Capital Buys

Capital Airlines' President J. H. ("Slim") Carmichael flew into London to make a deal that revved up the British aircraft industry's sorely tried pride. Last week he ordered 15 more Vickers Viscount turboprop airliners (for $18 million), giving him a total order of 75, of which he has already received 29, all now in service on Capital's routes. Said Carmichael: "There has never been an airplane that has operated with greater dependability than the Viscount. The public likes Viscounts and we like them."

Capital bought the Viscounts in 1954 because it had to have planes that could match the big, swift DC-6s and DC-7s of its rivals on the crowded New York-Washington-Chicago routes. Yet because it has few long, nonstop hauls, Capital could not operate big planes as economically as other lines. The medium-range Viscount seemed to be the answer, although, as the first foreign-made plane to fly in U.S. airlines, there was a question how it would stand up.

As it turned out, 44-passenger, 335-m.p.h. Viscounts were a hit from the start. With big picture windows, less noise and vibration than piston-engined planes, the Viscounts operated up to 85% of full load for the first few months, have averaged 70% in their first full year v. an average 64% load factor for the rest of the industry. Replacing Lockheed Constellations with Viscounts on the Chicago-Washington run, Capital tripled its business, carried 33,802 passengers from February through May 1956 v. 11,322 passengers during the same period of 1955. Traffic on the New York-Pittsburgh run was up 74% ; Chicago-Pittsburgh was up 90%; Chicago-Cleveland was up 124%.

Figuring all costs, says President Carmichael, Capital's Viscounts had a break-even load factor of 56.8%, almost 10% better than its piston-engined Constellations. Total operating costs are $1.57 per mile v. $2.16 for the Connies. But the initial costs of getting the new Viscounts into service actually cost Capital a $1,300,000 deficit in 1956's first quarter, will probably hold down profits this year, even though operating revenues were up to $11.9 million for an overall 13% jump over 1955.

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