Imperial Valley press., 1944-11-07


authorizing army'S air transport
command and the naval air trans
port service to carry civilian paSsen-
gers for pay if their travel is in
furtherance of the war effort has
stirred up some of the commercial
airline people quite bit.
What goes on here? they would
like to know. Is the government
starting an airline of its own to
compete with the commercial air.
line companies? Is the war being
used as an excuse to put over gov
eminent ownership? Is the admins
tration preparing fer 'One chosen
instrument" international aviation
policy and trying to put over a
government-ow airline as the
chosen instrument?
If ATC and MATS have more
transport airplanes than they know
what to do with, why don't they give
them to the commercial airlines and
let them haul the passengers, either
as private business CT as contract
carriers for the army and navy?
and so forth.
These questions involve not only
operations of Pan American Air
lines and American Export AirlineS,
who were in the international air
buciness before the war, but also
American, Eastern, Transcontinen-
tai. Northwestern, Northeastern,
United and other domestic airlines
which have done contract flying for
army and navy during the war and
have numerous applications on file
and in hearing before the civil
3eronauticS board to get into the
international air transport business
as socn y the war is over
NO CAUSE FOR ALARM
A close checkup with govern
ment aviation authorities seems to
Indicate that fears of the CONNER
cial air transport interests are
2roundless. There has been small
group of officers in the armed serv-
ices who would like to sec all their
experience in flying and operating
made use Of in one big postwar
airline. but these men are not in
he top brackets of government avi-
alton control, where all the head
men are committed to return Of air
TRANSPORT to commercial operators
at the earliest possible moment.
The presidential executive order
authorizing ATC and MATS TO car
~ passengers for pay l. made nee
essary by the present military sit
uation and by existing u. S. law
which controls licensing of COM
mercial air carriers in international
service.
Take the military situation first.
Commercial airlineS are not au-
thorized to operate from most mill
| tary air bases overseas. Foreign
Governments simply won't let them
in. Difficulties of getting COM
mercial plane cleared for entry into
many countries are tremendous,
though military planes can come
right in, and welcome.
A second point is thta the armed
cerVices feel they must keep con-
troll of all transport planes avail
able. for posgible emergency use
This is a decision with which no
civilian can argue.
Army recently revealed that il had
500 transport planes in service, in
clucing troop carriers, and the wal
| production board has revealed that
over 1900 new transport planes
we're manufactured in the three
month period July to September
That sounds like a lot Of planes
Nevertheless if the army wanted
another big paratroop operation
into Germany or japan. it couldn't
have too much equipment.
PLANES NEEDED FOR
TRANSPORT
A third military factor il that
surface transportation systems Of
liberated countries like France are
completely Wrecked-rail, motor
inland waterway. Planes thus be-
come the only system of transporta-
ton that will work.
On the legal side, there Is now
only one line authorized by the Civil
Aeronautics Board and by Congress
TO engage in overseas international
air transport. The idea Of granting
temporary permits to other carriers
has been blocked by an interni'
aiflines row In the meantime CAR