Air-Cargo Wedding

Of nearly 1,000 shoestring air-cargo lines started by ex-service airmen after World War II, only a handful survived. Last week the two biggest survivors, Robert W. Prescott's Flying Tiger Line, Inc. (TIME, Nov. 5, 1945 et seq.) and Tom and Earl Slick's Slick Airways, Inc. (TIME, Jan. 28, 1946 et seq.), decided to cut the number still more by merging.

If stockholders and CAB approve, the new line, called Flying Tiger-Slick Airways, capitalized at $13 million, will exchange a half share of Tiger common (last week's price: about 9 7/8 a share) and one share of a new issue of 5 1/2% convertible preferred for each share of Slick common, selling around 8. Tiger's President Bob Prescott will run the new company, with Slick President Tom Grace as executive vice president. The two lines, which last year flew a combined total of no million ton-miles (46% of all freight flown in the U.S.), say the merger will make them the world's biggest air-freight carrier, the fifth biggest U.S. airline. By combining their fleets (67 planes), they expect to save as much as $750,000 a year by eliminating duplications in maintenance and other service facilities.

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