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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 0424.PDF
424 FLIGHT International, 22 March 1962 AIR COMMERCE example, is the purpose of including the wheels-up landing of a TCA Vanguard in which there was neither fuel spillage nor fire ? Or again, what is proved by mentioning that a DC-7 landed safely after a burning engine fell off into the Atlantic? Where, now, do we go from here ? The superior safety of kerosine is now so completely beyond doubt that only a JP.4 user could deny it. From now on every JP.4 airline knows that, if it is unlucky enough to suffer a survivable crash in which passengers are burnt to death, this report will be its moral prosecutor. BOAC'S EFFICIENCY A REMARKABLE reduction in cost level has been achieved by BOAC in the past three years or so. In 1959 a Parliamentary select committee* noted, rather tartly, that BOAC's costs were too high. A level of about 40d per c.t.m. had been the order of each year; then, steadily, it began to fall. A note in Flight for February 17, 1961, compared BOAC's falling cost level—total costs and engineering costs—with that of other airlines. By 1960-61 it was down to 30.3d; and—according to Sir Basil Smallpeice in BOAC News recently—it is 27d at the moment and it may be 25^d in the coming year. Of course, the introduction of high c.t.m.-productive 707s has helped; but BOAC's cuts are too big to be attributed to higher aircraft productivity alone. Airlines are pleased when they cut a penny off unit costs; and BOAC have knocked off a shilling in four years. The biggest reductions appear to have taken place in engineering costs. These are now down from 10£d per c.t.m. four years ago to 5Jd in 1961-62. If BOAC could lower their maintenance costs to the level of Pan American, the 1959 select committee said, "their operating cost per c.t.m. would be the better of the two; and this is what BOAC hope to effect." It looks as though the corporation is well on the way to its goal; in the period 1958-1961, despite the fact that c.t.m. were more than doubled, engineering staff numbers were reduced by 1,300 to 6,700. Sir Basil is now saying that, if cost level can continue to be pushed down, BOAC's break even load factor after payment of interest could be no more than 55 per cent in the coming year. * In an early issue we hope to review the Report published last week on the outcome of this committee's recommendations: Reports Of Former Select Committees On Nationalized Industries, HM Stationery Office, 6s 6d. EXECUTIVE HERALD FOR BUA ANNOUNCING the signing on March 16 of a contract for an execu tive version of the Handley Page Herald, Mr F. A. Laker, managing director of British United Airways and director of its parent com pany Air Holdings Ltd, said: "Of the new aircraft presently offered for sale, the Dart Herald is undoubtedly the best executive aircraft in the world." British United Airways, the United Kingdom's largest independ ent operator, is the ninth airline to order Heralds, four having ordered in the last three months. Twenty aircraft have now been sold, with options on a further five. Heralds are in service with three airlines in Europe and the Americas, and have been in scheduled service for nearly a year. BUA'S TWO VC10S ONLY two Vickers VClOs have been ordered by British United and not four as announced by the airline on May 31 last yeai. There is no question of any cancellation; the order has alway- been for two plus an option on two, and not four as publicly stated by British United when the order was originally announced. Last October British United withdrew applications for scheduled VC10 routes to the Far East; substitute applications for cabotage services to Hong Kong via Aden, Gan and Singapore specified the use of Britannias, of which two more have recently been boughi to bring the fleet up to eight—double the BUA Britannia fleet o! a year ago. The four additional aircraft bought during the year are a pair of 312s on lease-purchase from BOAC and two 313s, orig inally owned by El Al, bought through the British Aircraft Corpor ation. British United's two VClOs are to be a short-fuselage cargo- passenger aircraft with Rolls-Royce RCo.42/3s of 22,5001b thrust, and will be the side-loading version (Flight, November 23, 1961. page 835) with an enlarged forward door measuring 84in X 140in compared with the standard size of 72in X 34in. Maximum payload is just over 64,0001b and maximum take-off weight up from 299,0001b to 322,00001b. BRAZIL v SAS AND SWISSAIR FOUR months ago Brazil gave notice to the three Scandinavian countries, and to Switzerland and the Netherlands, that the relevant bilateral air agreements, due to expire in May 1962, would have to be re-negotiated. When SAS introduced a weekly DC-8 service in place of the twice-weekly DC-7C service from Scandinavia to Santiago via Rio and Buenos Aires, the Brazilians refused to allow SAS to operate into Brazil at all except under first and second freedom conditions (i.e., allowing them only to over-fly or to land for non- traffic purposes). Then they relented a little, allowing SAS to carry third and fourth freedom traffic between Rio and Scandinavia up until last Saturday, March 17. At the same time no fifth freedom rights (allowing SAS to pick up or set down non-Scandinavian traffic in Rio) were allowed. The Brazilians have been similarly restrictive towards Swissair, allowing only third and fourth freedom traffic to be carried between Rio and Switzerland. CUBAN VISCOUNT DEALER ACCORDING to the US publication Aviation Daily, the Cubana Viscount (an 818) purchased by Ansett-ANA for £A360,000 (see Flight International last week, page 386) was handled by Mr Leon Perez de Jerez of 5 Rue de Mole, Geneva. Previous reports have said that South African Airways also have bought two Cubana Viscounts "through a Geneva broker," and that two SAA Constellation 749As have been bought for the UK independent Trans-European Airways (February 22 issue, pages 276-277), of which Mr Perez is a director. Now it is said by the South African Minister for Transport. Mr Schoeman, in reply to a question in Parliament, that the two Constellations were sold in part exchange for the two Viscounts The deal had been closed last December; SAA had given as par! payment two Constellations, six time-expired engines and spare parts worth a total of 180,000 Rands (£90,000). According to Mr Schoeman, Cubana had to sell the Viscounts because the company could not get them serviced by the British makers, due to political difficulties. A Convoir 880-M, first to fly the British flag, has now been delivered to the Hong Kong-based British independent Cathay Pacific. Eighteen of the airline's pilots, first officers and flight engineers did their familiarization training at San Diego, where this picture was taken shortly after the aircraft was handed over
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