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Aviation History
1967
1967 - 0903.PDF
fLIGHT International, I June 1967 881 AIR CANADA'S EQUIPMENT PROBLEMS A WIDE VARIETY OF AIRLINE AIRCRAFT will appear on theCanadian air routes this summer. Air Canada, feeling thepinch in capacity because of jet delivery delays and the Expo '67 boom in passenger traffic, has moved to alleviate the shortage. Space has been leased on a Seaboard World DC-8F to handle transatlantic cargo traffic; this has released an Air Canada DC-8F to be converted to an all-passenger interior. A wet lease of a Standard Airways DC-9, announced some weeks ago, resulted in a stiff protest from the Canadian Air Line Pilots Association. CALPA held that the wet lease violated their collective agreement with the airline, whereby all aircraft owned or operated by Air Canada would be flown on a seniority basis by Canadians. Since a dry lease was impossible, and CALPA refused to compromise, Standard applied to the Canadian Air Transport Board to be recognised as a Canadian charter company. This was permitted, with quick board action, so that Air Canada could put the DC-9 into service for the full period of the lease (May 1-September 30), and the aircraft is now officially "chartered." While Air Canada admits there is small difference between "chartering" and "leasing," the terminology has proved con- venient, and the aircraft with its US crew has been operating three flights a day Toronto - New York. This move permits the airline to compete more effectively with American Airlines, which operates jets only on this route. More important for Air Canada, however, it has released considerable Vanguard capacity for use on domestic services between Toronto and Montreal. Traffic is still outstripping capacity, however, and the airline is searching throughout the world for surplus jet capacity which can be wet-leased. The whole situation has arisen because of delays in deliveries from Douglas and the unexpectedly quick success of Expo '67 (over three million visitors in eight days) which has put a great strain on all airlines operating within Canada. Air Canada had 12 DC-9-30s and four DC-8-61s due for service by midsummer 1967. No stretched DC-8s had been received by early May, although the carrier hoped to have three stretched DC-9s by the middle of that month. This has put the airline in a critical position—although hardly unique for any Douglas-dependent carrier. What is interesting, how- ever, is the airline's insistence on wet-leasing (i.e., chartering with flight crew). Air Canada's position is compounded be- cause it is short of aircrew. The airline has not been engaging in any overt pilot campaigns because it hoped its very size would encourage applications and it depended on ex-RCAF aircrew. The worldwide pilot shortage, however, has meant that the applications the carrier hoped for have not been forthcoming in the quantities it had predicted. Furthermore, the Canadian armed forces have begun to offer pay induce- ments to aircrew (in response to airline "raiding") and has made the terms of service longer for short-service pilots in order to emphasise the value of the service as a career. That source, therefore, has also dried up. Late delivery of jet aircraft has forced several expedients upon Air Canada. Not only is the airline engaging in the several short-term arrangements outlined, but the carrier has, in effect, announced two summer schedules. Air Canada has divided its domestic timetable into two sections, the first now in effect and the second to become valid on August 20. The main service suffering from this dual-schedule arrangement is the new Toronto-Los Angeles route. American Airlines has already begun flights between these two points, but Air Canada has been forced to postpone its start until August 22. The carrier will also introduce DC-9 service to the Maritimes, as well as extended DC-9 service on the Canadian prairies at the same time. Despite equipment problems, Air Canada is confident that it can handle all the traffic. Less Noise McDonnell Douglas have produced three papers dealing with noise-level problems. One recommends practices for use in the measurement and evaluation of noise levels at airports; another deals with the prospects for lower noise levels for present and future aircraft; and the third discusses the airport requirements and the DC-8 Sixty series. Defying tbe IATA Ruling British Eagle Aviation has been licensed by the ATLB to operate a series of four inclusive-tour flights from London to Nairobi and Mombasa at a minimum price of £150. This is rather more than £100 less than the lowest individual IATA economy fare to Mombasa and the board is thus refusing to accept IATA's "provision 1" ruling. New IATA Document Guidance on international air traffic services requirements, procedures and practices is the subject of a new document published by IATA. The handbook, Air Traffic Services, has been distributed to all IATA member air- lines and ICAO states and is available on request from the association's head office. It is free except for bulk orders. Fire-fighting Proposal A Canadair team visiting Australia has proposed that the Federal Government should form a National Air Fire-fighting Unit, with the Canadair CL-215 L water-bombing flying boat as its main vehicle. The unit would be used to cope with big bush fires in summer. The Common- wealth Department of the Interior is now in touch with State Governments concerning their reaction to such a unit and the possible sharing of costs. An important link in the chain of BAC/Sud Concorde co-opera- tion is this Air France Universal seen at Bristol Lulsgate Airport. Operating a shuttle service between Le Bourget, Toulouse and Bristol, it carries Bristol Siddeley and BAC equipment and staff sSSSjpfMS
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