The Biggest Order

Since Lockheed Aircraft Corp. built its final turboprop Electra seven years ago, the Burbank, Calif., company has been searching for ways to get back into the passenger plane business and balance its space and military contracts with airline orders. Supersonic jets were one way, but Lockheed lost the SST contract to Boeing. Air buses--giant planes carrying double today's passenger load at subsonic speeds--were another way, and here Lockheed has at least been successful. In a joint announcement last week, TWA, Eastern Air Lines and a British firm called Air Holdings, Ltd., disclosed that they will purchase 144 of Lockheed's 256-passenger L-1011 air buses--50 each for Eastern and Air Holdings, 44 for TWA--at a total cost of $2.16 billion. The order was not only by far the biggest ever placed for commercial airplanes, but also one with international significance.

Rolls' Engines. Among other things, it will sizably affect both the British and U.S. balance of payments. Each $15 million L-1011 will have three fanjet engines, two slung under the wings and a third at the base of the tail for balance and easier servicing. Competing to provide the engines were Britain's Rolls-Royce and the U.S.'s General

Electric and Pratt & Whitney; the Rolls RB-211 turbofan was the engineers' choice because of efficiency and lower noise levels. But at $2,500,000 a plane, the British-made engines meant a $235 million drain on the U.S. balance of payments. Lockheed solved this with an arrangement in which Ah" Holdings will sell 50 of the early L-1011s abroad. This will bring in $625 million for a favorable U.S. balance of $390 million, and further sales in a market estimated at 1,000 planes by 1980 could raise the U.S. excess to well over $5 billion dollars.

The 175-ft. air bus, a civilian spin-off of Lockheed's C-5A military transport program, will carry passengers eight across in coach class and six across in first class. Two aisles toward the sides of the plane will separate the eight seats into a two-four-two arrangement. The plane can also carry 345 people, all in tourist class. Meals will be cooked on a lower deck, sent by elevator to the passenger level. The Rolls engines will carry the big jets 3,160 miles at speeds equivalent to today's jets, but the L-101ls will need less landing and takeoff space and will arrive and depart more quietly than present jets. Beginning with the first delivery in late 1971, both TWA and Eastern plan to use the planes on high-density routes like New York-Miami or San Francisco-Los Angeles.

McDonnell's Setback. Lockheed Chairman Daniel J. Haughton announced that the present L-1011 work force of 1,200 will increase to 11,000 by next year. Haughton was equally pleased that with last week's order, Lockheed had outflanked rival McDonnell Douglas, whose DC-10 is a similar air bus. McDonnell two months ago sold 25 DC-10s to American Airlines at $16 million apiece; American also has an option to buy 25 more. Lockheed's response was to slash L-1011 prices from $17 million to $15 million each, and coolly advise prospective customers to buy fast--before the price went back up.

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