Word: 747s
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...airline that will be first with the most 747s, and thus must cope with every one of the bumps in what airmen call a new plane's "learning curve," is Pan American. As if that were not enough, the company is already experiencing more than its share of turbulence. Last year it lost an estimated $23 million, $7 million in the month of November alone. It is getting much tougher competition from archrival Trans World Airlines on the North Atlantic route, and it faces a flock of new competitors on transpacific routes that it once all but monopolized. Now, with...
There is one hitch. Although the FAA's precedent-setting regulations for jumbo jets go into effect on Dec. 1, the Boeing 747s-which in February will become the first (by 21 months) to start flying passenger runs-will be temporarily exempt. Reason: Boeing applied for certification of the 747 one year before the agency began drafting its noise laws and is too far along in production of the jumbos to meet the FAA deadline. Result: no less noise for a while...
...indefinitely its plans for an inaugural flight to London on Dec. 15. At Boeing, officials promised that once the engine problem is solved, deliveries of the planes will be accelerated in order to catch lip quickly with the original schedule. Thus Pan Am, which had hoped to have its 747s in service more than a month before competitors, will probably lose some of that advantage. The airline now does not expect to begin scheduled flights until late January. TWA, which had planned to fly passengers in its giant jets in early 1970, should be only slightly affected by the delay...
Money Needed. The giant jets face other obstacles. Few major airports are equipped to handle the massive passenger flow that the new planes will bring. Yet by the end of next year, the 747s are expected to be flying to cities across the U.S. and in Europe. Some nightmarish tangles could lie ahead. Airports will need billions of dollars in the next few years to improve and enlarge terminal facilities alone, and nobody knows where the funds will come from. The prospect of raising the money has been made even more difficult by congressional proposals to limit the tax-free...
...return for the huge initial investment, airline officials anticipate major economies. The 747s are expected to reduce seat-mile costs by about 30%, even though they will not carry the maximum load of 490 passengers. Fares may be cut eventually, but the first beneficiaries will be the pilots. The top annual salaries of captains who fly such planes will go up from $45,000 to $57,000 for 80 hours' work a month...