Evening star., 1961-12-16
Travellers AssaiI End
OF Cut-Rate Flights
Many Reported
Holding Tickets
Must Pay More

Airline offices and Govern
ment officials today reported
receiving hundreds of COM
plants from prospective air
travellers whose plans for cut
rate transcontinental flights
were scuttled by the Civil Aero
nautics Board this week.
A CAB ruling Wednesday
terminated special excursion
rates for transcontinental
round-trip flights offered since
August 80 by the three major
cross country air carriers -
Trans World Airlines. Ameri-
can Airlines and United Air
lines.
Although CAB officials and
air travel ticket offices were
deluged with calls from travel
ers holding tickets bought un-
der a now non-existent rate,
it was clear that cancellation
of the excursion fares this
week was always distinct pos
Sibility.
Two Airlines Attacked Fares
Two of the airlines, in fact,
had filed a formal complaint
with CAB officials, urging sus-
pension of the excursion tariffs
and charging that the cut-rate
fares were costing them mil
lions of dollars a year." The two
complaining carriers-both of
which welcomed this weeks
CAB order-were American and
United.
The third carrier, TWA, had
filed for the excursion fares
last summer and had sought
their extension until March IA.
American and United. although
objecting to the extension, had
joined TWA in filing for COM
petitive reasons.
Under the excursion plan,
tickets for round-trip flights
from New York, Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh and Washington to
San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los
Angeles, San Diego and Phoe-
nix were available for $198 on
jets and $178 on propeller
driven planes.
The standard prices, now
uniformly in effect again, are
$266.50 Get) and $216 (pro-
peller) for the same flights.
Applied A Days a Week
Return trips under the ex-
cursion system had to be made
not less than Ia days nor more
than 80 days from the date
of the outbound flight. In ad-
dition, the special fares were
applicable only on four days
of the week-not on week ends.
Irving Roth, director of the
CABS Bureau of Economic
Regulation. said all the air.
lines have agreed that return
flights under the excursion
rate will be permitted if the
first leg of the trip was ac-
accomplished before yesterdays
deadline.
Repeatedly. however, the air.
lines have sold hundreds of CUT
rate tickets for excursions be-
ginning in the next week or or
two.
Airline officials reported they
are contracting as many of these
ticketholders as possible to
notify them that additional
payments must be made if the
tickets are to be used.
At least some of the confu-
sion precipitated by the excur-
sion fare cutoff stemmed from
the varying policies of the air.
lines in informing ticket pur-
chasers that the special fares
were subject to possible can
collation. this week. :
A CAB spokesman said the
three primarily-affected car
rierS stated that they issued
instructions to ticket offices
and travel agents to make il
clear that the bargain rates
might be suspended.
United Uses Caution
Repeatedly, only one airline
-United-adopted the policy
Fof not selling excursion tickets
for trips beginning after this
week. United told its agents to
take reservations for such
flights but to inform Gus
toners that the rates could not
he determined until the CAB
acted this week. Z
The Airline Transportation
Association this week declared
that the Nations airlines VIII
lose approximately $50 million
during the current calendar
year. ?
In their protest against con-
tiruation of the excursion
fares, American and United
told the CAB that under the
special tariff they were carry
ing more passengers but taking
in less money.
| The CAB also announced
that, during the last month, all
airlines which adopted a youth
fare" rate last summer have
dropped it. Under this innova-
ton, persons between ages Of
II and 81, inclusive. could pur!-
chase tickets at half fare. I
| Several carriers reported that
alert Selective Service System
officials across the Nation had
taken advantage of the youth
fare" rates to ship young in
ductees to training centers.
Other Lines Affected g
Also halted by the excursion
rate suspension were Northwest