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HELICOPTER AIR SERVICE PROGRAM         49

Mr. HALABY. Right.

It showed the preferences of those who would rather begin their trip at Hopkins, and those who would rather begin their trip at the city center.

Senator LAUSCHE. They did have a helicopter service privately operated, and unsubsidized. It gave up operations about 5 years ago.

Mr. HALABY. Yes, sir. And that was because the work of these carriers had not been done. I believe it was Mrs. Bolton's son who was operating that.

Senator LAUSCHE. I am not sure.

Mr. HALABY. The Work that these four carriers had done, all of the pioneering, research, development, service, task, engine, re-engine, flight enterprise operation could be operated at anywhere near a profit.

Senator LAUSCHE. Who made the survey of which you speak?

Mr. HALABY. I can give you the data on it, Senator Lausche. I am not sure weather Stanford Research Institute made it, or someone made it for them.

Senator LAUSCHE. Do you know whom they interrogated? Was it the manufacturing plants that have their agents who do flying, or did they interrogate the general public?

Mr. HALABY. I would have to look into the footnotes and give you an answer to that.
I think you should know, and I am sure you do know already, that a large proportion of these travelers are so-called suitcase or briefcase travelers. They carry their own briefcase or small suitcase, and are on business.

And of course, that is both the value and the difficult. The value is that an hour saved to that man with the briefcase can run all the way from $10 to $100 saved, or maybe even millions if he makes a deal instead of losing one.

The average hour saved is a little less valuable than that on the whole trunk transportation system, because there is a higher proportion of the general public in the trunk transportation system.

It is true that the carriers have something to offer. It is possible and it will depend upon the supply and demand, not on some Government dictate, as I see it, that the carriers could pay 25,50,75 percent, some range of the cost of the transportation extending their flight on into the city center.

It would certainly be a source of additional business for the helicopter carriers and it could conceivably generate some additional business for the long-haul carriers.
At the present time there are several such arrangements. The question really is whether there is some kind of incentive that can be provided to get the carriers to expand this kind of collaborative effort.

It might even be possible for some of the carriers to guarantee so many seat-miles of transportation per month and enable one of these currently subsidized carriers to have a cushion or an assured workload and then tailor this operation to fit that guaranteed seat-miles-plus business that they would go out and get on their own.

I think the Chairman of the CAB indicated that he was willing to consider these various kinds of arrangements between the helicopter carriers and the trunk lines.