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Aviation History
1974
1974 - 0001.PDF
IFmdKnr IMTERIMATIONAL Published by IPC Transport Press Ltd © IPC Business Press Ltd 1974 Dorset House, Stamford Street, London SE1 9LU Subscriptions: UK, £12 p.a. Overseas, £10 30 p.a. USA airspeeded, $28 p.a. B. J. F. Nason, Oakfield House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 3DH; Tel 0444 53281 A subscription form is at the back of this issue Subscriptions are zero-rated for VAT Thursday 3 January 1974 Number 3382 Volume 105 Founded in 1909 First aeronautical weekly in the world Official organ of the United Service and Royal Aero Club Telephone: 01-261 8070 (Editorial) 01-261 8081 (Advertisement Sales) 01-261 8392 (Advertisement Production) Telegrams/Telex: Bisnespres Ldn, 25137 Publishing Director Maurice A. Smith, DFC Advertisement Manager David Holmes International Business Press Associates ibpa Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations ARCI Editor J. M, Ramsden Assistant Editor Hugh Field International Editor Mark Lambert Technical Editor Michaal Wilson, BSc, CEng, FBIS, AFRAeS Assistant Editor (Technical) Peter Middleton Editorial Staff Charles M. Gilson Ian R. GooJd Charles Heathcote-Smith Mark Hewish Andrew Hofton, MSc David Kent Air Photography Tom Hamill Photographic Librarian Ann C. Tilbury Liability of an airline Britain is to follow the American example and increase the finan cial liability of airlines for death or injury to passengers. The de tails are complex, but the basic principles can be simply stated. As the value of money falls and as incomes rise all kinds of insti tutions come under pressure. One of these in the air transport world is the Warsaw Convention. As long ago as 1929, when it was signed, nations realised the need for standard international procedures to regulate accident claims. The principle of Warsaw has stood the test of time: damages are limited, but pas sengers do not have to prove the airline's liability. An airline can avoid liability by proving unavoidable accident; but this is always difficult. The passenger can claim higher damages by proving wilful mis conduct or faulty ticketing by the carrier; but this too is diffi cult, at least outside US courts. Warsaw, as amended at The Hague in 1955, provides for a maximum of £7,773. This limit can and has been raised by special contract between an air line and its passengers. The American authorities, for ex ample, have required airlines to go to $75,000 including legal costs. It is clearly unfair that the dependants of an unfortunate passenger who happens to be killed on an international flight should be entitled to only a quar ter of the domestic-carriage limit. On London to Belfast, for ex ample, under United Kingdom law, the limit is over £27,000. The anomalies have been parti cularly apparent during the claims which have followed a Vanguard accident—though the carrier in another case had voluntarily applied the higher "US" limits. The Civil Aviation Authority is now trying to improve matters. The chairman, Lord Boyd - Carpenter QC, is proposing to require all airlines to increase their liability limit for all carriage to £27,500. This would be done by a special contract with the passenger. The passenger would be told the actual figure on his ticket instead of simply being informed that the carrier's liability may be limited. This is all good consumer- interest stuff. In its short life the CAA has proposed mandatory air line financial reporting and hazard alerting, introduced the licensing of air travel companies, and approved advanced-booking charter fares. Although some air lines are feeling a little steam rollered by the CAA, the public interest must in the long haul be in the airlines' interests too. IN THIS ISSUE World News Air Transport Airliner Price Index Light Commercial Private Flight Civil Lynx from Westland Letters Spaceflight Aircraft Production Headaches of Airline Planning Avionics Defence Straight and Level 2 4 6 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 19 20 22 Front cover: London's Heathrow Airport seen from "Flight's" Seneca. In this issue we review airliner"prices, and the group planning director of British Airways assesses the future for airlines in the years ahead
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