FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1968
1968 - 0005.PDF
FLIGHT International, 4 January 1968 7 TOO MUCH ATLANTIC CAPACITY? THE North Atlantic (USA-Europe) traffic figures for the third quarter of 1967 (July, August and September), on which the table below is based, suggest that the IATA airlines have been putting on rather more capacity than the available traffic has justified. Although the passenger growth-rate for all IATA air- lines (17 in 1967 with the addition of Japan Air Lines) was about 21 per cent by comparison with the same period of 1966, capacity was increased by more than 30 per cent. Passenger growth was equivalent to only 49 per cent of the increased capacity and the average passenger load factor for the three months fell from a high 71 per cent in 1966 to 66 per cent in 1967. The table, which includes individual figures for the five leading airlines, shows the sad situation for BOAC with their lack of available capacity. Although still ranking third in numbers of passengers, BOAC actually carried nearly 900 fewer than in 1966, even though the number of seats offered was increased by 4 per cent. However, Lufthansa and Air France, each with fairly massive capacity increases, have crept up, and the German airline's passenger total was only 4,500 less than that of BOAC. The most striking figures in the table are those for Trans World, with a 145 per cent increase in passengers carried in exchange for a 110 per cent increase in seats offered. These massive increases were not real, but the result of the 43-day strike of US airline personnel, in July- September 1966, involving TWA and four other major airlines. This strike caused the 1966 third quarter figures for TWA to be abnormally small and the comparative increases to be equally abnormal. As recorded in last week's issue (page 1054) the Rolls-Royce Trent, the high-by-pass three-spool turbofan, has made its first run in definitive form. This is a mock-up of the complete Trent powerplant pod for the FH-228. Most of the fabrication of the pods for production engines will be undertaken by Short Brothers at Belfast. A photograph of the engine itself will be found in "Aero Engines 1968" (page 27) and a cutaway drawing appears in the World News pages in this issue US-EUROPE SCHEDULED TRAFFIC, THIRD QUARTER, I9W v 1967 Airline Air France BOAC Lufthansa PAA TWA All IATA air- lines Year 1966 1967 1966 1967 1966 1967 1966 1967 19661967 1966 1967 Flights 1,244 1,561 ( + 317) 1,303 1,358(+55) 1,070 1,481 (+411) 3,390 4,181 (+791) 1,751 3,738 (+1,987) 13,905 18,014 (+4,109) Available seats 186,515 232,892 (+46,377) 187,669 195.563(+7,894) 160,082 221,069 ( + 60,987) 470,761 575,211 (+104,450) 248,541 529,149 (+280,608) 1,975,612 2,579,464 (+603.852) Passengers 129,051 138,458 (+9,407) 150,498 149,624 (-874) 116,417 145,027 ( + 28,610) 354,488 370,511 (+16,023) 133,545 326,387 (+ 192,842) 1,408,212 1,705,255 (+297,043) Load factor 0//o 69.4 59.5 80.5 76.8 73.4 65.6 75.3 64.5 53.7 61.6 71.5 66.2 TRANSAIR'S FIVE-YEAR PLAN LAST month TransAir of Winnipeg announced a $30 million (£12.5 million) re-equipment and new terminal facilities pro- gramme for the next three to five years. Mr Harold Cope, who was elected president of the Canadian regional carrier in October, said that the re-equipment programme has come about two years too late as "there is no doubt that obsolete equipment has been hurting us." This, he said, has depressed TransAir's position as a regional carrier. The first part of a three-stage programme will be the acquisition of turboprop aircraft for scheduled services in Manitoba, north-west Ontario, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories. Mr Cope said ithat, of three aircraft examined, the NAMC YS-11 appeared to have the edge over the Convair 640 and the HS.748 because of its convertibility from passenger to cargo configuration. The long-term financing available from the Japanese manufacturer was also a major attraction. The second stage will be a move to put jet aircraft on to domestic routes, to be followed by 'the purchase of DC-8s or 707s for international charters. Mr Cope said that TransAir expected to generate between 25 and 30 per cent of their required new capital. The company was now discussing the need for new terminal facilities and a site at Winnipeg Inter- national. The facilities would include a new hangar, main- tenance shop, cargo-handling area and offices. The building programme was expected to cost $3 million (£1.2 million). The new president said he expected an improved financial position in 1967 following losses in 1966 and there were expectations of a profit position in 1968. An annual business growth of 15 per cent would meet the costs of expansion. The airline's future, he said, lay in the development of the north and an accompanying trend towards cargo operations. 737-200 Certificated Six days after the 737-100 received its FAA certificate (see Flight for December 28, page 1057) the long-bodied -200, which made its first flight in August, was also certificated. CAT 880 for CPA Negotiations for the purchase by Cathay Pacific of Civil Air Transport's one Convair 880 have been completed. The aircraft is needed by CPA to replace that written off in Hong Kong harbour on November 5 (see Flight for November 9, page 749). Siidflug's DC-8s The first of Swissair's DC-8-33s (HB-IDC) for Sudflug was delivered on December 23. The second (-IDA) will be delivered in the spring. The purchase by Lufthansa of the charter carrier's shares (see page 12) has not affected the sale, which was arranged as long ago as July 1966. HS.748 for Germany The Bundesanstalt fur Flugsicherung (BFS) has ordered a Hawker Siddeley 748 Series 2A for use by their flight inspection unit, the German equivalent of the BoTs Civil Aviation Flying Unit. The aircraft, which will be fitted with special antenna and radio calibration equipment for checking radio aids and communications systems, will be delivered in mid-1969. Eagle Buys Qantas 707s The purchase by British Eagle of two Qantas Boeing 707-138Bs—as forecast by Sensor in Flight for November 23—has now been completed. The first is being delivered this week (January 5) and the second on March 15. The airline's first 707-320C was handed over on December 22 and flight training started immediately. The jet fleet—the £7 million financing for which has been arranged by Kleinwort Benson, the merchant bankers—will be used on North and mid-Atlantic routes, including London-Bermuda/Bahamas inclusive-tour services, and on the London-East Africa IT services, taking over from Britannias.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
