Enter the DC-8 Jets

United Airlines and Delta Air Lines soared into the jet age last week with the first commercial flights of the Douglas DC-8. Slightly slower than the Boeing 707 (550 m.p.h. v. 540 m.p.h.). the DC-8 boasts a few new passenger comforts, such as its unitized seat with fold-out table, reading lamp, call and air-flow buttons. With the jet, Delta, which put it in service from New York to Atlanta, got the jump on its chief competitor; Eastern Air Lines will not start jet service until January. For United, the coast-to-coast nonstop service came months behind the 707 flights of its chief competitors, American Airlines and TWA.

As far back as 1955, United knew that it would be late with jets when President W. A. Patterson, over hot opposition in :he company, turned down the 707 in favor of the DC-8 of its longstanding supplier, Douglas. Because of late delivery of the planes, Patterson gloomily forecast a $3 million to $10 million loss for 1959. Traffic did drop 20% on transcontinental routes, but United has confounded its president's prediction: the line showed a $7,000,000 profit for the first half, expects to end the year well in the black. United was helped by the general upsurge in air travel and the strikes that crippled other lines. It also judiciously changed its schedules to avoid its competitors' popular jets, increased its charter service for the first eight months of 1959 to 702 flights, compared with 467 for the same period last year.

United expects to have 16 DC-8s in service by the year's end, 40 by June 1961, plus 18 medium-haul Boeing 720s. By next June "Pat" Patterson is confident that United's jet service will catch up to the competition.

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