A Lively Corpse

Three years ago, the future of strike-harried National Airlines looked so dark that the Civil Aeronautics Board started proceedings to dismember it, split National's New York-Miami-New Orleans-Havana routes among healthier competitors. But President George T. ("Ted") Baker, who fathered National, proved it to be a lively corpse. By offering low-price ($53.35 plus tax) aircoach fares from New York to Miami, and getting hotels to make special rates, National built up a big off-season traffic to Florida, went after the luxury winter trade with eight new DC-6s. In eleven months of 1950, thanks partly to better business for all airlines, National chalked up more than $2,000,000 profit (v. a loss of $20,000 the year before), was $381,487 in the black even before mail pay. Last week Baker got his reward: CAB dropped its dismemberment proceedings.

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