It has been a lusty second half of the Forties, highlighted by such events as the surge of the GI airlines, the aerial support of the blockaded population of Berlin, and Washington’s official embrace of the cargo airlines and air freight forwarders. Now, the nascent industry was almost within reach of the outer edges of the Fifties. Handling methods in and out of the warehouse and airplane were still begging for improvement, but the fledgling industry was on a determined march toward early maturity. Even now, at the earliest stage of the air cargo industry, there were fertile imaginations reaching and enveloping the still distant jet transport.
     At this point, their talk was half-whispered conjectures about a vague future one decade ahead.      Anxious talk. Keen talk. Hopeful questions. Are conventional air freight economics and marketing due for upheaval?
     The people at Douglas may be totally unfamiliar with the wisdom of Horace, but the development of the DC-6A Liftmaster was a sure sign that Horace knew what he was talking about when he said that he who has begun has the work half-done. Which led to the fairly quick arrival of the freighter version of the DC-6. Five feet longer than the passenger original, the cargo offshoot carried a 15-ton payload a distance of 2,100 miles nonstop.

    Hardly in the same production league as Douglas, Chase Aircraft Co., Inc., came through with the XC-123, Avitruc which (like the planemaker’s smaller C-122) was the “only planes now flying anywhere in the world which were conceived, designed, and built from the floor up with the single idea of proper, efficient handling and delivery of air cargo.” Twenty-five feet shorter than the DC-6, the Avitruc’s maximum payload was 10 1/2 tons. Headed for air force evaluation, it could double as a glider or tow plane.
     Conair’s bid for stardom as the builder of a freight transport was the XC-99, a double-decker, which established a new world record by lifting 50 tons. However, Conair’s primary interest in this instance was to sell the military on its excellence as a troop transport. A cargo version would possibly follow.
And then the helicopter. Was there a place for it in the cargo field? Were the whirlybird’s unique operational capabilities adaptable to the needs of the shipper? Could it serve as link between aircraft and customer’s door at comparable trucking costs (or better)?
     There were some obvious drawbacks at the pioneer stage of development, such as higher cost and more frequent maintenance as compared to the fixed-wing airplane. At this stage, the helicopter was found to be an effective carrier of mail between the main post office and the airport. Lose Angeles Airways was in the van of “letter carriers” for the Post Office Department.
     There was no question that sectors of commercial air transportation were becoming increasingly interested in possibilities in the industrial world, motivating effort to increase size, cargo capacity, and speed. The military was no insignificant stimulus.
     Considering rotary wing aircraft of that time, it is easy to regard them as the equivalent of Ford’s Model T, or “Tin Lizzie.” Development to maturity was still distant, Albert Jansen, KLM’s U.S. freight chief, pointed out. He was less swayed by the promise of nearly doubled jet speed than attendant to elapsed time between the shipper’s plant and actual doorstep delivery. As air traffic increases and airplane size grows, airports must be situated farther from the city, which causes longer truck service between airline and customer.
     Over at United Airlines, the carrier’s cargo sales head, M. P. Bickley asserted that he could document the growing numbers of West Coast manufacturers who had swung to air freight as a means to successfully compete with local producers in East Coast cities. But there was still a long way to go, he said, citing four areas’ immediate needs. These are: airline industry stability and compensatory rates; a cargoplane built from the ground up, with low operating costs; improved cargo-handling techniques and procedures; and better pickup and delivery services.
     Much in the same vein of Bickley’s bill of requirements, Arthur C. Smith, Western Airlines’ cargo traffic manager, set forth a list of musts before success can be proclaimed: more traffic whose destinations are only several hundred miles apart, better facilities and methods to be able to cut costs of handling bulk shipments; creating the possibility of offering more attractive rates to lure volume business; improve airplane design to provide additional cubic feet capacity to solve the so-called low density problem; and development of a plane (presumably passenger) with better facilities for cargo and tower operating costs. The proposal was obviously geared to Western’s route system.
     Writing in the Virginia Law Review, James A. Durham and Marc I. Feldstein stated that with the apparent steadily increasing acceptance of air freight, what this new industry will require are “more and better” planes adapted to transocean freight flying. Additionally, “recognition of air freight by all concerned as a highly specialized means of transport, requiring its own particular equipment, techniques, flight and ground personnel, industry know-how, and regulatory control.”
     On a wholly different note and turning to American Airlines, John W. Gough made the flat statement that “there isn’t an export shipper in the business,” who, with surface and air transportation under his belt, hasn’t found paperwork considerably easier when his export was by air. Despite the foregoing, Gough admitted that “all is not peachy” on the paperwork side.
     In the opinion of J. V. Roscoe, traffic-sales manager of Pan Am’s Atlantic Division, the international shipper has a sharp eye on the lookout for a carrier that will protect his interests—that is, his business, income, and reputation.
     As the ticking clock was closing in on the opening of the fifth decade, a loud protest against provisions in CAB Docket 3350, which questioned the validity of IATA cargo agency resolutions. In particular, Martin A. Kerner, President of the Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, based his attack on the following points: a cargo agent who accepts a higher commission than that offered by IATA carriers loses the right to represent IATA carriers; no agent may deal with a carrier offering a lower rate for comparable transportation service.
     Shortly before the Kerner blast, John H. Stewart, president of the Air Freight Forwarders Association, envisioned the newly official recognition of the air freight forwarder as heralding “a new period of development not heretofore dreamed of.” Also, Stewart said, it may be a “signal” for the scheduled carriers and nonskeds to lay down their slingshots.
     A. V. Hall Mumford, President of A. F. Cofod & Co., Inc., sat back in his office and cited the shipper pleading for better service and cooperation by the airlines, as well as upgraded methods employed by forwarders. His solution: three-way meetings at which each party candidly expressed his problems and as a team dig in to solve them.
     Reacting to uneasy political conditions across the Pacific, Northwest Airlines ordered most Korean-bound shipments to be on a prepaid basis. Because of the growing unrest, consignees were encountering increasing difficulties locating their consignments, and for consignees to accept delivery of their shipments. Exceptions were shipments flown on a government bill of lading, and shipments addressed to employees (and their families) of various governments.
     Paul Rennell, superintendent of cargo agencies for Pan American, put it bluntly and without reservation to the air shipper: your traffic department is no more, no less, than the air freight forwarder—a rather eyebrow-lifting surprise in view of the carrier’s earlier stance. Nonetheless, Rennell was careful to make a distinction between the active, creative forwarder (Pan Am’s frank preference) and the middleman who treats his air freight business as a “sideline.” His company, Rennell indicated, would primarily identify with that breed of forwarder who, like Pan Am, aggressively work toward the day when giant airfreighters cross the skies.
     With a strictly limited history of commercial air cargo and the new industry at midpoint in the Twentieth Century, statistics showed that global perishable markets achieved their greatest expansion when routine international airlift became available. BOAC was regarded as a leader, its manifests showing the greatest variety of perishable goods. Other air carriers—U.S., South American, and European—were breathing hard on the British airline’s aerial tracks.
     A strictly down-to-earth assessment of the perishables air market was put forth by J. Prescott Blount, who acknowledged that, after hard work, perishable food products have moved into the air. But hold! Before foods can achieve the predicted distinction of the future No. 1 airborne commodity, the industry must grapple with and solve difficult problems in refrigeration and distribution.
     What is the secret of excellence in preparation for a seafood meal? Said Dr. William Reitz and Katherine Burgum in a single voice: “Fresh fish.” Using the calculations of Dr. Reitz and Ms. Burgum, the top “propensity potential” traffic in fish would amount to 18,985 DC-4 planeloads a year.
     Can sizable air freight markets be developed for fresh fruits and vegetables? The Department of Agriculture along with Lockheed Aircraft decided to come up with answers. Collaborating on tests with 34 varieties of fruits and vegetables, it was ultimately determined that they will react well to normal flight conditions provided that full control is maintained over temperature and humidity. Tests were repeated several times and wound up with flying (naturally) colors.
     The word around town was that American Airlines President Ralph S. Damon was not in accord with the carrier’s programs and goals. At the recommendation of Howard Hughes (who owned about three quarters of TWA stock) Damon resigned American’s presidency as well as the vice presidency of American overseas airlines, and slipped into the office of TWA president.

