Word: laker
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...airlines are chasing Laker to London...
...Freddie Laker is no Rickenbacker, Lindbergh, Mitchell, Doolittle or Armstrong. But the feisty Englishman has made aviation history in his own way, by forcing transatlantic fares lower than major airlines had said they could ever go. In June, Laker won approval from the Carter Administration to offer round-trip flights between New York City and London on his 13-jet Laker Airways for $236-almost $100 less than the cheapest non-charter fare-starting Sept. 26. Last week six major airlines countered with a cut-rate transatlantic fare of their own, tossing in some of the amenities that Laker...
...lines (TWA, Pan American, British Airways, Air-India, Iran Air and El Al) will offer free meals on flights; Laker would charge passengers $3 for a steak dinner. In addition, travelers may reserve seats on any of the six carriers by paying for their tickets three weeks in advance of departure; thereafter they would be accepted on a stand-by basis only. Laker's plan allows no reservations. It runs on a first-come, first-served basis, with ticket counters opening six hours before flight time...
...outdone, Laker struck back later in the week by proposing to the British government some revisions in his own plan (Washington's approval is not required). He requested that his baggage weight limit be lifted from 33 to 44 Ibs., equal to what the larger carriers will offer. To offset the bigger lines' advantage of landing at convenient Heathrow Airport, Laker wants to touch down at Gatwick, which is served by rail (though it is still about 40 minutes from London) and more accessible than the far-off Stansted field, where he first proposed to land. He also...
...Freddie Laker concerned about his IATA competitors? No, to listen to him. Says he with a chuckle: "If Pan Am wants to dilute its earnings and go broke, why should I worry?" In fact, Pan Am seems likely to survive. After eight years of losses caused by a recession-induced downturn in international air travel at a time when it had spent heavily on new jumbo jets, the airline is now apparently on the mend and has reported its first profits for the month of May since...