Pan American World Airways teacher, Vol. XIII, No. 1, October 1956

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World Airways Teacher
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October, 1956
Published by Pan American World Airways
VOL. XIII No. 1
LOWER FARES FOR OVERSEAS AIR TRAVEL
By George Gardner
Passenger fares for travel overseas have not followed the inflationary spiral — instead, the rates have been substantially reduced over the past three decades.
iOver certain routes, it now is possible to |’uy a rou7id trip for less than the one-way rare charged only a few years ago.
A “Thrift Class” fare of $52.50 one way/ $105 round trip was introduced by Pan American World Airways this year for the New York City-Puerto Rico flight. If you flew to Puerto Rico in 1946, you paid $130 one-way.
Another example is San Francisco/Hono-lulu, where the current round trip tourist fare is $250. In 1936 the only way to go was on the first class service at the rate of $360 one way.
Tourist type service was first offered on the New York/Puerto Rico run in 1948. The fares then -charged.-were $75 on-?.-way and $150 round trip. This was the first tourist service ever operated by any air line, and it was such an outstanding success that it set a pattern for low cost air travel which has been adopted throughout the United States and all over the world.
Here are the present classes of service, and the fare rates, which are offered for travel by Flying Clipper to Puerto Rico: New York-San Juan
One-Way Round Trip
First Class
(“President”) .... $100.00	$180.00
Tourist (“Rainbow”) 64.00	128.00
Thrift ................. 52.50	105.00
This pattern will be extended to other parts of the world — first on the Atlantic. The goal sought for trans-Atlantic “Thrift Class” is a one-way fare of $232, New York-London. Meanwhile, there are two other fare plans available which enable the traveller to save considerable amounts. One is the family plan, available November through March. When one full rate tourist
ticket is purchased by the head of the family for the trip from New York to London at the regular rate of $290, other family members can travel for $160. For the round trip, head of .family pays $522, the additional members enjoy a reduction of $200. A family plan also is offered in First Class. A two-weeks tourist excursion fare also is available, year-round, for $425, making the one-way cost $262.50 (It is sold only on a round trip basis, and travel has to be completed within a 17-day period, permitting 15 full days in Europe).
Thus, the goal sought for many years by Juan Trippe, President of Pan American World Airways, namely, air service abroad to carry the average man for what he can afford to pay, is in sight.
So it seems opportune to review the matter of lower fares for international air travel, -a topic which obviouslv is of special interest to teachers.
Wherever teachers gather together and discuss the subject of educational travel, and there is more and more of such discussion, a standard question always is
In this issue:
STUDY UNIT ON ECUADOR
The little republic in the northwestern part of South America has many distinctions, among them the fact that it is named for the Equator, another being that it is the real source for Panama hats.
In this issue of World Airways Teacher present-day Ecuador is described by the regular writers, Enrique Portes and Lou Phillips, and an added contributor, Bill Clemmens, who writes on tourism. The customary study unit outline has been prepared by Eugenie Nadelman, and the audio-visual list has been compiled, as usual, by Esther Berg.
asked: “Why don’t they give a special fare for teachers?”
It’s a good question! And there are some logical and convincing answers.
One answer was stated, or perhaps shouted would be the better verb, by Andy Holt, former President of the National Education Association, at a meeting in Atlantic City of the National Council for Educational Travel. Since there was no verbatim report of this meeting, I’ll have to quote from memory, but I’m sure this is the sense of what Dr. Holt said: “I don’t want to see special rates for travel, or anything else, for teachers. I want to see teachers get paid salaries that will let them pay the regular prices for travel and all the other things that are important to them, just like anybody else.”
There is another important consideration.
Travel does provide an important learning tool for teachers. Visiting other countries, meeting their people, studying their cultures and customs, their politics and economics, makes good teachers better teachers. The students benefit. And the teachers benefit in a material way, for in many school systems travel is rewarded with credit toward salary increment.
But there are many others who benefit professionally by travelling, and any person who is eligible to vote, or who will be when he reaches voting age, will be a better citizen if he has learned by personal experience through travelling.
And this is what Mr. Trippe had in mind when he said in an address in 1943: “Let me suggest, for your consideration, some ways in which air transport can be on the right side and do the right thing — how it can be made more completely the instrument of the common man.
“The first way is simple. It is to assume our natural responsibility as a private en-(Continued on Page T-3)
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