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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0465.PDF
j FLIGHT, 13 April 1961 473 I WORLD AIRLINES SURVEY . . . Britain's New Board . . . passengers from A to B, the operator does not have to apply to theBoard for a licence unless—generally speaking—the freight belongs to someone other than the charterer, or if the passengers payseparate fares. The question of separate fares is obviously important, becausecharter services available to the general public undermine scheduled services. Members of the public who buy "packaged holidays" from travelagents, usually by answering advertisements, are buying so-called inclusive tours; these are easily classified and of course have to belicensed (Licence B). Inclusive tours have become more like scheduled services; indeed a member of the public can buy aninclusive tour from a travel agent and find himself flying on a regular scheduled service (when he becomes known in airline jargon as anITX fare). But more difficult to define are the so-called group charters, whichhave encroached increasingly into the field of scheduled services. A group charter is, or should be, a charter operated on behalf of abona fide group, such as the Vintage Sports Car Club, Wasps Football Club, etc, etc. These would be genuine groups with acommon interest in making a particular journey, and a licensing system has to recognise the right of such groups to avail themselvesof special charter rates for flying from A to B, whether each member of the group pays a separate fare or not. In the past the law hasbeen rather vague about the definition of a group, and members of the public have been able to buy air transport at cut rates by joiningbogus clubs such as (to make one up on the spur of the moment) the World Federation of Air Travellers. Very large numbers of people have availed themselves of cheap airtravel by joining bogus clubs, and regular air transport has been undermined (one regular operator is on record as having said:"Any member of the public with brown eyes seems to be eligible for a group charter"). Group charters are carefully defined in the Regulations supple-menting the new Act, and the Board has to take account of three categories—A, B and C. Briefly, charters in group A are groupssupported by voluntary contributions: category B are spontaneous groups; and category C are affinity groups. The whole aim of thesecareful definitions is to strike a reasonable balance between the public's right to avail itself of cheap air travel, and the airlines' rightnot to have their regular services undermined by charter operations. In what way does the "air operator's certificate" involve the Board? The Board has nothing at all to do with the air operator's certi-ficate, which is essentially a safety certificate issued by the Minister on the advice of his directorate of safety (in respect of operations)and the Air Registration Board (engineering and maintenance). The Board can grant an air service licence to an operator who doesnot have an air operator's certificate, but that operator cannot fly for hire or reward (whether he has an air service licence or not)unless he has an air operator's certificate. Bearing in mind that the members of the Board are not experts in theeconomics of air transport, to what extent does the Board's secretariat examine for itself the economic issues arising from applications?The Board has a secretariat of about 40 people, including a secretary, assistant secretary, and an economist. The remainder areresponsible for the considerable amount of clerical work involved in processing applications and objections, keeping records, and pub-lishing the Board's weekly bulletin Civil Aviation Licensing Notices*. There is no specialist staff (such as the US Civil Aeronautics BoardBureau of Air Operations) charged with analysing the economic implications of applications, and then advising the Board. It will beupon the arguments put by the parties to a case that the Board will make its decisions. This is likely to prove a weakness in the Board'sstructure. Can anyone attend a hearing? Yes, all meetings are in public unless (and this is likely to be rare)the Board shall decide otherwise. Notices of meetings are published in the Civil A viation Licensing Notices, and they take place at theBoard's offices. The fact that hearings are in public, and can be reported by the Press, is a refreshing change from the previouspractice of the Air Transport Advisory Council, which held all its hearings in secret. If somebody who is interested in a particular case cannot get along toa hearing, is it possible to get hold of a transcript? No; even though anybody can go along and make notes, and though all hearings are recorded (they have to be in case an appeal is lodged and the appeal commissioner wants to run through the * Available from the Secretary, Therese House, 29-30 Glasshouse Yard,Aldersgate Street, London, EC1. "Flight" photograph This is the room in which the future of British air transport will be deter- mined. It is on the ground floor of Therese House (near St Paul's), a new office block into which the Board's staff recently moved hearing), it is not possible to obtain transcripts of hearings unlessone of the parties to the case shall so require. This is such an absurd rule that the appropriate Regulation [10(15)] must sooneror later be altered. What sort of powers does the Board have to require applicants orobjectors to supply information about their activities? Quite extensive powers; in fact the Board may require any appli-cant or objector to provide "all such [relevant] information or documents in his possession or control." Furthermore, any otherparty to the case can examine the documents concerned unless these are recognised by the Board as being confidential (for example,pool agreements). For the first time, therefore, the independents will have to beprepared to supply full information about their traffic and finances (though there is some doubt, in view of the Companies Act, abouthow much financial information can be sought). Of course, it is one thing for the Board to have this information available, but it isnot likely to be made generally available to the industry or the public—as it should be. If the Board rejects an application, must it give its reasons? Yes, and a copy of these reasons must be made available ondemand to any person. The only case in which it need not say why an application has been rejected is when the Minister requires theBoard to reject an application on the grounds of "traffic-rights inexpediency" [Section 2(3) of the Act]. Can the Board direct BO AC or BEA to give a successful independentapplicant a slice of its traffic cake? Yes, it can. Supposing that the Board grants the application ofindependent XYZ Airways to operate a service to Strelsau, and assuming also that BEA's appeal is rejected, it will then be necessaryfor XYZ Airways to consider the United Kingdom - Ruritanian air agreement. If this is like most other air agreements between theUK and European countries, it will contain a clause limiting the capacity of the United Kingdom carrier or carriers. XYZ Airwayswill ask the Minister to apply for the necessary traffic rights to the Ruritanian civil aviation authorities, whose reply will inevitablybe: "Yes, of course, we will be delighted to grant XYZ Airways the necessary rights, but mind you XYZ Airways' capacity will have tocome out of BEA's share, otherwise Ruritanian Airways will be operating at a disadvantage." XYZ Airways will then ask BEA to pass them a slice of theRuritanian cake, which of course BEA will refuse to do. One of two things might then happen: either XYZ Airways will apply to theBoard for BEA's Ruritanian licence to be varied, or the Board will, under Regulation 6, give 21 days' notice of its intention—off its ownbat—to vary BEA's London-Strelsau licence by requiring the capacity offered to be reduced. There will then be another publichearing, and—if the decision again goes against BEA—an appeal. If the appeal is rejected then BEA will have to cut down frequencyon the Strelsau route whether they like it or not. The best thing that can be said of the Air Transport LicensingBoard is that both sides—corporations and independents—disagree about the effect each thinks it will have on its business. BOACand BEA fear that it may give too much of its business to the independents; the independents feel that it may do little more thanpreserve the status quo—BEA and BOAC predominance in British air transport. If this is what the two opposing factions feel about Britain's newBoard, then perhaps its constitution may not prove to be too bad.
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