Business: Introducing the New Superjet Set

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THE LOCKHEED L-1011 is scheduled to begin service with TWA and Eastern next spring. Like the DC-10, with which it will be in direct competition, the three-engine L-1011 holds 250 to 345 passengers and will specialize in runs of 1,000 to 1,500 miles. Last week Lockheed won a major battle in its long fight to keep the L-1011 from being swallowed in the company's financial plight. In Washington, the Emergency Loan Guarantee Board, created by Congress in July, voted to guarantee a $250 million loan for the L-1011's completion.

Still, its costs are rising: the board demanded a 2% "guarantee fee." In addition, if the new import surtax is still in effect when its British-built Rolls-Royce engines begin arriving next February, the plane's price might well rise above that of the DC-10. At present, Lockheed has firm orders for 103 models of the L-1011, at $20 million each. THE EUROPEAN AIRBUS, known as the A300B, was designed by a consortium of French, British, Dutch and German firms for five European carriers. When it becomes operational in 1973, the two-engine airbus (a term that U.S. planemakers deem unglamorous and seldom use) will have a capacity of 212 to 259 passengers for trips of 1,300 to 1,650 miles—workhorse runs between European cities. It will be powered by the same engine used on the DC-10, General Electric's CF6-6, and will contain some other U.S.-built parts. Its customers might well include some U.S. airlines, which will use the airbus to supplement their longer-range superjets. Cost: $19 million.

THE SUPERSONICS will soon become a fact of travel. The Anglo-French Concorde is scheduled to be put into regular service by Air France and British Overseas Airways Corp. in 1974. The plane cruises at 1,400 m.p.h., and will cut the present flight time nearly in half; for example, it will travel from New York to Paris in 3 hrs. 20 min. But it has a seating capacity of only about 112, which makes travel aboard the Concorde very expensive (New York to Paris: about $525 one way). The effects of the SST on the environment are a matter of continuing and unsettled debate. At present, the Concorde exceeds legal noise levels at U.S. airports, but the ultimate question of landing rights is still considered open. Just as severely at question is whether the Concorde, with its small payload and high-priced tickets, will be economically viable. For now, U.S. airlines are playing it safe: every major overseas carrier has taken an option on at least one Concorde, which sells for about $30 million, but none have made a final commitment to buy it.

The Soviet Union is also deeply involved in the supersonic sweepstakes, and has already flown its Tupolev 144 (with only cargo aboard) on occasional trans-Siberian runs. The TU-144, which cruises at 1,550 m.p.h., is slightly faster than the Concorde but somewhat less sophisticated in prototype design; however, the Soviets plan to change a flat and inefficient wing design and make other corrections in new models. They will undoubtedly make their price competitive with that of the Concorde, and might even cut prices below costs and extend longterm, low-interest financing in order to win the prestige of selling their supersonics in non-Communist countries.