Evening star., 1946-12-22
Air Freight
NeedsPolicy
CAB Conside rim g
Future of Young
Enterprises
By ". Fl. Shibben, Jr.
Aviation Editor of The Star

Christmas season, Is forcing a new
declaration of Federal policy on the
rules of competition.
With tonnage graphs on produc.
ton charts looking something like
the face of Matterhorn-on the up
grade, that is-more than score OF
new cargo carriers are fighting for
a permanent share of the profits.
Booming sky freighters, converted
from war service and operated by
former military airmen, are hauling
things such as orchids and humming
birds, heavy machinery, automobile
parts, mink coats, race horses and
prize bulls. gardenias, coflns, Christ
mas trees, Vermont granite, Lily
Dache hats and the like.
The scheduled or certifcated air
lines alone will do about $2o,000,0o0
worth of business this year, ex-
elusive of air-nail and despite the
fact that at least dozen established
lines entered the cargo field only
in the last few months. Like all
booms, however, this one has left
numerous economic casualties in its
wake.
The business looks good to tie
shoestring operator, especially from
a distance. Hundreds of young air.
men fighting the war overseas
dreamed of a little air service OF
their own or at least partnership
once they got home again. Many
carried through after the war was
over.
Newcomers Encouraged.
Federal agencies helped them
when possible to get surplus trans
ports into the air with sufficient pay
loads to stay in busines. This type
of American ingenuity and enter
prise was encouraged by men like
James M. Lands, chairman of the
Civil Aeronautics Board, who be-
lieves aviation can reach its maxi
mum development with less re-
strictive regulation and more new
comers and new ideas.
The new contenders for charter
business had only to register with
the CAB and observe the safety
regulations to compete with estab-
Ished, certificated carriers in the
passenger as we'll as the cargo field.
BY last spring at least 13o of them
were applying for certificates per-
mitting them to fly scheduled routes.
Is The applicants wereg opposed on
Ishe ground of wasteful and unneces-
4 5sary competition by tie 81 certifi-
Gated carriers, 10 of which had en-
tered or--were entering the cargo
JHeld withgscheduled service, some OF
(which were developing their own
Icharter service, and all of which
were carrying air express.
| Meanwhile, a CAB hearing and
decision on the issue was delayed.
The official reason was that some
parties to the dispute had demanded
additional time, although it was ap-
parent that the law of supply and
demand was rapidly reducing the
the number of applicants.
Only % of the original group Of
air cargo applicants are now repre-
+ sented at the hearing in progress
here before a CAB examiner. Tho
| hearing opened in Fort Worth, Tex,
and was moved here last month. 1t
probably will continue for several
weeks with a. CAB decision expected
in the spring.
Seek Flexibility.
Many of the new freight carriers
want certificates to operate zone
as against a city-to-city system. The
fexibility thus allowed would per-
NIT shifts to serve harvest seasons
in the South or West, or the flow
of Christmas merchandise from the
East. Farm-fresh produce, fancy
fruits and sea food are important
cargo for population centers which
manufacture clothing, machinery
and other finished products now in
urgent demand throughout the
country. Even furniture is finding
place in sky freighters.
While the CAB is feeling its way
toward what may be new Federal
policy. many newcomers in the cargo
field have been forced to fold their
wings. Young veterans proved more
skillful as airmen than as statesmen.
warehousemen and flnanciers. Even
established airlines must battle for
storage space at crowded air termi-
mails, and surface trucking has
proved another headache.
1 The sheriff with his attachments
has caught up with many airplanes
grounded by mechanical failures.
lack of ground facilities or ade-
quate financing to bridge the gap
between profitable but often un-
certain charter flights. Too, the
CAB in recent weeks has cracked
down on a dozen charter outfits
whose flights too nearly pafalleled
regular, scheduled service.
Surviving newcomers. however.
are. sturdy group consisting OF
half a dozen large operators. and
more than twice as many smaller
outfits contracting for deliveries
anywhere within reach of two and
four engined transports. Rates for
both nonscheduled and certiflcated
operators vary from 261s cents a ton
mile on short hauls down to IL
cents for long-range flights.
The dividing line between air ex-
press and air freight is much thin
ner than in the case of rail carriers.
4 No shipments are sidetracked be-
4 tween terminals. although express
is expedited after it is landed. An
other profitable outlook for the
carriers is the plan of the Post
i OHfce nerartment to send a large