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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 1167.PDF
Official Organ ot the Royal Atro Club First Aeronautical Weekly in the World Founded in 1909 THURSDAY JULY 10 1062 Number 2784 Volume 82 Editor-in-Chief MAURICE A. SMITH DFC Editor H. F. KING MBE Technical Editor W. T. GU NSTON Air Transport Editor J. M. RAMSDEN Production Editor ROY CASEY Managing Director H. N. PRIAULX MBE In this issue World News 7 8 The 748MF Takes Shape 81 Air Commerce 8 3 Breguet VTOL Prospects 82 Bolkow 207 in the Air 82 Cardan Horizon in the Air S3 Air-Cushion Vehicles Supplement Straight and Level 0 5 Air Boss of the Big "I" 9 6 Service Aviation 102 Sport and Business 103 Missiles and Spaceflight 104 Letters 109 Industry International 111 Hide Transport Publications Ltd, Dorset House, Stamford Street, London, SE1; telephone Waterloo 3333 (Telex 25137). Telegrams Flightpres London Telex. Annual subscriptions: Home £4 15s. Overseas £5. Canada and USA $15.00. Second Class Mail privileges authorized at New York, NY. Branch Offices: Coventry, 8-10 Corpora tion Street; telephone Coventry 25210. Birmingham, King Edward House, New Street, Birmingham 2; telephone Mid land 7191. Manchester, 260 Deansgate, Manchester 3; telephone Blackftiars 4412 or Deansgate 3595. Glasgow, 62 Bucha nan Street, Glasgow CI; telephone Central 1265-6. New York, NY: Thomas Skinner 4 Co (Publishers) Ltd. Ill Broadway 6; telephone Digby 9-1197. © Iliffe Transport Publications Ltd, 1962. Permission to reproduce illustra tions and letterpress can be granted only under written agreement. Brief extracts or comments may be made with due acknowledgement. Thorns and Spurs ^>BVIOUSLY, the strength of Britain's air transport industry is the sum of the strengths of its BO AC/BE A and independent components. The independents, as we have said before, are eligible for a place because they enrich the industry. They provide a second measure of airline worth and technique, and an alternative source of ideas and employment. Only doctrinaire diehards would insist that independents should be re stricted to flying lettuces in Ansons. Most reasonable people accept that the nation wants strong corporations and strong independents. The problem, as everyone knows, is how to make the independents stronger without making the corporations weaker. The answer, surely, is not to be found in the BOAC-Cunard formula. BOAC-Cunard is not BOAC-Cunard Eagle, a partnership between a corporation and an independent. In the air transport sense this new partnership is 100 per cent BOAC. It is generally agreed that this corporation provides excellent service in the western hemisphere, and, of course, on all its routes. But the in dependent thorn could have been removed from the corporation's side without eliminating the independent spur. How? Let us look at what is happening in Europe. At this moment there is before the Minister, we believe, the report of the commissioner who heard BEA's appeals against the Air Transport Licensing Board awards to British United and Cunard Eagle of 22 Euro pean and domestic routes.When these appeals began we hoped (issue of May 3) that the commissioner. Sir Arthur Hutchinson, would take the view that the ATLB were the experts and that in all but the most ex ceptional circumstances their decisions must be final. We hope that this will be the burden of his recommendations, but in any case we think that the Minister should uphold the decisions of the expert body he created. —and Pooling: Agreements If the Board's decisions are upheld, the Minister must open up negotia tions for the necessary foreign traffic rights. It is a foregone conclusion that most of these rights, which are sealed by BEA pooling agreements, are going to be hard to get. "Certainly your independents can have rights," these countries will say; "but of course their share must come out of BEA's share." It follows that the independents must do some sort of deal with BEA on foreign routes (though let there be a straight fight on domestic routes). Tn casting round for a solution. BEA, the independents and the Minister will inevitably find that pooling of revenues is the tempting answer. Pooling is fraught with abuse of the public interest, though no one has ever denied that it has increased Britain's share of foreign markets. A BEA-independent pool would, of course, be the negation of every word that has been uttered about the merits of corporation-independent com petition. And it would, incidentally, require the eating of anti-pooling words by British United, and a change of heart by Lord Douglas of BEA. But pooling may well be the only key to open foreign doors which would otherwise remain locked to the independents. Provided there is full public accountability, pooling could well provide the formula whereby corpora tions and independents could work with one another, and sell each other's seats, while continuing to provide this country with separate measures of airline expertise, efficiency and ideas.
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