Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-09-17
United AirIines
Protests Shift
Joins in Opposing
Friendship Airport

/ ~~-@~N~
tested a shift Of any of til
flights from Washington Ma.
tional Airport to Baltimore's
Friendship Airport.
A. M. de Voursney. transpor-
tation analyst for the airlines
told a Civil Aeronautics Board
hearing that National Airport
was not too overcrowded. II II
some day becomes overjammed
with air trafhc. Friendship. 81
miles from Central Washington,
is too far away to be a Sec
ondary field. he claimed.
With the appearance this
afternoon of TWA and Delta
Arlines representatives. all
major users Of National Air
port will have testified, CAB
Examiner Leslie @. Donahue
said. So far. all have opposed
Friendship.
Disputes Passenger Figures
Mr.. de Voursney took issue
this morning with Harrison
Garrett. president of the Balti-
more Association of Commerce,
am organization of $500 Arms
and individuals boosting the
Friendship facilities. Mr.. Gar
rett called Baltimore a trans
portation conscious CITY" frus-
trated because OF inadequate
airline service.
But United's Mr.. de Yours
ney said his records showed
very few cross-country passen-
gers from Baltimore explaining
either at Friendship or National
now.
Baltimore businessmen arr
predominantly interested il
short hauls between mid-At.
lantic States" the airline wit.
ness insisted. Their genera
Western interest extends NJ
further than Chicago"
Under prodding by Mr.. Don.
ahue. Mr.. de Voursney admit.
ted that this Baltimore train,
might be light because superior
schedules in Washington 81,
phoned on the trafiic.
Warns Of Losses
He maintained that Balti.
more increases. even If the,
doubled or trebled current ali
passenger loads, would no
make up for losses to be ex
pected from WashingtonS re,
sistance to Friendship.
| Washington passengers ar
too used to National as a mat
ural terminal" ever to want {,
board planes at a field far from
this home base, according +
Mr.. De Voursney. He note,
that nearly II per cent O
Washington's passengers con
meet with other carriers at Ma
tional. They'd miss too man
OF those connections in the 70
minute trip on the ground fror
Friendship to keep fiyin
United. he predicted.
Also he said Friendship wa
too far from Northwest Wash
lngton and Virginia patrons O
United to make any transfer
to Friendship advisable.
Stresses Government Use
"A large part of our train
generates from Government
agencies primarily located 1
the Northwest sector OF tn
city" Mr.. De Voursney sale
Some rs per cent of United
patronage in this area come
from Virginia"
The Baltimore business com
munity has united behind
drive TO win from CAB eitht
an order increasing service {
Friendship or designatin
Friendship as a secondar
Washington airport.
This latter alternative woul
require the transfer Of at lea,
some flights Of lines servin
Washington.
American Raps Project
American Airlines yesterds
testified that its facilities I
Washington are complete
adequate" Shifting fiigh
would not only be unnecessal
but adverse to the public IL
I lterest, Herbert d. Ford, dii
trict sales manager Of the ali
line. told the CAB.
Mr.. Ford said a shift "woul
inconvenience a substantiI
number Of passengers an
would undermine the develop
ment Of air transportation
washington"