Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-10-29

oAS ACldSCd1lG W EO dlOllS Will
with Air France and LAI, the ad-
vent of Pan American is regarded
by Paris and Rome as competition
for French and Italian lines and
has led to the revival of the long
debated question of frequency
and capacity ALLEGATIONS as a
means of protecting a nation pos
sibly fearful of a strong foreign
competitor flying off with all the
business.
Bermuda ARRANGEMENT
Great Britain and the United
States early in 1916 concluded a
new bilateral air agreement at
Bermuda which featured the prin-
cip,es of fair and equal oppor-
tunity for the airllnes of all ma
tions.
The Bermuda agreement placed
no specific limitation on frequen-
cies and capacities: made no pro-
vision to allocate them arbitrarily
by agreement, cartel-like prin-
clple which the United States has
consistently opposed in the past.
I Under the Bermuda agreement.
though, each nation operating air.
lines to the other is free to de-
termine for itself the number Of
frequencies which are justified:
services being related to traffic de-
mands. And each nation PROM
lses that its own airlines will not
offer frequencieS or capacities or
indulge in competitive practices
not authorized under the princi-
Piles. The Bermuda agreement so
far seems to have been very help
full to both America and Britain
when admittance to London was
requested for TWA.
Those principles are embodied
IN the air agreements America has
with France and Italy, but both
countries perhaps can be forgiven
II they do not have quite as much
confidence in their present and
future competitive ability against
the United States international air
lines as Great Britain has dis
played. France and Italy, and
Britain, too, came out of the war
with no long range modern air.
liners such as America was in a
position to develop and produce.
but Britain made audacious post
war plans before victory was in
sight, for jet and turbo-pr air.
liners. She now has several prom
Using types on the way. the most
advanced and satisfying thus far
being the straight jet de Havilland
Comet. Nothing comparable has
been achieved in France and
Italy, or for that matter, in Amer
lea either.
Agreement Flexible
i Theoretically. Pan American
could move in on the New York
Paris-Rome route with its higher.
capacity Stratocruisers and lure
most of the traffic away from TWA
and also from Air France and LAI.
But the United States Government
is morally bound under the Ber-
muda agreement principles to pre-
vent such a condition coming to
pass and it prefers to police it's
own airlines rather than submit
to limitations imposed arbitrarily
! by other nations or by an inter-
national authority. Being flexible,
the Bermuda PRINCIPLES enable
America, France and Italy to de-
crease or increase the frequency
and capacity of their airlines
serving each other at any time
the traffic warrants and without
the delays involved in drawing up
new ALLEGATION agreements when
ever the need for them becomes
apparent.
These and other assurances that
President Humans letter did not
mean he was ordering strong-arm
competition by Americas two
powerful international airines-
PAA and TWA-againSt struggling
Air France and LAI, have been
given the French and Italians by
our negotiators in Paris and
Rome.
But so far, not the slightest hint
has been dropped by any one that
the problem could be solved in a
jiffy if President Truman would
hop over to Paris and Rome in his
DEG and explain to the perplexed
authorities just what it was he had
in mind when he wrote that letter