Right of Airway

On an intrastate scale the principle of Interstate Commerce Commission control of airlines to restrict competition (see above) was tested last week in Tucson, Ariz. Errett Lobban Cord's Century Pacific Lines, Ltd. appeared before the Arizona Corporation Commission to ask a certificate of necessity & convenience for carrying passengers between Douglas, Tucson & Phoenix on its route from Los Angeles to El Paso. Opposing the plea was American Airways, Inc. with the claim that it had pioneered the territory, that it was giving adequate service with three round trips daily between Tucson & Phoenix, that it could give more whenever traffic warranted and that its investment was threatened by invasion (TIME, Jan. 11).

Century's principal witnesses came in a procession. They were Arizona farmers, merchants, professional men. They wanted to see Century get its certificate, they said, because better service was promised by competition than by monopoly, because, with aviation becoming so important, anyone should have as many airlines as possible.

Chairman Amos L. Betts listened patiently, then ordered Century-Pacific to produce figures on operating costs to support their intention to charge lower fares than American Airways. Century lawyers got a delay while they flew to Los Angeles to confer with their directors. When they returned they would only venture an estimate that costs would be 35-c- to 40-c- per mi.

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