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Aviation History
1975
1975 - 1428.PDF
174 AIR TRANSPORT inconsistency" to hold out hope of an early go-ahead for Skytrain while cutting off BCAL's line of return to the route. The CAA made clear in February its view that Skytrain would divert at least some traffic from other operators and suggested that the service could begin "when the market has resumed a healthy rate of growth ... the market is unlikely to expand fast enough for at least 12 months and perhaps even longer." Mr Shore's state ment suggested that Skytrain would be diversionary "in the conditions likely to prevail in the North Atlantic market for a considerable time ahead." Although the secrecy which surrounded the review was impenetrable to the last, the DoT has released a sur prisingly slim memorandum which, nevertheless, is claimed FLIGHT International, 7 August I97S to include all the source material, with the exception of the airlines' own opinions and some background statistics from the DoT's own records. The DoT has studied the vexed question of the relative efficiency of the national and independent carriers and has not surprisingly come to the conclusion that the funda mental differences between them prevent any meaningful comparison; the differences in average stage lengths and more significantly in the proportion of scheduled to charter work are considerable. There are odd gaps in the data, with no reference to operational aspects such as departure numbers or aircraft utilisation. It is clear that even the most detailed study is unlikely to produce any worthwhile conclusions if only two airlines are compared; had the DoT taken a sample of airlines to obtain some indication of the average variation of costs with stage length and the proportion of scheduled services it might have been possible to say more in effect than "the two airlines are different." UK airlines contest domestic fares LAST WEEK the second round of the British Civil Aviation , Authority hearings on UK trunks in general and British Airways' shuttle in particular opened in London, under the chairmanship of Lord Boyd-Carpenter, two days after the announcement of the UK civil aviation policy review (see previous page). British Caledonian Airways is applying for tariff and frequency changes on British Airways' London-Glasgow shuttle and to the conventional London-Edinburgh service. For the first time the two airlines have exchanged details of their operating costs and it is clear that BCAL operates far more cheaply than British Airways. BCAL wants the CAA actively to regulate domestic services for the "next two years or so,v until these routes become profitable. Claiming that the domestic trunk routes have been "seriously underpriced for years," the airline says that if the tariffs were right there would be no need for the present hearing. In dealing with the conventional London-Edinburgh route, the airline agreed that it had reduced its frequency owing to the economic situation, but said it had been surprised to find that British Airways had maintained its frequency. BCAL considers that six daily flights by each carrier would produce the necessary level of service and result in load factors of 68 per cent for British Airways and 60 per cent for BCAL. Consideration of the London-Glasgow route is naturally complicated by the Shuttle. BCAL is not against the con cept of Shuttle provided that it is operated at economic fare levels. BCAL advocates restriction of frequency to eight services daily, allowing a two-hourly shuttle to be flown by British Airways, and what BCAL calls "fine tuning" of fares to restore the competitive imbalance affecting operations from Gatwick. BCAL suggests £2-00 The first UK-registered McDonnell Douglas DC-8 has entered service with IAS Cargo Airlines. The aircraft, a DC-8-54F, was acquired from American Airlines and is shown at London Gatwick shortly after arrival from Paris, where it had been serviced by UTA. ("Flight" photograph) as the smallest practical premium to apply, but is not insistent that the BA shuttle fare must be raised; clearly, though, an increase rather than a decrease is to be pre ferred where the tariff is acknowledged to be too low. The British Airways objection concentrates on showing that passenger demand for shuttle services is clear, present ing as it does a new concept of travel: "simplified, and with no barriers." The state airline claims that the BCAL applications seek to destroy the concept of shuttle services now in prospect and to stunt traffic growth on these important air routes. Imposition of a premium fare for Shuttle services would, claims British Airways, put the future of such services very much in doubt, as would capacity restraint. British Caledonian load factors have risen since Shuttle was introduced, says British Airways, and it appears that the four services a day which BCAL operates to Glasgow (after a voluntary reduction before the Shuttle was intro duced) are at about the right level to carry the traffic which prefers BCAL service or the convenience of Gatwick. Assuming fare adjustments in line with the UK Betail Price Index, British Airways expects its present service to break even next year. It contrasts its decision to expand into profit by a new service, lifting the London-Glasgow route out of stagnation, with BCAL's reduction of service to the public, and emphasises that its policy is fully in line with the civil aviation objectives of the country, enjoying the support of the CAA and the travelling public alike. Neither airline satisfies the needs of the consumer, according to private objections by Mr A. J. Lucking and Mr Alastair Macleod. They contend that an upward tariff differential would result in enforced changes in the habits of passengers travelling to Edinburgh and Glasgow, while the case against frequency restriction is overwhelming. Potentially, say Lucking and Macleod, BCAL could best meet public demand. It is the duty of the CAA to seek the lowest fares for a given route; the objectors contend that if reduction of in-flight services results in reduced fares the CAA should encourage such a service. In developing his objection to the present situation, Mr Lucking advocates the "air coach" concept of a no-frills service. He suggests that for a fare reduction of 30 per cent, traffic would increase by 40 per cent; capacity could be controlled to achieve a 70 per cent load factor and savings would accrue from reduced advertising, ticketing, and in-flight service costs. They urge the CAA to pursue the downward differen tial, provided that it is restricted to a "no-frills" service linked with limited advanced booking. The BCAL case is well prepared and aggressive. Claim ing that no operator can make a profit on UK domestic trunk routes, it sees British Airways as having a "tiger by the tail" in the Shuttle and a ready means of making huge losses. "With British Airways ten times the size of BCAL it is obvious who can bear the losses longer," it says. BCAL is asking the CAA "to restore the balance" and to prevent British Airways from "selling pound notes for 70p."
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