Evening star., 1934-05-25
RECORD Low SET
BY A|RMA|L BIDS
Cord Company Gives Scent
Mile Rate-61 Firms
Seek 13 Contracts.

The keenest competition in the his
tory of American aviation featured
the opening today by the Post Office
Department of 81 bids on 13 new air.
mail routes. The rates bid ranged
from an all-time low of cents per
airplane mile to 435 cents per mile.
Many newly organized aviation
companies and individuals appeared
to challenge the supremacy of the
major airlines, submitting the low
bids in some cases for the new
routes. The 13 new routes. totaling
1929 miles, will extend aviation serv-
ice for the first time into all 4S
States.
Washington is to be served by two
of the most important of the new
routes, both through new territory.
Cord Firms Bid Is Low.
The first, from Washington to Chi
cago by way of Charleston and Hunt
ington, w. Va; Cincinnati and In
dianapolis, brought four bids, ranging
from 20 to SO cents per mile. The
low bidder was American AirlineS
Inc, reputedly controlled by Errett
Lobban Cord, mystery man" in the
new airmail picture. This line now
is operating passenger and express
service over the route. Pennsylvania
Airlines & Transport Co, now oper-
ating from Washington to Cleveland
and Detroit, was a close second. with
a bid of 29l2 cents. This company
has filed suit against Postmaster Gen
eral Farley for restoration of its for
mer airmail contract from Washing
ton to Cleveland Other bidders were
Walter j. Friedlander and Alfred
Frank, 80 cents, and TranScontinental
s. Western Air, 81 cents.
The second local route was split
for bidding purposes, two bids being
received on each route. One of these
was from Newark to Fort Worth,
Tex. by way of Washington. Char
1ottesvtlle, Lynchburg, Roanoke and
Bristol, Va; Knoxville, Nashville and
Memphis, Tenn; Little Rock and
Texarkana, Ark, and Dallas, Tex, ap-
proximately 1,460 miles. The other
was over the same route from Wash
ington to Fort Worth, 1858 miles.
Braniff Bid Lowest.
On the Newark-Fort Worth route
the bids were Branln Airways, Inc.
33la cents per airplane mile, and
American Airlines, 13 cents per air
plane mile. On the Washington-Fort
Worth section the bids were Braniff
Airways, Inc, 345 cents per airplane
mile, and American AirlineS, 395
cents per airplane mile.
American Airlines, which has stood
out as the unknown factor" in the
airmail picture, submitted a wider
range of bid rates than all other
firms combined, its rates ranging
from low of cents on the Chicago
Fort Worth route and the 13 cents on
the Newark-Fort Worth line, to the
highest bid received today, of 43.5
cents per mile, from Charleston, S. c..
to Fort Worth. No explanation for
the wide range was given.
The Unexpectedly heavy competi-
tion. represented by an average OF
nearly five bids on each of the adver-
tised routes, was the more surprising
in view of the fact that, while the
first batch of bids for temporary air
mail contracts totaled As on II routes.
the second dropped to only five bids
on four routes, three of which de-
veloped no competition whatever.
Despite the increase in mileage
postal officials anticipate a reduction
of nearly S6,000,O00 a year in the
cost of operating the new system for
the current fiscal year, due to the
keen competition which has de-
veloped