Airlines and Manufacturers

Abstract

THE increasing dependence of the aircraft manufacturer on the civil airliner market has been a recurring theme in this column, reflecting the reshuffle which is inevitably going on at present. It has put the airlines in a strong bargaining position, and this has been reflected in certain outspoken criticisms of the manufacturers' practices by airline representatives. As it is an essential part of the national wellbeing that both the airlines and the industry should prosper, there is everything to be gained from the airlines getting the aircraft they need, and from the manufacturers putting their houses in order. The prominent place of these two aspects of the aviation world in national affairs makes them the subject of much ill‐informed criticism from outside, and the firms' tendency to look to the Government for support makes them unduly sensitive to public opinion. We feel, therefore, that much good will be done by the presentation of a paper before the Royal Aeronautical Society under the title Why Airlines are Hard to Please on March 26. The author is Mr B. S. Shenstone, Chief Engineer of British European Airways, who is well known for his forthright and apposite comments on airline matters.

Citation

(1958), "Airlines and Manufacturers", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 30 No. 4, pp. 93-93. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb032950