Richard Malkin
malkin101@aircargonews.com

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RE:  Bruce McCaffrey Did Not Back Down

Geoffrey,

   Bruce McCaffrey was a good person and a credit to our industry.
   I agree that he was the “Fall Guy” and it is a shame that DOJ made Bruce McCaffrey their case and let the airline that started this get off almost free.
   I remember the first time that I met Bruce and how impressed I was with his knowledge of the industry.
   Always found Bruce to be a man of high integrity and we will all deeply miss him.

Bill Boesch

Geoffrey,

   Thanks very much for sharing news of Bruce McCaffrey.
   What a shock.
   I lost touch with Bruce when I left BCAL cargo at JFK and went back to the UK.
   He was a good guy and certainly a straight shooter as you say Geoffrey, in this well-written piece.
   I know corporations have to be businesses but to run a business without scruples and hang a guy out like that as a sacrificial lamb is unconscionable.
   Good for you for setting the record straight for him, Geoffrey.
   Bruce will be missed by the many who live to his standards while working in our industry.
   God bless you, Bruce.
   Rest well.

Phil Bowell

Dear Geoffrey,

   I loved FlyingTypers' piece about Bruce McCaffrey. It’s really sad that he died. He still has my highest respect even if I never met him.

Heide Enfield
Lufthansa Cargo

Geoff:

   What a fantastic article about Bruce. Bruce was both a business colleague and a personal friend for many years. We had the unusual opportunity to be a customer of each other at different times during our careers (Circle and Gateway Freight Services, to name a few). His approach was always the same: direct, no pretense, and no hidden agenda.
   I would prefer not to make any statements about his travails with DOJ and Qantas; however, if given the chance to do it all over again, I would not change a thing about the relationship I had with Bruce. I only hope that he would feel the same.

Best regards,
Steve
Steve Ritchie
frtguy@gmail.com

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