Sail to Steam to Air

The Matson steamship lines want to fly. Matson Navigation Co. applied to CAB last week for permission to fly passengers and freight over its ship routes (Hawaii, South Seas, Australia and New Zealand). Matson also announced that it has spent $100,000 for 43 acres adjacent to the San Francisco airport.

Matson's hopes are high, but they run smack into CAB policy. Several years ago CAB scotched a deal between Matson and Pan American Airways (for whom Matson acts as Pacific agents) whereby Matson and Pan Am would be equal partners in a new company furnishing peacetime air transport over the Pacific from the U.S. CAB which recently ordered American Export Airlines to divorce itself from its parent shipping company, is opposed to the ownership of airlines by carriers.

Said hustling, optimistic Sidney G. Walton, 42, vice president and secretary of the Matson lines: "We're not trying to keep out competition. We are not interested in it. This is a modernization program. We changed from sail to steam, didn't we?"

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