Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-02
AVIATION
-tETFFTEvT BY JOSEPH S. EDdERToN.

levels which made profits abso.
lutely impossible. The purpose
was to build up a public accent.
ance Of rail transportation and {
general demand for such trans.
portation. Then, with the public
sold" on the deSirability of the
railroad and with the weaker
competitors forced out of exist
ence or swallowed up, rates were
brought up again to a revenue
producing level.
This recalling of the early his
tory of the railroads also serves
as a reminder that other forms OF
transportation than the airplane
had their own troubles with acct
dents and resultant delugeS OF
criticism. There are people who
ride the railroads the day after a
serious railroad wreck without
giving the matter a thought, but
who vigorously condemn the air.
plane following each crash.
Railroads Once Feared.
It may be interesting to such
persons to know that their earlier
prototypes were as vigorous in
condemning the railroads. Dur
| ing the pioneering day of the rail-
road in Europe there was one par
ticularly bad accident in which a
number OF persons were killed
and which. resulted in an almost
complete cessation of passenger
travel. The railroad officials put
/ their heads together to devise
ways and means of enticing the
nervous public back into their
cars. They finally hired a troupe
of actors to ride on the train and
pretend that they were enjoying
the experience very much and
that the thought of fear was re-
mote from their minds.
Just how the cutting pro-
gram of the air transport lines
will turn out remains to be seen.
1t does not seem possible, with
operation costs what they are to-
day, that they can be continued
long without the companies Of
fering them being forced into
bankruptcy.
The new rates may bring in
more money to some of the oper-
atorS than they now are making.
A rate of cents per mile on 10
passengers, 1t is easy to see, will
bring IL more revenue than 10
cents a mile on four passengers.
The reports Of the transport COM
panieS to the Department of Com
merce show that on many of the
air passenger lines planes have
been carrying only from 16 to 80
per cent capacity loads. This is
lower than the railroads. which
average 40 per cent Of their pas
senger-carrying capacity.
Five Cents-a-MiIe Transportation
Under the new low rates one of
the large tranScontinental air
lines claims that for the first two
weeks of operation more, than 90
per cent of the seats in its planes
have been occupied. This line is
offering intercity transportation
at the rate of S cents per mile.
It's Ford tri-motored planes are
limited to 10 passengers, or a rev.
enue Of so cents per mile. Yet
this company admits with re-
freShing frankneSS that its oper-
ating costs, including overhead,
are SLAP per mile. If you can
figure any profit there you are a
wizard. The operators can't do it
on any existing type of airplane,
whether single motored or multi
motored.
Whether passenger carrying
may be considered a source of
profit for the air transport oper-
ator on scheduled service today
remains an uncertainty. The
railroads Of the country last year
derived only Is per cent of their
income from passengers. The air.
plane passenger income undoubt-
edly will be higher than for the
railroads and, with more efficient
and faster planes and possible re-
duction Of overhead expenses, OPP
orators believe that profits not
only are possible, but in the long
run are certain.
The general reduction In air
travel rates and the co-ordina-
ton of air transport schedules
will be considered at a meeting
Of the air transport section Of
the Aeronautical Chamber of
Commerce in st. Louis February
10, in conjunction with the Sec
ond annual international aircraft
exposition there.
The first comprehensive an
alysis of the results Of the reduc-
ton of the passenger rates upon
the volume of traffic will be pre-
sented at the meeting. At this
meeting the operators also will
consider the establishment Of
consolidated air travel ticket Of
fees, owned and operated by the
air lines themselves, after the
railroad ticket office system.