Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-03-29
Friendship Cannot
Relieve National,
AirIines Tell Butler

Shunting National Airport
flights to Baltimore will not
solve the Washington fields
overcrowding. airline spokesman
insisted yesterday.
They agreed, however, to make
a study of how air service can
be improved at Baltimore's chief
plane facility, Friendship Inter-
national.
The airline officials met with
Senator Butler, Republican. of
Maryland, Friendships chief
friend on Capitol Hill, in the
Senate Office Building.
Most of the pickering con-
centrated on restatements of
each sides stand.
Buffers Main Points
Senator Buffers main points
were:
National has reached its
saLuration point.
2. He said this largely because
airlineS deliberately dump air
passengers here, even when they
could just as easily take them
to Friendship. This is true in
cases where passengers are not
visiting the capital, but merely
switching planes, he said.
The airlineS argued back that:
l. Nationals 2 million paSsen-
gers yearly can be increased by
SO per cent, by adding one more
runway. 1t would cost between
SIS million and SIS million, said
Milton w. Arnold, Air Transport
Association vice president.
2. Recruiting flights to Friend
ship could cost the loss of thou
sands of fares yearly. Airline
officials said other airports' ex-
perience proves that short-haul
customers, which are in the ma
jority here, will travel by other
means rather than take the min
imurn 45-minute ride from down.
town Washington to Friendship
Maximum in Dispute
Airlines men said both Friend
ship and National will in 10 years
be at their maximum capacity.
Senator Butler chung to Civil
Aeronautlcs Board statistics he
said show Friendship won't reach
capacity until 1880.
James w. Austin, Capital Air
lines vice president, and Stewart
Upton, ATA's general counsel,
did agree the carriers should
study their schedules in a try at
putting more traffic into Balti-
more's white elephant airport.
But Paul Brattan, Eastern Air
lines vice president, said long
haul routes-the ones Senator
Butler wants for Friendship
also carry short-haul customers.
II see no way to Segregating
them" he added.
Mr.. Brattan and Senator But
Ter snapped charges of Stiffness.
The Maryland lawmaker said
sit is silly" to argue that traffic
cannot be diverted to Friend
ship without harming National.
1T is silly Mr.. Brattan
snapped. But it depends on
your views who's silly"
Traffic Origin Discussed
Senator Butler and several
aides plugged away at the theme
the airlines are celebrating
forcing Maryland customers to
ride trains here to make air
connections. Senator Butler
said, Traffic gets there (to Ma
tionaD because you fellows make
it go there"
THE traffic originating in
Washington, from residents of
Washington. is negligible" he
said.
No matter how the dispute
ends, the Capital still will need
another airport before many
years, the air officials said.
When Senator Butler said that
residents of Northwest and
Northeast Washington could get
to Friendship faster than Ma
tional, Robert Ramspeck, Eastern
Airlines vice president. said:
Calls for New Road
Il live near Kensington. I'll
tell you one thing you could do
the State of Maryland could
build a road so people in Kens-
ington and Wheaton could get to
Friendship. I have to drive into
town now TO get to it."
Mr.. Ramspeck asked what
could be done in cases where
travellers demanded flights. to
Washington.
You could sell him his ticket"
Senator Butler said, land take