Since the last war popularized aviation in general, there has been a steady sprouting of non-scheduled airlines, providing cut-rate flights all over the country. But there have also been quite a few bad crashes on these airlines, which have led to investigation of whether the economies those lines practice have made them less of a bargain than their prices would indicate.

For one thing, the equipment used by most of the independent lines is worn and outdated. Their planes are generally old two-engine passenger and cargo ships, constructed in 1946 or before, and lack both Radar and Instrument Landing Systems, standard equipment on the regular airlines. Today the market value for most of their ships is between fifty and seventy-five thousand dollars. These planes are even used on long-distance routes, for which the major airlines employ four engine planes costing about a million dollars each.

The Civil Aeronautics Authority limits the number of flights that any non-scheduled line can make during a week. For this reason the air coaches take off only when they have a full load. They try to book several weeks in advance, but in many cases they do not fill up a flight by take-off time. When this happens they borrow passengers from other independent lines or delay the flight until they can round up a full complement. With no empty seats, the non-scheduled lines are able to cut down their cost easier than the scheduled lines.

By not offering deluxe service the independent lines can cut costs even more. They employ far fewer men per passenger than do the regular lines and dispense with such comforts as lounges and free meals. For the most part their booking is handled by separate booking companies, and often the passenger does not know which airline is carrying him.

Following the last war, the non-scheduled airlines advertised that they were the returning veterans who were in the air transport business to give the customer a break; and that they would crack the monopolies of the "horrible monster airlines." However, American Airlines now employs three times the number of veterans that all the independent lines combined have employed.

Both types of companies have to meet the minimum safety specifications of the C.A.A., but the scheduled airlines have far stricter requirements for their equipment and personnel. A ground mechanic, after acquiring his license, must spend two years learning about the kind of planes operated by his company before he is allowed to touch any plane intended for flight. On the other hand, most of the non-scheduled lines require only that their mechanics possess licenses. The same is true of pilots. Those on the scheduled airlines must have about ten thousand hours in the air before they can pilot a passenger flight. This usually takes four or five years. They must also take six months of training in instrument flying and spend another six months as co-pilots on the particular route that they are to fly. On the independent lines the only requirement for a pilot is a license, though most companies do require their pilots to spend a certain amount of time as co-pilots.

Considering the large staff maintained by the regular airlines, the little-traveled routes which they are forced by the C.A.A. to keep up, and the care they take to provide both comfort and safety, it is surprising that the price difference between them and the air coach companies is not even greater than it is.