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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1765.PDF
572 FLIGHT International, 3 October OPERATIONAL REGULARITY. travellers and well-known personalities among them; so those with on-the-spot responsibility can hardly be blamed for not abandoning to his fate the passenger still in the embrace of Customs or Immi gration, or lingering in the terminal building, often a victim rather than a culprit. Here again there is a difference between an airport and a railway station, even if each handles the same daily traffic volume. It would appear that air carriers do not feel entitled to demand rigorous observance of discipline from their passengers as long as they them selves are unable to provide perfect regularity. But there is no point in getting into a vicious circle: at one stage or another, flight regularity will be no longer compatible with an accommodating and tolerant approach. The only practical way, which all can accept, of putting an end to such an approach is to make it mat erially out of the question for any airline. If the person who com mands door-closing and starting is not the one who supervises embarkation, and if apron-space occupation is strictly regulated, movements will take place without any exception being made; and travellers, knowing they are faced with a technical imperative, will grow accustomed to an inflexible rule. Traffic growth and increased flight frequencies can do much to lessen airline reticence in this respect, particularly if a "pooling" of latecomers ensures them a seat on the next flight. Stricter enforcement of discipline must, however, go hand-in- hand with a drive to inform the public, in order to interest present or prospective airline customers in all the problems on which regularity and its improvement depend. It would be pointless to convey the impression that punctuality within five minutes of schedule can be achieved 95 per cent of the time, and that travellers can count thereon in making their personal plans: air travel gen erally affords a time-saving over other transport media sufficient for a reasonable safety margin to be acceptable on arrival, just as it is indispensable at the departure end. Nor, on the other hand, should the exaggerated view that the major delays sometimes observed are daily occurrences (owing to systematic negligence or indifference on the part of the airlines) be permitted to spread. "An ocean liner does not keep 2,000 passengers waiting for one of number; and anyway, in most instances, the state of the tide a availability of tug-boats would prevent it from so doing" Rather should the efforts pursued, and the results achieved to be hoped for in the near future, be made known and appreci Publicity drives to familiarize the general public with the mi installations at international airports, and so create greater mindedness, inevitably show only a facade, behind which : more or less reserved and mysterious. It might be a good ide has been done already in some cases, to take the public "backs! and show them the difficulties airport staffs have to handle, ar the efforts that are made for flights to take place with safety regularity, even if the results are still not as brilliant as »e w like. The advantages brought by air transport, the stimuli provides to productivity and trade, may otherwise be forgol for many minds retain only the easily criticized imperfections inadequacies, or draw general conclusions from particular insta observed or experienced. There is the psychological side to the regularity problem, which we have dwelt; there is the obvious technical side, invol a multiplicity of fields from meteorological research to equipn standardization, improved maintenance organization and development of automatic landing; but there is also a financial s which should not be overlooked. Improved regularity, in the s: way as greater safety, cannot be achieved without new investm the introduction of new and better equipment and the traininj specialists in new techniques. Research must be pursued in m directions, and without the certainty of reaching a valid resul each. However, where we readily accept that safety has no p: limit, we may just as naturally feel that the degree of opera regularity must depend on a compromise with financial consij ations. In all current economic systems the choice rests with government authorities; whether independent, subsidized or/ controlled by the State, airlines cannot by themselves assure f larity, which must continue to depend on the ground facilities vided, the investments laid out on airways and airports, and < research programmes undertaken. Theoretical or experimental solutions to most of the prj problems of operational regularity will probably be forthco within the next few years. Practical implementation can only f<] progressively for the various types of route and aircraft. B' efforts made to improve regularity must imperatively be at j panied by efforts to bring down fares to a level where a vast i of custom may be brought in: the two objectives are closely linW and it would be pointless to pursue one to the detriment of the otli It will be for the highest authorities to decide, for each category service, what degree of regularity should be achieved in order provide the public with the best service that can reasonably desired; to go further than this would be a costly pursuit of will-o'-the-wisp, an effort that would be against the best intere; of commercial aviation. BOAC's IMPROVED RESULTS DURING the first 20 weeks of the present financial year, from April 1 to August 17, BOAC's revenue reached a record level of £37.7m. Compared with the same period last year this is an im provement of £2.6m and is sufficient to make an operating profit. Writing about the results in the BOAC staff news-sheet, Sir Basil Smallpeice, the managing director, says: "With 32 weeks to go, the corporation now has more than a sporting chance of break ing even on the operating account during the current financial year. In addition, BOAC's associated companies have also reported better results, by over £400,000. If we can all keep up this rate of improvement, our operating results for the full year could be some £7m better than last year." BOAC has not yet published its final results for the year ended March 31,1963. Of the £2.6m improvement, over £lm has come from reduced expenditure and improved efficiency. The number of staff is around 1,000 less than a year ago, and the corporation has saved much money on materials. The rest of the improvement has come from increased revenue. Sir Basil reports that most of the revenue gains came from the western and eastern routes; the southei routes are only just about holding their own. The UK mark has been virtually static over the past three years as far as Ion distance travel is concerned, and according to Sir Basil "it is ther fore good to report that in the present year the UK market is pr ducing eight per cent more business." Other major markets showing revenue increases are: Australi with 14 per cent; Europe, 4 per cent; and the eastern United State 5 per cent. On the other hand, Ghana, Nigeria and East Air* have between them produced 21 per cent less revenue and Canada also down by 16 per cent. Following the introduction of to promotional fares last April, the corporation's overall passeng mileage has risen 6 per cent, but, since the revenue yield per passei ger mile has fallen 3 per cent the result is that the revenue haf rise only 2.5 per cent. BOAC's freight revenue during the 20-wee period has risen 18 per cent, an encouraging indication with introduction last Monday, September 30, of a CL-44 on all-freigi transatlantic operations.
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