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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1382.PDF
486 AIR COMMERCE Dr Guido Mancini (left), general manager of Itavia, is seen here with Mr E. Manley Walker, managing director of Handley Page, after the signing of a contract for two Herald 200s. A further note on the sale, recorded last week, appears below FLIGHT, 21 September 196 ability to reduce its cost level by 10 per cent. This was primariibecause the airline managed to push up its capacity by 38 per cer over a period during which it reduced its work-force by two per cento 10,500. This remarkable achievement was partly due to the cut ting back of Congo native personnel, plus a tight control on othestaff, and partly due to the high productivity of the Boeing 707> In the current year the number of staff has again been on the increas—up to 11,000 by the mid-year—and so any continued cost redui tion must depend primarily on the full utilization of the Boeinand Caravelle fleets. This cost reduction is vital if Sabena's financi;. position is to improve, for it would seem that a cost level of ove30 pence per c.t.m. will not allow profitable operation on Sabena network over the next few years. It is probably for this reason that the problem of fleet utilizatiois given prominence in Sabena's latest report. Air Union wouL help in this respect but the report expresses some doubt as to whethethis scheme is likely to see the light of day. In the meanwhil Sabena is extending its sphere by operating services on behalf cfPersian Air Services and Aviaco (to the Canary Isles). However these arrangements seem insignificant when viewed against a grow-ing background of restrictionism in air transport which makes it increasingly more difficult for "have-not" countries such as Belgiumto negotiate satisfactory traffic rights. ITAVIA AND THE HERALD A DDITIONAL details are now available of Itavia's order for/\ two Handley Page Herald 200s, with a third on option, reported in last week's issue. Delivery dates for these aircraft areJanuary and February 1963. Dr Mancini, the general manager of Itavia, in a statement after the contract had been signed, gavereasons for Itavia choosing the Herald in preference to similar types. He said that his company had conducted extensive researchwork into replacement aircraft for the six Herons (four of which have now been sold) at present operated by Itavia. The airlinefound that the Herald offered the best proposition from the point of economics and passenger appeal. Results showed that over thecompany's route the break-even load factor of the Herald was as little as 37 per cent. Dr Mancini stated that his company mayeventually operate five Heralds. Mr E. Manley Walker, managing director of Handley Page,thanked Travelair Ltd, the aircraft sales agents of London, for being instrumental in effecting the sale. POST CONGO BLUES A YEAR ago it looked as if Sabena might experience a reductionin traffic for the second year running. Yet the recently published annual report for 1960 shows that the airline's trafficjumped up by as much as 45 per cent. The paradox of this is that it was the Congo crisis—the very factor which threatened todiminish Sabena's business—which accounted for this extraordinary expansion. The brief facts were that in July Sabena was for threeweeks galvanized into the emergency operation of evacuating over 34,000 fugitives from the Congo back to the homeland. Excludingthis non-scheduled operation, Sabena's traffic showed a moderate increase of 15 per cent. Although the crisis brought Sabena an unexpected flow of busi-ness, it did little to help the airline's strained financial resources. Despite an increase in revenues of over one-third to the equivalentof £31m, the year's accounts showed a £lm deficit. This is all the more remarkable in view of the airline's improved load factor(73 per cent as against 70 per cent in 1959). The simple fact is that Sabena's costs are still too high to allowprofits to be made out of the lowly rated traffic which predominates on the Sabena network. Nor are the prospects bright, for an end isin sight to the high load factors which have recently been a factor in containing the airline's deficit. These high load factors havereflected the near-monopoly situation which Sabena has enjoyed on its services to and in the Congo; on these routes, which accountedfor almost one-half of Sabena's traffic, load factors averaged almost 80 per cent. This impending trend towards lower load factors isevident from the 1960 accounts which show a reduction from 70 to 67 per cent on scheduled services, this being because Sabena'sscheduled growth was concentrated in the highly competitive North American and European markets where load factors arevery much lower than in Africa. That the overall load factor did not decline in 1960 was only due to the remarkable volume ofemergency charter business which in one year sprang from being less than one-tenth to becoming one-quarter of Sabena's total traffic. The swing to more competitive markets also saw a slight reduc-tion in Sabena's average revenue rates on scheduled services from 54 to 53 pence per l.t.m. In this case, the Congo airlift had a detri-mental effect on the expansion of low-rated non-scheduled business, and pulled down the overall revenue rate by 6 per cent from 52 to49 pence per l.t.m. Another factor which also exerted a depressing effect on Sabena's revenue rates was the reduction in mail trafficwhich resulted from the political changes in the Congo. Undoubtedly the most encouraging aspect of 1960 was Sabena's SKYCOACH FARES CUT SKYCOACH fares offered to British residents by BOAC andCunard Eagle between the UK and Bermuda and theCaribbean are to be reduced, subject to ATLB approval, for the winter months October 1-March 31. Without the reductions arather absurd situation would have arisen; two of these colonial cabotage fares, those to Bermuda and the Bahamas, would havebeen higher than the special 17-day excursion economy fares applicable from October 1 to March 31. The proposed reductionsto the other points, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad—to which no 17-day winter excursion fares are applicable—have been madeto conform with the reductions to Bermuda and Nassau. UK to: Present Skycoachreturn fare New Skycoachreturn fare Economy-class 17-day return winter fare BermudaNassau Kingscon/M'Bay Barbados Trinidad £130£162 £176 £187 £198 0s 0s 8s 4s 0s £114£152 £160 £171 £178 6s 18s 4s 0s 4s £114 £152 6s 18s Skycoach services to British colonial points began on October 1.1960, operated by BOAC, Cunard Eagle and British United (Flight. October 7, 1960, pages 559 and 560). They were introduced, it willbe recalled, as the result of a BOAC challenge to IATA two years ago, when the corporation—publicly backed by the then Minister—said in so many words: "Agree to the extension of economy fares or we will exercise our right to go it alone with low fares on ourcolonial cabotage routes." In the event, a compromise led to reduced IATA fares and the introduction of low-frequency Sky-coach services by the British operators. According to BOAC's 1960-61 report, Skycoach services have"so far engendered a limited public response." The new reductions may increase Skycoach business in the areas concerned, althoughmany passengers to Bermuda and the Bahamas may be attracted during the coming winter months by the comparable 17-da>economy excursion fares, which include a meal (for which Skycoach passengers pay 7s 6d) and offer a better baggage allowance. Ofcourse, Skycoach passengers are not limited to a 17-day stay, and furthermore it is proposed that they be allowed to make one panof their trip outside the October 1-March 31 period by availing themselves of one half of the new Skycoach winter return fare. Though perhaps not, from the taste viewpoint, everyone's cup of China tea, this interior of Civil Air Transport's one and only Convair 880-M is certain to satisfy the needs of comfort. Promoted as the Mandarin Jet, the aircraft links Formosa with Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok and Seoul
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