Evening star., 1934-05-04
CAPITAL TO HAVE
HUGE AIR SERVICE
Expansion Plans to Bring
Five Main Lines to All
Parts of Country.

the DeSt served cities In the United
States, under terms of the new tenn
porary airmail contracts and the new
bids announced last night by the
Post once Department.
When the expansion Is completed
this city will be served by at least
five main lines to various parts Of the
United States, two of them connect
ing with regions never before served
by air transportation.
Eastern Air Transport, now oper-
ating from New York to Miami
through Washington, will be more
than doubled in size under the new
contracts and may begin operating in
its greatly enlarged territory before
May 15.' A new airline, Central Air
lines, Inc, is to begin operating
within 80 days between Washington
and Detroit, by way Of Pittsburgh
and Cleveland.
Pennsylvania Airlines will con-
tinue In operation with passenger
and express service between Wash
ington and Cleveland, according to
word received at local Offices of the
line, and American Airways is ex-
pected to continue its passenger serv-
ice from Washington to Indianapolis.
Service to Chicago.
Under terms Of an advertisement
for bids announced by the depart
ment, to be opened May Is, airmail
service is TO be inaugurated from
Washington to Chicago, by way of
Charleston and Huntington, w. Va,
Cincinnati and Indianapolis, a route
never before opened to airmail serv-
ice. The department also has called
for bids for airmail service from New
York to Washington and on to Fort
Worth, Tex, through virgin airmail
territory. This route, which will be-
come one OF the country's major
lines, will open up the Tennessee
Valley area and Southwestern Vir-
ginia to airmail and air transport
service. Stops on the new route
south Of Washington are at Char
lottesville, Lynchburg, Roanoke and
Bristol, Va; Knoxville, Nashville and
Memphis, Tenn; Little Rock and
Texarkana, Ark, and Dallas.
Eastern Air Transport will begin an
immediate expansion of its personnel
and equipment in preparation for ex-
tending its service within the next
two or three weeks from its original
territory along the Atlantic seaboard
to a new territory extending to Chi
cago and New Orleans.
The company, which was granted
contracts under the terms Of q COM
plete corporate reorganization, will
become Eastern Airlines, Inc, about
May Is, and will begin operating
under new officers and a new organi-
Zation.
Capt. Thomas B. Doe, president Of
the present company, will leave to be-
come vice president of the Curtiss-
Wright Corporation, engaged in the
manufacture of airplanes and engines.
1t is rumored that the vacant presi-
dency may be offered to Harris Han
shue, president of Western Air Ex-
press.
To Double Personnel.
The operating personnel of Eastern
Air Transport will be doubled before
it is transferred to the new Eastern
Airlines management. Approximately
200 Eastern Air Transport pilots, CO.
pilots and other personnel, laid of
about two months ago, will receive the
first call for the new jobs and will be
called back within the next week or
10 days, it was indicated here. The
company then will go into the market
for new pilots, co-pilots and ground
personnel to take over its new routes.
Central Airlines, Inc, a newcomer
to the air transport field, Is organizing
today to open service before June l
from Washington to Detroit, an ex-
panSion of the former airmail route
from Washington to Cleveland flown
in the past by Pennsylvania Airlines.
Central underbid Pennsylvania for the
route and was awarded the contract
despite the criticism of the company
in the Senate by Senator Austin OF
Vermont During debate on the air.
mail bill, Senator Austin said:
1T appears that If the route from
the Nations Capital to Detroit Is
awarded to the low bidder, the equip
ment used will be airplanes which had
been discarded by the former operator
as obsolete and unsatisfactory for the
service. Naturally. a bidder purchaS-
ing airplanes off the junk heap can
afford to underbid q carrier using
more expensive and more ef1cient
equipment"
1t has been charged that Central
Airlines purchased from a jobbing
concern five airplanes put out Of
service nearly year ago by Pennsyl-
vania Airlines as being too slow and
inefficient for its service. These air.
planes. it was pointed out, have just
been inspected and passed by inspec-
tors Of the Aernonautics Branch Of
the Department of Commerce, and it
Is understood that engine and pro-
peller changes have been made to in
crease their cruising speed above the
110-mile-per-hour minimum fixed by
the Post once Department.
Inadequacy Of Facilities.
In the face Of the tremendous air
transport expansion authorized locally
by the Post ONCE Department, imme-
diate steps are planned to bring to
the attention Of Congress once more
the inadequate local airport facilities.
All Of the new lines are expected to
operate out of Washington Airport,
now the only available local air trans
port terminal. Samuel ]. Solomon,
general manager of the airport, today
announced luncheon meeting Of rep
resentatives of all local civic, business
and aeronautical interests to be held
at the Willard Hotel next Wednesday
to discuss the new airport problem.
The meeting is to be held in an
effort to harmonic conflicting views
as to the future airport program for
Washington so that local interests
may present a unified front to Con-
gress In the demand for increased
airport facilities here.
Closing of the local Army Air Corps
airmail headquarters at Boiling Field
probably will be effected within the
next three weeks as the airmail
service is turned back to the private
companies. The Army now is flying
airmail from Washington to Cleveland
and from New York through Wash
ington to Miami. Boiling Field serves
as a junction and service base on
these lines, which are flown by two
pursuit squadrons.