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NOVEMBER FLITE FACTS
-Administrative-

METROPOLITAN AIR SERVICES

TWA's new department - Metropolitan Air Services - was created because of the need for additional passenger service consideration in the local area. Its function will grow in importance for causes now existing and intensifying in the future. These causes are:

1. As air travel speeds increase, the ground transport legs of the trip become the dominant fractions of the total time from city-center to city-center. Conventional transports have no solutions to ground-based problems, but helicopters offer a drastic improvement in reducing travel times in metropolitan areas.
2. As air travel times on any given route diminish, the demand for air service tends to concentrate into two time periods, early morning and late afternoon, with resultant rush-hour crowding further complicating the time required in getting to airport.
3. The advent of SST will accentuate the air-ground time ratio additionally.
4. New airports will be farther from metropolitan areas than many present ones.
5. Big metropolitan areas are growing, both in area and population, making ground distances greater for a larger percentage of passengers at present airports.

Since most domiciles are in major cities, all crew members are well aware of the traffic problems encountered on the regular trek to the aerodrome over the well-known routes. However, this occasional or irregular trip also required for the passenger can be a major effort. It can also be financially costly and also costly in time. Frustrating as well. This is the general problem projected for TWA's new department. 

On June 1, 1965 the concern in this regard increased considerably.  On this date, by Congressional direction, the Civil Aeronautic Board (CAB) terminated all subsidy to scheduled helicopter air carriers. TWA and other trunk line carriers recognized the necessity of continuing these operations and the growth potential that exists in the highly congested metropolitan areas, particularly where congestion is further complicated by geographic features. In order to insure a continuance of service, TWA undertook to provide funds and underwrite the presently scheduled operations of NYA utilizing four Boeing Vertol V107's. Pan American joined in making available to New York Airways additional equipment and underwriting new services. In San Francisco, TWA opened a new area of growth in the peninsula and undertook the financial support of this particular operation. American Airlines undertook partial support of other operations by SFO Helicopter Airlines. We have made available to both carriers TWA gate space and the convenience offered by TWA concourses, where such are available, and at no cost to the carriers, as part of our support effort.

The CAB's temporary approval of the arrangements made possible TWA and PAA financing an amount equivalent to that formerly obtained from government subsidy. TWA support covers the historic operating pattern between EWR, Wall