Transport Trickle

The War Department this week released three used transports to three U.S. airlines, announced that three more would be released next month. This was a measly trickle compared to the 195 planes (almost half their prewar supply) that the airlines have turned over to the Army in the past year, but it looked good to the hard-pressed commercial lines. It also looked good to the U.S. Post Office, which is painfully aware that it has been selling stamps for more air mail than the airlines can consistently carry along with their priority payload (now more than 70% of total cargo for the big lines).

What really pleased everyone was that this week's transport trickle may turn into a respectable flow of planes by midsummer. For months both the Post Office and CAB have backed up the airlines' pleas for planes. CAB is now pushing for "a substantial number" of brand-new domestic transports. Since transport plane production today is also "substantial," the tide may have turned for domestic airlines too.

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