Evening star., 1949-12-11
Plush Jobs VS. Bucket-Seat Air|ines
|Coast.to.Coast Air
Coach Service to
Start Soon
By Frederick R. Nicely

!: will be launched by two big trans
continental companies with the
benediction Of the Government.
!. On December ~ American Air
lines and TWA, long time opera
tors Of the Los Angeles-New York
glamour route Of the airways. will
Iinaugurate air coach service on a
daily basis and the cost Of one
way ticket for the trip will be $l10
plus tax, q reduction Of around
$50 in the price Of the luxury
service which will continue to re-
main In effect.
Target Of this generous offer II
that mythical and unpredictable
character. Mr.. Average American
(and his family. who Is presumed
to be travel-hungry but suffers
from q low-travel budget and 20
he uses his personal automobile
or the buses or railroad day
coaches. For him. this airline
offer is good for q year and on
December 81. 1850. the Govern
ment and the airlines will take
a reading on the result Of this
experiment. Even before that
date 1t should be evident whether
it has succeeded in breaking into
that untapped group-numbering
away up in the millions-which
has not flown or will not fly the
scheduled air1ines.
All Lines Don't Agree
The Inauguration Of air coach
service by these two leading op-
orators on this famous Los An
geles-New York route Is the
highest point yet reached in a
move begun more than year ago
between Chicago and New York
by Capital Airlines. headquarters
here, and employed by other
scheduled airlines since to induce
the low-income citizens to travel
by air by offering air-coach type
service at reduced rates and at
hours not competitive with the de
luxe scheduled flights.
Last year the domestic sched-
uled airlines sold 100000
tickets, but the most generous
estimate is that only 100000
people bought these tickets. That
leaves over 100.000.000 Americans
capable of. but unwilling to fly
the scheduled airlines for reasons
which both the airlines and the
Government are prone to believe
are due more to the high cost for
the traditional luxury" airline
service embraced so long by the
operators. BY extending the seat
ing capacity Of four -engined air
liners from the 40 or so for Pull
man-type travel to so and 10 for
day-coach service. the airlines can
make money when these coach
planes are filled even though the
rates are lower than the luxury
airlines.
Sounds sensible. practicable
and profitable, though typical of
them, all the airlines are not in
agreement on this move and some
are holding of adding the air.
coach service, awaiting develop
ments.' But why are the sched-
uled airlines just getting around
to this coast cOurtShip
of these 100,000,0o0 or. more
non airline travelers?' It's an un-
happy. If not tragic. story that
deals with a kind OF defeat suf-
fered here at home by group of
air war heroes so thoroughly
victorious over an enemy in
foreign lands.
About this time five years ago,
and in nearly every part Of the
world, little groups Of American
airmen became conspicuous by
their irritability and impatience
over the way the war seemed to
plod along the well-estabiished
victory road. The approach Of
Christmas provided little distrac-
ton from their burning ambition
to get home.
What made them stand out
from everybody else who wanted
to get home was a jealous desire
to continue the line of work they
were then performing for the
military, but in a civilian. COM
mercial status.
Most Of these airmen were In
the Army Air Transport Com
mand, the Naval Air Transport
Service and the Troop Carrier
Command. A lesser number Of
starry eyed lads were from bomb
er, patrol and fighter groups. And
again, most Of them had been
drawn into the flying services by
the war from college or beginners
jobs and had yet to lay the first
foundation stone Of a career.
Bought Surplus Planes
AS the transport airmen-pilots.
co-pilots, navigators, fight engi-
neers-stretched their two and
four engined land plane opera
tions from America to all over
the world. hauling the high brass,
evacuating the sick and wounded
and flying cargo that ranged in
value and size from an ampule
Of penicillin to live mules. they
began to get ideas. At lay-over
bases in Pacific islands. in Green
land. In Africa and at the foot
Of the Himalayas they developed
an appreciation Of their ability to
fly anything anywhere. and 10
why not 60 into the air transport
business back home the moment
this wars over?
They regarded the scheduled air
line system operating in the United
States and to foreign lands in
1889, the last peacetime year. as
being a de luxe passenger service,
with provision for taking along
airmail and air express. There
was q to-do about having to pro-
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