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Aviation History
1975
1975 - 0065.PDF
FLIGHT international, 9 January 1975 N EXT SUNDAY, January 12, British Airways is due to introduce on the London-Glasgow route Europe's first genuine shuttle. Initially using nine 100-seat Trident Is refurbished by the airline, it "sets out to remove the obstacles between the customer and his seat on the aeroplane," according to Roy Watts, chief executive of the European Division. The written-down, one-class Trident Is will have a seat pitch of 33in, up from the 31in of the previous 309-passenger layout, and will be dedicated to the shuttle to ensure that more than double the capacity of a conventional service is available. After April some 140-seat Trident 3s will be used on the service. British Airways' conversion to the shuttle concept follows a detailed study begun in 1973 (see Flighi for February 23 and March 14, 1974). Roy Watts says that it will reverse the trend set by Noah for a fixed number of passengers to be given reservations while the rest are put on the waiting list. British Airways still regards the shuttle as an experiment but if the concept proves successful, as Watts says he is sure it will, it will be extended to the London-Edinburgh and London-Belfast routes "very soon." "The overriding consideration in choosing routes for the shuttle is volume of traffic," according to Watts. "To be suitable a route must have at least 400,000 passengers a year. London-Glasgow is ideal with 600,000 passengers a year, and Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt all either meet this prime requirement already or will be successful candidates for shuttle services linked to London within the next few years. Europe's first shuttle starts on Sunday "We have had discussions about the shuttle with many other national carriers on these high-traffic-volume routes and they will all be watching our experiment with great interest. It is an experiment which could transform our ideas about air travel in Europe within this decade and bring a new freedom for the customer and operator alike." The new London-Glasgow service will have the classic characteristics of the shuttle pioneered by Eastern Airlines between New York and Boston and Washington since 1961. Features will include regular, easy-to-remember timings stable throughout the year, no bookings, a guaranteed seat and the option of paying on board. British Airways believes the shuttle—a "brand new" product—will help aviation to regain its competitive advantage over other modes of transport. It will stimulate growth, provide an unrestricted feeder to the airline's hub, improve market share and provide "an innovative image." For the customer. the shuttle will bring the advantages of flexibility and immediate availability and is expected to reduce the anxiety felt by the infrequent traveller. There will be 13 departures each weekday from London and 12 from Glasgow. Check-in times will be every hour— except 1300hr—on the hour between 0800hr and 2100hr out of London and between 0800hr and 2000hr from Glasgow. Aircraft will depart ten minutes after check-in. If more than one aircraft is to fly, there is every hope that the first aircraft to be filled will depart early. Back-up aircraft will leave at ten-minute intervals. Departure times will be pre-cleared with air traffic control. No catering service will be provided in flight to make it easier to despatch aircraft at short notice; coffee and biscuits will be available in a departure lounge open only to shuttle passengers. 29 Just turn up and takeoff Shuttle Shuttle Shuttle London Glasgow BRITISH AIRWAYS INTRODUCES TRISTAR British Airways has been carrying out a series of TriStar proving flights during the last two weeks aimed at clearing the aircraft for passenger service on January 12. First service will be from London to Paris, to be followed by Brussels and Madrid on January 13 and flights to Malaga and Palma the next weekend. Three aircraft are on hand at present, with the next two aircraft to follow by the end of February. The five aircraft will gradually be phased in, as will flights to Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Faro, Alicante and Athens, in time for the summer schedule of the European Division which comes into force on April 1. Specially-designed seats will allow quick changes between! a 300 tourist plus 20 in first-class arrangement and a 330-scat all-tourist layout. A special till has been developed for the benefit of the high proportion of shuttle passengers who will wish to pay on board. Cash, credit card or cheque—"even Scottish pound notes"—will be accepted. Only the normal £17 one way ticket will be available on board; returns, weekend excursions, group, all-through and youth/student fares will have to be booked in advance through conventional outlets. Capt Dick Twomey, shuttle manager, says his staff have been told not to create a "fuss" if a passenger refuses to pay. If this situation arises the captain of the aircraft will radio ahead on a company frequency and the appropriate "reception committee" will be waiting when the aircraft lands. The 40 stewardesses—including a number of ex- Court Line employees—will wear new-style uniforms. Results from the shuttle will be reviewed during the first six months of operation to see if the experiment should be extended. The new service is being introduced at a time of economic difficulties, but it is expected to break even during the first year. British Airways hopes that it will stimulate traffic and benefit from the recent increase in the single rail fare. The independent British airlines view the shuttle's prospects with mixed feelings; none have routes with the required level of demand to make a shuttle practical. One airline says that British Airways is gambling with the taxpayers' money, while another says it is keen to see results. The independents see two problems at a time when economic considerations dictate an accurate match between capacity and demand, usually dependent on a level of pre- booking by business travellers. They say the back-up aircraft should be a small-capacity "vintage" type rather than a jet. British Airways points out that even if the first back-up flies with only one passenger, average load factor still amounts to just over 50 per cent. If the second back-up flies average load factors approach 70 per cent. After April 1 both a 100-seat and a 140-seat aircraft will be available, making a more flexible fleet. The independents also note that British Airways has had to take steps to ensure that the shuttle does not alienate the travel agents, who will lose commission. The independents rely more on the services of travel agents than does the State airline. In any event, it seems that it is the other airlines operating on high-volume routes to Europe which need to study the British Airways experiment, rather than the smaller UK airlines. The European Division has already had talks with a number of continental airlines about shuttle services (see above). The introduction of a shuttle on international routes such as London-Paris could raise problems over the terms of the bilateral and British Airways felt it was easier to pioneer services on domestic routes which require agree ment only with the Civil Aviation Authority.
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