The cost of designing, building, and testing a jet airliner is extremely high It is more than any single manufacturer wants to tackle alone, and probably it will be a combination of airlines and manufacturers who will carry out the idea. LONG TEST PERIOD But even when the jet airliner has been designed and built there is a great deal more expense ahead. It must be tested and then it must be operated for a considerable period of time to learn about its performance. It must be recalled that the building of the De Havilland Comet, now in service with British Overseas Airways Corp., was not an individual effort nor yet the effort of an airline and a manufacturer acting on their own. BOAC is a national airline and it has behind it the resources of the British Government. American plane manufacturers do not appear to be too worried that this country will lose out in the race for commercial plane supremacy in the world. Donald Douglas, long a designer and builder of sound, economic airliners, was quoted recently as saying that the British would not get a "very large proportion" of the market before we produced something "a marked step ahead of them" PLANS DRAFTED It is true, too, that many months ago both Lockheed and Boeing handed more or less detailed plans for jet airliners to several of the commercial airlines of this country. Presumably, those companies have not been sitting around waiting since then but have gone on to other designs. There is no doubt, either, that some of the airlines of this country, particularly in the international field, have kept a close eye on the development of the British Comet. The American-flag airlines know that they cannot afford to operate piston-engine planes in direct competition with pure jets. Perhaps the most reassuring thing in the jet picture, from the broad. general point of view, is that one type is now in regular service. It has always been the history of plane development that once a sound type is brought out. improvement follows improvement and finally a newer type takes over. CURTAILED SERVICE Last week some of the nine foreign-flag and two American-flag airlines flying the North Atlantic between the United States and Europe cut flight schedules as much as 40 percent because of restrictions on use of aviation gasoline. The restriction is finally to be lifted this Tuesday. Air travelers, the airlines and tourist businesses have all suffered because of the curtailment of fuel. Soшe airline observers have pointed out that as a result of the oil strike 1 month of the heavy travel season of summer has been lost. Never before in peacetime history were persons more desperate to retain their airplane reservations. During the week a remarkably large number of persons appealed to the airlines for space on the reduced schedules because of "urgent" professional or personal reasons. This category of traveler is hard to weed out when the element of time is taken into consideration. Some were accommodated; others were not. [From the Wall Street Journal, June 6, 1952] LOCKHEED AIRCRAFT HAS DESIGN FOR JET AIRLINER LOS ANGELES.-Lockheed Aircraft Corp. has a basic design for a jet airliner. plans of which already have been shown to prospective large airline customers, according to company officials. Lockheed has spent $500,000 on the development over the past 2 years. Douglas Aircraft Co. officials have declined to comment on published reports. that the company plans to make a formal announcement in 60 days concern ng a new jet airliner design. The new plane was reported to have a capacity of 56 to 80 passengers and a speed of 585 miles an hour. It has been known for some time, however, that Douglas is spending between $1 million and $2 million on a jet design in the general category described in the published reports. HEARINGS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE UNITED STATES SENATE EIGHTY-SECOND CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON S. 1868 PROVIDING FOR AN INVESTIGATION AND STUDY BY THE INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION OF THE ADEQUACY AND CONVENIENCE OF PASSENGER CARRIER FACILITIES AND SERVICES AND THE REASONABLENESS OF FARES IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, AND S. J. Res. 135 A RESOLUTION GRANTING THE CONSENT OF CONGRESS TO THE STATES OF MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TO ENTER INTO A COMPACT OR AGREEMENT PROVIDING FOR THE UNIFIED REGULATION OF COMMON CARRIERS TRANSPORTING PASSENGERS BY STREET RAILWAYS AND MOTOR VEHICLES WITHIN CERTAIN AREAS OF SUCH STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 20556 MAY 21 AND 22, 1952 Printed for the use of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce UNITED STATES WASHINGTON: 1952 SENATE COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE EDWIN C. JOHNSON, ERNEST W. MCFARLAND, Arizona Colorado, Chairman CHARLES W. TOBEY, New Hampshire HOMER E. CAPEHART, Indiana JOHN W. BRICKER, Ohio JOHN J. WILLIAMS, Delaware JAMES P. KEM, Missouri EDWARD S. JARRETT, Clerk II |