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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1166.PDF
268 FLIGHT, 24 August 1961 AIR COMMERCE . . . OPENING UP EUROPEAN FREIGHT OVERALL reductions in freight rates of 40 and 50 per cent couldlead to increases in traffic of 120 and 200 per cent respectively.The competitive radius of air freight could be extended by these reductions to cover almost the whole of industrial Europe. Theseare two of the main conclusions of a new study, entitled "Air Freight and Anglo-European Trade," carried out for Hawker SiddeleyAviation by Dr Kenneth Sealy and P. C. L. Herdson of the London School of Economics, and which will be specially summarized bythe authors in future issues of Flight. The study was made possible by a research grant from the London School of Economics, and theauthors had the assistance of Mr A. H. Stratford and Mr J. F. R. Brown of the ATS Co Ltd, the market survey organization of theHawker Siddeley Group. The study reveals that, with reduced indirect costs such aspacking and insurance, air transport would be cheaper for the average British machinery consignment to Europe, even if air freightrates were up to 2\ times greater than surface rates. Rate reduc- tions are recommended for consignments over 500kg and for longerhauls. The study examines relative distribution costs of British exports to Europe by air and by surface transport; over 5,000representative consignments have been studied and distribution time has also been assessed. AMERICAN'S 727 ORDER THE recent American Airlines order for 25 Boeing 727 short-medium range jets will bring to 74 the total number of Boeing jets operated by this carrier. It seems incredible to find, on con-sulting Messrs Gill and Bates' classic study of US domestic airline competition, that less than 20 years ago—in May 1942—American'sentire route network was operated with a fleet of 74 Douglas DC-3s. That the same number of Boeing jets should be requiredto cater for current traffic is both an indication of how traffic has grown and a further pointer to the fact that the US domesticmarket is so big that US manufacturers can embark on major civil projects for that market without bothering themselves aboutinternational co-operation—a point brought forcibly home when de Havilland, over a year ago, was seeking co-operation withBoeing on the Trident. Already 117 Boeing 727s have been ordered since a firm go-ahead was given to the project only last December. American's $131.5m order for 727s was placed after those of Eastern, Unitedand Lufthansa—a change from American's traditional role as a sponsor of new airliners, a sponsorship which resulted in the DC-3,the DC-7 and the Electra, and a dominant role in several other well-known types. American's 727s will bring jet service to manycities which lack runways for the larger jets. Deliveries of Ameri- can's 727s are scheduled for 1964-65; in addition to its 74 Boeingjets (727s, 720/720Bs and 707-123Bs) American will also be oper- ating 25 Convair 990s. CHANNEL AIR BRIDGE A LTHOUGH Silver City pioneered short-haul vehicle ferry ser-/*. vices and may have been more firmly connected in the public mind with such services, it is Channel Air Bridge who will be thefirst to break out from the beach-head and thrust deep into the Continent. The Air Transport Licensing Board, with its now custo-mary speed of decision, has granted Channel Air Bridge licences for routes to Basle and Geneva—the first award of European scheduledservices the Board has so far made to an independent, and from that viewpoint something of an historical landmark. What sort of opposition are the Swiss Guard of the Bilaterallikely to put up ? Mr Douglas Whybrow, presenting his company's case to the Board, mentioned that the Swiss seem to be veryreceptive to the proposed services, and are prepared to welcome them. It is thought unlikely, in fact, that there will be any difficultiesover Swiss traffic rights—Switzerland's liberality being in strong contrast with French restrictionism, which has 'prevented ChannelAir Bridge making use of its British licences to operate vehicle ferry services to Lyons and Strasbourg. Mr Whybrow spoke ofthe unco-opsrative attitude of the French, who seemed to hold that motorists could either go across France by road, spendingmoney in French hotels and restaurants on the way, or make use of the car sleeper service of the French railways. The document produced in support of Channel Air Bridge'scase was a model of its kind, well illustrated with photographs and tables, and containing everything relevant to the case. Even BEA,the objectors (whose own standards of documentation and statis- tical information are of the highest order) welcomed the way inwhich the case had been presented. BEA's objection to the proposal to carry eight supplementary passengers and cargo was that ChannelAir Bridge might bs less successful than hoped and would then want to carry a greater proportion of unaccompanied passengers.BEA felt that advertising should be restricted and—ironically enough—that some curb might be put on the advertising of cheapfares by Channel Air Bridge. Passenger fares will be about £30 return and car rates vary from £7 to £26 10s. according to carlength. Five medium or six small cars, plus motor-cycles and 23 passengers, up to eight of whom would be supplementary, can becarried in the Carvairs which will begin operating to Basle and Geneva next year—though probably not before April 1. Not only was Channel Air Bridge's case well supported bydocumentary evidence, but the witnesses and their evidence were of a high calibre. The first witness was a member of the generalpublic—the first time, incidentally, that a member of the public has appeared as a witness before the Board to testify from his ownexperience a need for a particular service. The witness, a solicitor, said that he preferred to have his own car when travelling abroadbut wished to avoid the long drive across the Continent. He had tried the French railways' car sleeper service on one occasion, andthat had been enough for him. He thought that the type of service proposed would be warmly welcomed. The next witness was MrMaurice A. Smith, Editor of The Autocar and Editor-in-Chief of Flight. Mr Smith gave evidence that foreign touring was increasingyearly; the majority of people had only 15 days' holiday and pre- ferred not to drive on five of them. The present 50 m.p.h. weekendspsed limit restricted their range by road and many would welcome a facility enabling them to travel farther afield. Mr Smith expressedsurprise that other countries had not followed the British lead on cross-Channel ferries; this might have been due to lack of a suitableaircraft, and there could be some demand for the Carvair or a similar type. It was therefore important that the Carvair should begiven the chance to operate. Mr Smith said that he personally had always encountered difficulties in the shipping of freight toSwitzerland. Mr L. Meier, director of Airnautic AG (Channel Air Bridgegeneral freight agents in Switzerland), Mr H. Limer, a director of Duo-matic Machine Co, and Mr E. Adams of Burton ReproductionsLtd all gave evidence of the need for a direct freight service from the UK to Switzerland. While the first Carvair (left) continues flight testing prior to entering Channel Air Bridge service in November, three more DC-4s (right) are being converted by Aviation Traders at Stansted Airport, Essex. These aircraft, purchased from Resort Airlines of Oakland, California, were ferried across the Atlantic under British registrations and have now been stripped to receive the new Carvair nose and fin. Ten Carvairs have been ordered by Channel Air Bridge, the first to be delivered in October and the second in December. Two further aircraft will be delivered to the airline in April and June 1962. By August 16, the first Carvair had flown 67 hours. A note on CAB's successful applications for new routes appears above
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