Evening star., 1946-07-15
Pan American Starts
Line From New York
To South America
By NewboId Moves, Jr.

from New York to South America
Pan American AirWays revealed
plans for postwar hemisphere ex-
pansion program which would per-
NIT the airway to carry 1000, 900 pas
sengers and 30,000,OO0 pounds of
freight annually on multiple daily
aerial commuter service to all
Latin American capitals.
With stops at Puerto Rico. Trini-
dad, Belem and Rio de Janiero
Brazil and Montevideo, Uruguay, the
new schedule brings Buenos Aires
Argentine capital, within less than
38 hours OF the United States in
dustrial northeast. 1t is aimed at
moving Latin America-the world S
great surviving open market-cloSer
to this country than to Europe, as
surely as if the continents had been
picked up and put down in a new
position.
Behind Pan Americans plan was
the dream Of its president. Juan
Trippe, of pushing his company into
an assured commanding position in
the Latin American travel field He
faced heavy competition from gov
ernment-subsidiZed airlines of many
European countries. as we'll as from
other United States companies.
L. S. May Invest Billions.
HoVering discreetly in the back
ground was another dream: That
the United States might take for
Itself net less than half of the
100000 200 worth of foreign trade
which. economists estimate. Latin
American shortly will DO each year.
Pan American observed that the
new schedules give North American
businessmen big travel and ship
ping advantage over European rivals
that the fastest way a Britisher
can get to Rio is by Pan American
via New York.
Wilbur Morrison. vice president in
charge of Pan Americans Latin
America division, put it to reporters
this way:
The United States has A market
in Latin America that hasn't been
scratched yet because of a lack of
high-speed transportation The
United States must develop this
market and keep developing it. Pan
American expects to do its share
The fact is, it's up to us to
blanket the area with so much
transport that the people down there
Just won't take their business to
Europe. We propose to get off to
such a good start that nobody will
be able to catch us"
In getting off to It's start, Pan
American announced:
/, That 130 new planes were on
order for its Latin American runs.
Ninety of these would be absorbed
in modernization of its present Latin
American feet Of pproXimately 200;
the rest would boost that fleet in the
near future to a 24O-plane total
2. That it would start with one
fight daily to and from Buenos Aires,
rapidly stepping up the pace to a
projected three flights daily through
as far as Buenos Aires, and seven
daily as far as San Juan, Puerto
Rico. Acceleration of the flight pro-
gram might. however. be held back
little as result of the Civil Aero
nautics Administrati tons order of
last Thursday grounding all Lock
heed Constellation planes for a
period of 30 days. officials admitted.
3. That 1t would effect a sub
stantial reduction" in its starting
fares lthe New York -Buenos Aires
flight now costs S547. for example,
seeking eventually to bring travel
shipping and airmail rates down to
domestic" levels. This announce
ment, Of especial interest to jittery
competitors, seemed to be the key
TO Pan Americans hope of achiev-
ing the hoped-for volume of 2.OOO, 900
passengers, 3000O.OO0 pounds of
freight. There were indications Pan
American would lower present rates
before the end of summer.
The company's plane, it was pre-
dlcted, would provide interesting
grlst for discussion at the next con-
ference Of the International Air
Transport Association, scheduled to
deal with Latin American traffic
September II at Rio. The confidence
OF the company's officers that their
proposals would prevail seemed to
indicate they felt Pan American
would find itself in strong enough
position to control the conference