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March 25, 1968
Aviation DAILY
Page 121

U.S. DOMESTIC AIRLINE TRAFFIC RISES 23.2% IN FEBRUARY

The Air Transport Assn. reported domestic airline passenger traffic on U.S. scheduled air carriers was up 23.2 percent last month, compared with February, 1967. Eleven trunk, 12 local service and 3 helicopter carriers flew 5,994,993,000 revenue passenger-miles in February, compared with the 4,866,618,000 flown the comparable month, 1967. Available seat-miles were up 30.6 percent to 11,979,925,000 in February, 1968, from 9,170,863,000 in February, in 1967. Load factor was 50 percent, as compared with the 53.1 percent reported for February last year.

Revenue passenger-miles for trunk airlines rose 22.4 percent to 5,632,383,000 last month from the 4,601,027,000 recorded for February, 1967. Available seat-miles increased 29.7 percent, up to 11,142,379,000 from the 8,590,857,000 counted the same month a year ago.

Local service carriers reported an increase of 36.7 percent in revenue passenger-miles to 360,451,000 last month from the 263,660,000 flown in February last year. Available seat-miles rose 44.6 percent to 832,486,000 from 575,975,000. Load factor was 43.3 percent.

Revenue passenger-miles for the helicopter lines was up 11.8 percent to 2,159,000 from 1,931,000 in February, 1967. Available seat-miles were up 22.5 percent last month to 5,060,000 from 4,131,000 reported for the comparable month, 1967. Load factor was 42.7 percent, down from the 46.7 percent reported in February, 1967.

For the first two months of 1968, ATA reported domestic scheduled airlines experienced a 19.4 percent increase in passenger traffic, to 12.5 billion from 10.5 billion persons carried in January and February, 1967. Available seat-miles were up 28.2 percent to 24.6 billion from 19.2 billion in the comparable period, 1967. Load factor was 50.9 percent, down from the 54.6 percent reported for the same span last year.

AIR TAXI ACCIDENTS KILLED 84 IN 1967; PASSENGER FATALITIES RISE

There were 84 deaths in air taxi operations last year, with 61 passengers and 23 crewmembers killed, preliminary National Transportation Safety Board figures show. The passenger fatality total was about double that of 1966, when 32 passengers were killed in air taxis, NTSB Chairman Joseph J. O'Connell Jr. noted in a letter to FAA Administrator William F. McKee recommending higher safety standards for taxi operators (DAILY, March 22).

But, O'Connell noted, "The area we are talking about is so new and so rapidly changing that comparative statistics are not worth much. However, the 1967 toll in absolute numbers is of sufficient magnitude to justify concern and affirmative action."

DOT NAMES CONGRESSIONAL LIASION OFFICER

Secretary of Transportation Alan S. Boyd named Fred B. Burke deputy asst. secretary for public affairs. Burke's principal assignment will be congressional relations. He joins DOT after three years as an alternate federal co-chairman, Appalachian Regional Commission, and four years as executive secretary to Sen. Philip Hart (D-Mich.).

THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES Commission has authorized Skymark Airlines to reduce its minimum number of Monday-Friday flights between Sacramento and Oakland from four to two, and between Sacramento-San Jose-Monterey from three to two. Skymark recently started operations flying Twin Otter equipment.