The Role of The United States Government and U.S. International Air Carriers in Commercial Air Transport Over The North Atlantic

Extract

Published statistics reveal an approximate six-fold increase since 1951 in commercial air transport activity over the North Atlantic. Scheduled passengers increased in number from 341,000 in 1951 to 1,919,000 in 1961; cargo increased from 7,700 tons to 53,000 tons; and mail carriage increased from 3,900 tons to 17,000 tons over the same period. For 1962 a further increase of 12 per cent in passenger traffic and 14 per cent in cargo is forecast. This rapid growth situation has not been accompanied by a corresponding increase in profits, however, as evidenced by a loss estimated in the millions in 1961 on the North Atlantic by the United States international air carriers alone, and an indeterminably greater amount by the foreign air carriers operating in this area. From the limited financial data available, it appears that, among all North Atlantic scheduled international air carriers, only Irish Airlines and Pan American experienced profitable operations for 1961.