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Aviation History
1967
1967 - 0348.PDF
344 FLICHT International, 9 March '947 AIR TRANSPORT . . . THE AIRBUS TALKS A STATEMENT issued after the February 28 meeting of technical representatives from nine European airlines said that they had agreed that there would be a European require- ment for 100-200 of a 250-seat airbus by 1980. Air France and another unnamed carrier (presumably Lufthansa) said that such an aircraft would be needed by 1972; the seven other carriers—Aer Lingus, Alitalia, BEA, Iberia, KLM, Sabena and SAS—said that the requirement would be for 1975. No mention was made of powerplant preferences—for the Rolls- Royce RB.207 or the P&W JT9D. Discussions apparently centred on the required characteristics in terms of range, operating costs, noise levels and cargo capacity. A report on the discussions will be passed to the British, French and German Ministers who are meeting later this month with the intention of preparing a report on which the three Governments may reach a final decision. This report could recommend a go-ahead—though it might, if too many difficulties are mentioned, cause the governments to defer the project for a further period. In the House of Commons on February 28, Mr John Stone- house, Minister of State, Ministry of Technology, said that a "final decision" on the airbus would be made by the middle of the month—i.e., after the Ministers' meeting. He described the choice of powerplant as a "central issue" in the discus- sions. Meanwhile, the development of the RB.207 is not, he said, being held back and the Government is providing assistance for it. BOAC's ATLANTIC SHARE IN his Brancker Memorial Lecture, Mr Peter Masefield said that whereas 36 per cent of the North Atlantic traffic uses the UK as a European gateway, only 13 per cent is at present carried by British airlines. What is the position? In an attempt to answer this question we looked into the North Atlantic traffic figures for the past three years, using those for flights terminating or originating in the USA or beyond—on which BOAC is facing the maximum of competition—and excluding those to and from Canada. These figures are not directly comparable with those restricted to flights using the UK as a gateway, or as a terminal, but they show the general picture. The effects of BOAC's shortage of capacity is seen in the North Atlantic traffic figures for the last two months of 1966—as they could be seen, too, in two of the peak traffic months of the year. In July and August, BOAC maintained solid increases in the number of passengers, in relation to 1965 figures, despite heavy reductions in the total number of seats BOAC's NORTH ATLANTIC TRAFFIC* BOAC ... All carriers BOAC (%) 1964 Passengers 294,701 2,782,208 10.6 Load factor (%) 60.4 56.7 1965 Passengers 359.195 3,233,722 II.1 Load factor (%) 61.3 56.0 1966 Passengers 398,017 3,699,240 10.8 Load factor (%) 68.2 58.3 BOAC All carriers BOAC(%) BOAC All carriers BOAC(%) November 1966 Seats 34,947 455,176 7.1 Passengers 19,591 192,013 10.2 December 1966 30,437 432,662 7.0 19,959 205,539 9.8 November 1965 Seats 39,652 414.830 9.6 Passengers 19,959 167.161 11.9 December 1965 35,816 385,724 9.3 19,519 180,831 10.8 * Flights originating or terminating in the USA or beyond; excludes flights origi- nating or terminating in Canada. offered. In November and December, however, the number passengers carried was only marginally above that for the sa two months in 1965. As shown in the table opposite—based on North Atlant traffic figures published in lnteravia and American Aviation- the reduction in the number of seats offered in these two months was very considerable by comparison with the 1955 capacity. It is a remarkable demonstration of BOAC' sales pulling power (and of the virtues of the Super VC10?) that the airline has maintained such a relatively high propor. tion of the total traffic. Nevertheless the traffic figures show a drop of 1.7 percentage points in November and of 1 percentage point in December—figures which would have been much worse if very high load factors had not been maintained, with a peak of 68.3 per cent for eastbound services in December During the past three years BOAC has maintained third position on the North Atlantic (excluding Canada traffic) with between 10 per cent and 11 per cent of the total and has enjoyed load factors higher than those of any other airline except Irish International. Even in 1966 BOAC's share was 10.8 per cent. Another F.27 for Swissair A third F.27 (a Mk 200 with the large cargo door) has been ordered by Swissair for use by its Basle-based associate, Balair. It will be delivered in January 1968; the second will be delivered this month. Balair also operates two F.27s which it bought from LTU and Fokker. Ex-Panagra DC-8 for CPAL Canadian Pacific is acquiring a DC-8-55F from Braniff. This, one of Panagra's aircraft, delivered before the merger with Braniff, will join CPAL's fleet in October, replacing that now on lease from Trans Inter- national. The airline plans initially to use it in an all-passenger configuration. Crash in Monrovia A Varig Airlines DC-8 hit buildings while on the approach to Monrovia Airport, Liberia, on March 5. Of the 71 passengers and 19 crew on board, 66 passengers and one crew member (the flight engineer) were killed. The DC-8 was on a scheduled flight from Beirut to Rio de Janeiro via Rome and Monrovia. Five persons on the ground were also killed. Swissair to Lease Eagle One-Eleven Because of delays in deliveries of DC-9s, Swissair is leasing a BAC One-Eleven from British Eagle International from April 1, 1967, to April 28, 1968. It will be flown by Eagle crews but will carry Swissair cabin staff. The British registration will remain, but it will bperate in Swissair colours. Big Air Canada Jet Order Twenty-three more jet aircraft have been ordered by Air Canada. These are made up of 17 DC-9-30s, three DC-8-5Os, one DC-8-61 and two DC-8-63s. The airline already has 12 DC-9-30s and six DC-8-61s on order, and six DC-9-10s in service, which will be sold or traded in when the initial batch of -30s have been delivered. Airlift Orders More Boeings Orders for one more Boeing 707-320C, with an option on- two more, and for 727-172QCs, previously on option, have been placed by Airlift International. The 707 will be that on which British Eagle previously held an option and delivery will therefore be before April 1. The first two 727s of the four now on order will be delivered later this year and the second two in April and Ma) 1968. Canadian Short-haul Jet Interest Quebecair of Montreal. and Eastern Provincial Airlines of Newfoundland, are studying the F-28 and FH-228. Both airlines are at present interested m the two aircraft. Quebecair will need them to meet competition from Air Canada, with DC-9s, and Nordair, with 727s ami 737s, and to provide extra capacity for anticipated expansion. Eastern Provincial will buy jets if it is permitted to n> from the Magdalen Islands to Montreal and take over tn Goose Bay-Montreal run from Air Canada.
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