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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 0161.PDF
FLIGHT International, I February 1962 163 First of five Boeing 707-320Bs for Pan American, and the first turbo- fan-powered Intercontinental, was recently rolled out at midnight from the Transport Division in Renton. Three operators in addition to PanAm—TWA, Lufthansa and Air France—have ordered 320Bs, all powered by P & W JT3D-3 turbofans. Three aircraft will participate in the FAA certification programme How Many will Fly Foreign? REPORT ON WHO WILL CARRY BRITISH TOURISTS THIS YEAR TO what extent will British airlines lose British holida> makers to European carriers this coming season? The demise of so many of the smaller British independents, who carried a great deal of this business last year, has suggested that foreign carriers may reap a rich harvest. But, as was remarked in a note on page 79 of our January 18 issue, and as is discussed in more detail in this special correspondent's article, this may not necessarily be the case. LJ OPES that the Civil Aviation Licensing Act would herald a •• really vigorous new policy for British air transport and an era of emancipation for British independents were soon dispelled. And yet the independent operators had little real justification for believing that their lot would be improved; the Act was essentially a masterly piece of Government buck-passing neither embodying, nor accompanied by, any declaration of policy which would help the Board to gear its deliberations to a long-term plan based on clearly indicated Government objectives, other than the broad instruction in Section 1 of the Act to "exercise their functions in such a manner as to further the development of British Civil Aviation." There was, however, one type of air transport on which many independents pinned their hopes, believing that they would get a fairly clear run with little effective opposition from the corporations —inclusive-tour travel by chartered aircraft. This had been largely developed by the independents and it had seemed that here was a field in which they would be permitted to reap where they had sown. The situation was affected by the introduction by BEA and European airlines of special fares (ITX), available only to agents, for the booking of inclusive-tour passengers on scheduled services. By the year ended March 31,1961, this ITX traffic on British aircraft had increased to such an extent that it exceeded by about 35 per cent the inclusive-tour charter (IT) traffic carried in aircraft of British registration to and from the Continent, and represented about 8.4 per cent of the total British air traffic over this region. It was a natural consequence that, at the public meetings of the Air Transport Licensing Board, the most consistent objectors to applications from British independents for licences to operate flights on behalf of tour organizers have been British European Airways. They have argued that the grant of such licences would inevitably result in material diversion of traffic from their scheduled services, on most of which ITX fares are available, and so would not further the development of British civil aviation. Other British operators of scheduled services have made similar objections when they have considered their routes to be threatened. From time to time applicants for licences have countered with the argument that the refusal of a licence, far from preserving the traffic for BEA, would result in the tour organizers accepting the offers of foreign carriers to provide the transportation at charter rates comparable to those available from British independents and cheaper than the corresponding ITX fares. Thus the diversion of traffic which would result from the refusal of a licence would be from British carriers to foreign carriers, which would be far more to the detriment of British civil aviation than the small degree of diversion from scheduled services to British independent charter flights which might result from the granting of a licence. These were all arguments to which the Board no doubt gave careful consideration during their deliberations on the applications for summer inclusive-tour licences, most of the results of which have recently been published. So far, including substitution applica tions in place of those from carriers rejected under Section 2(2)(a) of the Act (which requires the Board particularly to consider the financial resources of the applicant), 225 applications have been granted and 238 refused. Certain tour organizers have already named foreign carriers who will fly for them during the coming summer. To what extent, if any, is this use of foreign aircraft the result of refusal of licences by the Board ? What other factors may have influenced the tour organizers to "go foreign"? Is this tendency increasing? Is there any yard stick by which a reasonable share for foreign carriers can be assessed ? Can their share be controlled if it should show signs of reaching undesirable proportions? To dispose of the last two questions first, Article 68 of the Air Navigation Order gives the Minister of Aviation powers to control the operations of foreign carriers into and out of the United Kingdom. In exercising this authority the Ministry will inevitably consider the factors, set out in Section 2(2) of the Civil Aviation (Licensing) Act, which the ATLB are required to take into account, although there is no present intention to make the operations of foreign carriers formally subject to the Act. The proportion of IT charter traffic originating in the United Kingdom and transported by foreign carriers is undoubtedly increasing. In 1960 foreign (including Irish Republic) aircraft carried approximately 10 per cent of this traffic and for 1961 the estimate is 12£ per cent. It is probable that the 1962 figure will be 25 per cent, this jump being in part due to the shortage of British aircraft of types acceptable to the tour promoters. This brings us back to the first two questions. The best way of getting the answers to them seems to be to ask the people who make the decisions, the tour promoters and agents themselves. Eight tour-operating agencies who have already announced the B
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