Clipper, Vol. 17, No. 9, November 1958

              Most of the
mainly through the ovet. between PA A and BO AC. inaugurated the first tram tional manoeuvres have thi something different. The folio London Daily Telegraph of Ock differences.
Let us all bend every effort notes, the efficiency and economic service. — H. E. Gray
COMET AND BOEING
Both the makers and operators of the Comet ^ gratulations for being the first to run a jet service across the Rightly or wrongly the competition between Britain’s Comet America’s Boeing had been interpreted by public opinion as a race which, in the event, Britain has now won — if only by a few weeks. Whether this is a victory for this country’s aircraft construction and design or merely a masterly stroke of public relations promotion remains to be seen. Catching a newspaper headline by being the first in a new field is one thing; catching and holding public support by making a new air service economically competitive is another. Unlike the early bird which snatches a decisive advantage by getting in first, an early air service gains little unless it can maintain its lead over the long haul. This, unfortunately, is precisely what the Comet 4 is unlikely to do.
“No amount of flag-waving can disguise the fact that while the Comet carries a mixed load of 48 first-class and economy passengers across the Atlantic, its American rival is expected to be able to carry up to about 120 passengers. The truth is that the Comet 4, not being designed for the Atlantic crossing, can be adapted for this function only by sacrificing passenger space. In the long run this crucial disability will inevitably allow the longer-range Boeings, if not the present model, to dominate the route — a development ominously foreshadowed by the news that BOAC has itself already ordered 15 of these American aircraft. Such chastening reflections may seem ill-timed on the morrow of the Comet’s pioneering achievement. But it is as well to remember that civil aviation is not a sport concerned with making and breaking records. It is a commercial industry primarily concerned with making profits.
TTrFaris
BREAKING GROUND for Jet Engine Overhaul facility at IDL is Executive Vice President Harold E. Gray as Carl Kneisel, Manager Properties and Facilities; A. Jackson Kelly, Vice President Europe; Richard Adams, Maintenance Manager; John Shannon, Division Manager; Martin Taylor, General Foreman Jet Overhaul; C. S. Vaughn, Operations Manager; Randall Kirk, Manager Ground Operations; and Carl Brooke, Properties and Facilities, smile their approval. (See story on Page 7.)
daily Jet Clipper service to Paris on October 26, followed on November 16 by Pan Am Jet service to London, brought with it a host of other changes in Atlantic Division flight operations, analysis of the Fall and Winter schedules reveals.
Our sleek new Boeing 707-121’s will be able to absorb the traffic formerly handled on our transatlantic Super Strato-cruiser flights, and still have space for nearly a full piston-engine aircraft’s load of Economy pax. No B-377 transatlantic flights are included in the new schedule.
In addition to the Jet Clippers, we are also operating transatlantic DC-7C flights. There are 70/71 North Atlantic flights; six times weekly Super-7 flights on the mid-Atlantic/African run; and once a week DC-7C flights to and from Scandinavia. Also, the transatlantic portion of all RTW’s are operated with Super-7 aircraft.
To maintain our frequency of operation to and from points beyond cities served by the Jet Clippers, an intricate network of DC-6B flights is detailed in the Fall and Winter schedules.
These “change of gauge” flights serve as direct extensions of the Jet flights, and also provide connections with RTW flights, providing a wider range of service.
Flight 115 originates at Teheran with DC-6B equipment four times weekly, connecting with the RTW flight at Beirut and continuing on to Paris where the change of gauge to the Boeing 707 Jet takes place for the flight to New York. The other three days weekly, flight 115 originates in Baghdad with a Super-6, connects with the RTW at Ankara and then goes to Paris for the Jet flight across the Atlantic.
(Continued on page 5)
Diamonds for 75,000th Transcross
In the midst of our early jet operations, the time came to commemorate a landmark in the history of Pan Am and that of commercial aviation —the 75,000th transatlantic crossing operated by Pan Am.
It was Pan American that blazed through the skies over the Atlantic with the first commercial flight on June 28, 1939. Our 75,000th flight turned out to be flight 114 of November 13, a Jet Clipper flight to Paris and Rome.
In the more than 19 years since we inaugurated commercial air service across the Atlantic, we have carried a total of 2,939,054 passengers, 67,685,394 pounds of cargo and 48,372,618 pounds of air mail between the United States and Europe on our 75,000 flights.
The aircraft with which we operated the first and the 75,000th crossings both were manufactured by the Boeing Airplane Company. But there the similarity ends.
The Boeing B-314 flying boat which made the first crossing was the most advanced aircraft of its day, capable of carrying 35 passengers across the Atlantic at 150 miles per hour. Its maximum gross take-off weight was 82,500 pounds.
(Continued on page 10)
The Jet Clipper America soared off the ground at IDL on Sunday, October 26, with a full load of passengers and headed across the Atlantic for Paris — bringing to real::., the long-awaited Jet Age of commercial aviation.
The next day at Paris a similar scene took place as Pan Am’s first scheduled westbound jet flight took to the air on its way to New York.
In the next few weeks, Jet Clipper flights to and from Paris became part of the accepted routine as the giant Boeing 707-121’s, carrying capacity or near-capacity loads of Deluxe and Economy pax, as well as sizeable amounts of cargo and mail, made daily eastbound and westbound crossings.
For the first few weeks of daily jet service, the jet flights operated to and from Paris. Then, on November 8, the Italian Government authorized jet service to Rome, and from then on Flights 114/115 have stopped at Rome daily, as well as Paris.
On November 16, the first Jet Clipper flight to London was entered in the history books. Flight 100 of November 17 was also a Jet Clipper flight. The first LON/IDL Jet crossing left LON on November 17, followed by another on November 18. Starting November 27, Jet flights 100/101 will operate six times weekly. Jet Clippers will fly IDL/LON every day except Monday and LON/IDL every day except Tuesday.
The Jet Clipper service between New York and London will not operate daily, as originally scheduled, due to a delay in pilot training resulting from the fact that an agreement between Pan Am and the Air Line Pilots Association covering pay for jet operations has not been reached.
(Continued on page 5)