Abstract

How Safe Are the "Non-Sked" Air Lines?

This article discusses various issues related to safety measures in airlines. Afternoons are always busy at the noisy Newark Airport, New Jersey, but this time it seemed more congested than usual. Thousands of people milled about the terminal buying tickets, checking on departures and making last-minute purchases at the newsstand. At the end of World War II, many more people wanted to fly than the airlines could accommodate. The Army was selling surplus planes, and to many military pilots the airline business looked good. Surplus military planes were acquired, sometimes at exceedingly low prices and on very easy terms. As the capacity of the scheduled airlines increased, they too, became interested in the sky-coach market. As the scheduled lines offered more service to the economy-minded traveler, the non-skeds found it increasingly difficult to compete, and thus safety measures deteriorated.