Clipper, Vol. 12, No. 7, April 5, 1956

              Read From California To Calcutta, From Alaska To Australasia
Vol. 12 NO. 7	PUBLISHED BY THE EMPLOYEES OF PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS	April 5, 1956
THE FASTEST, MOST ECONOMICAL METHOD OF LINKING THE WEST COAST GATEWAYS WITH TOKYO IS VIA A DIRECT END - ON GREAT CIRCLE ROUTING
An end - on service pattern to Tokyo will involve an average circuity over the nonstop distance from each of the west coast gateways if 152 miles , as compared with an average of /sse miles for present routings .
PAA'S GREAT CIRCLE ARGUMENTS
Shift Of Origin Of Orient Traffic Plus Rule That Mail Go By Fastest Route Cited In Brief To CAB
In support of its position in the j Reopened Trans-Pacific Case Pan American has filed exhibits with the CAB tracing recent developments in Trans-Paeifie air traffic.
Since 1952 passenger business has increased two and a half times. This starting date is significant since the case was argued primarily on the. basis of 1952 evidence. It was on the basis of the 1952 record that the Board recommended against Pan American's great circle application.
In 1952 PAA and Northwest received $12,600,000 in subsidy between them. In 1955 subsidy for both airlines was completely eliminated. This resulted when the commercial airlines were given the job of carrying all military mail.
But subsidy-free operation will continue only if both airlines share equally in the carriage of this mail. And Pan American cannot receive an equitable share if it remains confined to the long mid-Paeific route.
At present, Northwest has dramatically turned the tables on Pan American in a field requiring no commercial sales effort—civil and military mail. Mail travels by the shortest and fastest route, unless the airline with the shortest route lacks capacity.
In October of 1954 Pan American carried 68 per cent of the U.S. |
mail between the United States and the Orient. In December of last year it carried only 25 per cent. This trend will inevitably continue since Seattle, as the gateway to the great circle route, is obviously the shortest point of departure and entry for all the mail between the United States and the Orient.
When Pan American’s mail dries up the taxpayers will have to support Pun American's trans-Pacific service.
Still another important development through the years is the continued shift of the source of Orient business to the area east of the Mississippi, where Northwest has a monopoly of direct one-plane, one-carrier service. In 1938 47 per cent of the business was from California and 37 per cent from east of the Mississippi. By 1952 the proportion was 39 and 47. Last year it was 34 and 54, and estimates show that this year 60 per cent of the Orient business will originate east of the Mississippi.
Pan American plans to serve Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle via the shorter North Pacific flight track, thereby providing a direct, straight-line service to Tokyo from each city. For this reason, Pan American will accept the inclusion of a condition in its amended certificate requiring that Seattle be the first stop on all east-(Continued on page 3)
Iron Bird Baths Reach Record High In March
San Francisco Cleaning Shop Washes I 15 Planes During Month
The Cleaning Shop at San Francisco has just set an all-time record for washing aircraft.
During the month of March 115 Clippers got the bath treatment from the men in that shop. The biggest previous month’s production was 78.
One reason for the increase is the fact that the LAD aircraft that operate to Guatemala are all washed at San Francisco. Even the freighter gets a scrubbing before it is released for take-off. Charter flights and extra sections also contributed to the all-time high.
Men in the shop can’t quite match the performance of the three-minute car wash outfits, but they can get a B-377 all shined up in an hour. If time permits they may work on an airplane for an hour and a half to make it really gleam.
This is quite an improvement over the "good old days” of the flying boats. A wash job was an all-day affair then.
It is a strictly adhered to rule that all PAA aircraft will be washed just prior to take-off.
When You Need Ready Cash Go Right To The Top
During the recent trip of the Board of Directors through the Pacific area President Juan T. Trippe, feeling the need for a little relaxation, engaged Captain Bill Pryce, skipper of the directors’ Clipper, in a game of golf at Manila. At the end of the match the captain was on the receiving end of the “business transaction” that had been negotiated at the first tee.
The next day, shortly after take-off from Manila, President Trippe was up in the cockpit. He turned to Flight Engineer "Swede” Rothe and remarked:
"This skipper of yours is a pretty good golfer.”
Nonchalantly, "Swede” replied:
"Oh, yes sir. Whenever our per diem gets a little low we always send him out to the golf course.”
Former PAD Supply Man Named Purchasing Director For IHC
Carl Lee Stonum, former purchasing agent for the Pacific-Alaska Division, has been appointed director of purchasing for Intercontinental Hotels Corporation. He left the PAD in 1945 to join the system purchasing department.
HELPING SET A HIGH-WATER MARK
Constantine Saraeff, left, and Constantine Sabeloff give the brush-off to a B-377 at San Francisco. The Cleaning Shop there set a new record last month when it washed 115 airplanes.