow progress had been made. The routes were now operated by 28-seat Dakotas, and 27-seat Vikings. They were planned tocontinue development with modified 32-seat Pionairs and 36-seat Vikings and then to be intensified with 49-seat Elizabethans. But at about this time the Chancellor sprang one of his lessdelightful surprises, by increasing the excise duty on aviation petroleum from 9d a gallon in March 1950 to 2s 6d by March1952. This was a body-blow that set back the development of internal services by many years. No longer was it possible toforesee a break-even position on these routes whilst existing equip- ment was in use. The only aircraft that could offer reasonablecosts per capacity ton-mile were the coming generation of Vis- counts, their paraffin fuel not being subject to tax. So the decision was made to order turboprop aircraft forexpansion of the domestic trunk services. To begin with, it was the Viscount 701 that was chosen, but the choice was altered to themore economical 802, which was to be delivered with 54 seats. Looked at as a high-density aircraft, available at night for all-freight services and by day for the tourist passenger, this machine was destined for the short-haul, high-intensity routes to suchdestinations as Paris, Brussels, Belfast, Dusseldorf and Glasgow. But again the growth of the air-travel market was dependent onlow fares, so the order of the day was low seat-mile costs. This meant that by the time the V.802 was finally delivered and intro-duced into service in 1957 it had grown up into a 59-seater, with provision for 66 seats at the lowest reasonable pitch. By theremoval of pantry equipment the capacity could be further increased to 72 seats. Here at last was the vehicle that could work the domestic trunkroutes at an economical fare. No longer was it necessary to restrict "Next, the study of surface traffic involved port and station counts, and these quickly revealed that the available existing load was really beyond the capacity of Viscounts" their growth by the artificial limitation of the high fares required toensure that operating losses did not get out of hand. Now the problem was to match widi the required capacity the number ofaircraft allocated to the routes. And here was the trickiest part of forecasting. To what extent would the existing average travellermove over to the air? How would the surface carriers retaliate? And what new business would be enticed that had not previouslyconsidered air travel worth while? First, the business traveller was considered. He wanted to beable to leave his home in die morning, fly to the far point, do his day's business and return in the evening. He demanded a goodquality of service with a degree of prestige to suit his standing. For him, the first-class service was essential. Before the days ofmixed-class aircraft, morning and evening services were first class, with all the other services throughout the day providing thesimpler fare required by the tourist-class traveller. Here was the pattern of the service that would be provided with additionalaircraft fitted into the integration as the traffic increased. Next, the study of surface traffic involved port and station traffic counts,and these quickly revealed that the available existing load was really beyond the capacity of Viscounts. They were altogether toosmall to carry the potential without there being far too many air- craft movements. So there seemed to be great merit in a large,economic passenger-carrying vehicle which would be available in the early sixties. There was no need for the ultimate in sophistica-tion : what was wanted, rather, was a dependable and proven type with short-field characteristics, giving low approach speeds andpermitting regularity of a high order in bad weather. Here, then, was the requirement. But already such a vehicle wasbeing considered for BEA. The Vickers Vanguard is a 400 m.p.h.- plus transport seating 95 passengers with provision for goodfreight loads at times when passenger traffic is low. By 1957, as already mentioned, it had been realized that the original conceptionof the Vanguard operating the more competitive continental routes had been superseded. But re-working the layout to 114 mixed-class seats meant that it was the right aircraft for the domestic trunk routes. No longer need it be integrated with continentalservices; it could offer prospects as good as those of the jets on the domestic trunks.Checks of the theoretical cost per seat-mile when compared with the existing Viscounts showed lower figures. This is indicatedin the table of today's actual Viscount and estimated Vanguard tourist-seat costs, from which it can be seen that the Vanguard isin the same cost band as, but cheaper than, Viscounts with maximum seating. Broadly, the 200-mile range may be said torepresent Manchester, and the 350-mile range Glasgow, Edin- burgh and Belfast, with Dublin falling in between. Experienceleads us to hope that the costs estimated for the Vanguard will be reduced when actual figures become available. TOTAL CQSTS PER SEAT-MILE (pence) Viscount 200 701 sixty-three seats 3.7 802 seventy-two seats 9 Vanguard951 one hundred and thirty-eight seats 3.6 953 one hundred and thirty-eight seats 8 *Excludes any allowance for freight capacity of four and half tons. Mi lei 350 3.1 3.1 2.9 3.1* The table is worked on a 2,000hr annual utilization. One-fifth ofthe hourly costs are aircraft standing charges and we must plan with the knowledge that any improvement in the assumed utiliza-tion will trim down the costs. This means quick turn-rounds, and here again the Vanguard has the necessary potential. The twoholds, under the floor of the main passenger cabin, are of just over 1,200 cu ft total capacity. A system of baggage-containing palletshas been installed in a BEA Vanguard, and with the experience obtained from this experiment it is intended to install a provedsystem in the Vanguard fleet. The value of this plan can be seen when it is realized that fifteen minutes are saved on every turn-round on a day's flying. Such integration on the Glasgow route means that nine instead of eight sectors can be flown, a one-eighthincrease resulting in a two-and-a-half per cent decrease in hourly operating costs. In fact, the turn-round problem may soon be
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