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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1682.PDF
492 FLIGHT International, 19 September 1963 i AIR COM MERGE . NO DOUGLAS SST THE Federal Aviation Agency has confirmed that only three American airframe manufacturers—Boeing, Lockheed, and North American—have indicated intentions to compete for the Federal subsidized job of prime contractor to develop a supersonic transport. Three engine manufacturers—Curtiss-Wright, General Electric and Pratt and Whitney—have also announced their intention to com pete on a similar basis. Each team is to submit its design to the FAA by January 15, 1964, and it is hoped that a clearly superior proposal will come forward to enable a decision to proceed with development to be taken by May 1, 1964. When it was first announced that President Kennedy was calling for a 25 per cent participation in development expenses by the aviation industry, there were many fears that the financial and technical risks would be too great for any one company, and the Douglas Aircraft Company have become the first to acknowledge this by withdrawing from the competition. FAA administrator Najeeb Halaby has been informed by Donald W. Douglas Jr that his company is "in wholehearted agreement with the US decision to proceed immediately with development of the SST, and that Douglas is willing and able to contribute all it can to the programme on a subcontract basis." Mr Douglas said the company had decided to concentrate its resources in the commercial aircraft field on the DC-8 and DC-9 programmes, adding: "we think it worth noting that the potential effect of the DC-9 on the nation's balance of payments is comparable to that of the SST, and its ultimate success will benefit not only our company, but the national interest as well." Mr Douglas also said: "In recent weeks we have calculated the resources we must summon in order to bring the DC-9 to its first flight in the spring of 1965 and to volume production, plus those which must continue to be devoted to our DC-8 product improve ment programme, to determine whether it would be possible for us to sustain these efforts, perform on our current and prospective military aircraft contracts and at the same time undertake to bid as a prime contractor on the SST programme. After long and careful consideration we decided against submitting a proposal on the supersonic transport." It has been reported that General Dynamics have also withdrawn from the contest because of their commitment on the F-l 11 (TFX) supersonic bi-service tactical fighter. PROPOSED PLAN FOR SCOTLAND THE Scottish Council for Development and Industry have pub lished details of the plan, for improved Scottish air services, which they have sent to the Secretary of State for Scotland. British Euro pean Airways are reported to have approved the proposal provided they are protected against further financial loss by a subsidy. Main points of the plan are: (1) another daily flight to the con tinent (to Dusseldorf); (2) a 30 per cent increase on the Anglo- Scottish trunk routes; (3) morning and evening flights from Edin burgh to Manchester and Birmingham; (4) a Dundee - Glasgow feeder service connecting with trunk route flights and returning to Dundee in the evening; and (5) a big increase in the number of services to points in northern Scotland to permit same-day mail delivery to most of the mainland. The council is urging the plan as the minimum for industrial development. It estimates that the initial loss will be around £330,000 a year, double that on existing Highlands and Island services. This loss should, the council says, fall as traffic develops. '#»•* The latest Antonov An24 is seen here at Prague Airport on its way to be exhibited at the international Brno Trade Fair good economic conditions on both sides of the Atlantic and a natural community of interest. The economic potential of the jet airplane, which depends so much on a high utilization, both in terms of seats occupied and hours flown, has not been fully exploited. At the same time, the substantial size of the charter market and the response to the group fares instituted last year strongly suggest that there are large markets to be tapped by appropriate and adequate price reductions. The accomplishment of these objectives will not only bring transatlantic air travel within the means of a greater number of persons, but should also produce higher profits for the air carriers. Accordingly, the Board expects the carriers to come forward with a fare structure that will provide substantially lower fares than are provided for individual travel and which will be available without undue discrimination." The Board advocates that "the best way to do this is by offering low-fare, no-frill services, calculated to appeal to the largest number of potential travellers, and at the same time yield a reasonable profit to the airlines. These services would be in addition to any higher-priced de luxe or second-class services that the public is willing to pay for at compensatory rates. "The Board also recognizes that the highly seasonal and direc tional characteristics of transatlantic traffic is a major factor affecting the over-all economics of air carrier operations in this area. The Board supports seasonal and directional price differen tials related to the basic fare services where it appears that the problems of seasonality and directionality may be mitigated. "The matter of IATA regulation of minimum charter rates isot substantial concern to the Board, who view the best answer to charter competition in the introduction of a scheduled service at tn lowest feasible price. On the other hand, the Board would ce influenced by any widespread uneconomic rate-cutting that wou seriously impair the scheduled services. Any IATA agreement;i this regard should be submitted with a full showing of the n« for any agreement per se which the Board will consider caret . along with the views of other interested persons. In any ev ^ such minimum rates should be set no higher than necessary preclude below-cost charter rates. Similarly, the charter ™m™. should not be established simply to protect scheduled serv from legitimate charter competition." DOMESTICS AND TROOPING THE CAB'S INSTRUCTIONS THE following extracts are from a letter sent by the Civil Aero nautics Board to US carrier members of IATA for their guidance at the Salzburg fares conference, now in its second week:— "In the course of the numerous occasions in recent months on which the Board has considered North Atlantic passenger fares, we have become convinced that a broad and substantial fare reduction is in order. The US-to-Europe travel market is both a large and expanding one reflecting, among other things, basically transport AS this issue went to press two important British air tr ing developments were imminent. The Air Transport ^ AC Board was expected to announce its refusal of the BEA an ^^ applications to carry troops on scheduled services; ana ^ Eagle—now British Eagle—were expected to confirm their ^ of name and to announce that from November 3 ^^ inaugurate some UK domestic trunk services on the oa ^ ^ licences already granted and prior to an ATLB decision reapplication.
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