HUGE TRISTAR LOAN

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32676, 4 August 1971, Page 17

HUGE TRISTAR LOAN

<N-Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright; WASHINGTON, August 3. Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, armed with narrow Congressional Messing for a huge government loan guarantee, today began an uphill sales battle to make a profit from the nearly-axed TriStar airbus.

But the corporation’s main Hval, McDonnell-Douglas, already has a big lead, with two of its DCIO airbuses already in the hands of airline buyers.

First deliveries of the Rolls-Royce powered TriStar are not .expected before next April.

McDonnell-Douglas, which already has sunk $lOOO million into the DCIO. has 127 orders and 96 options for 223 planes.

Lockheed has 178 orders ard options for TriStar, of vhich only 103 are firm. It! I estimated the Lockheed; k ill have to sell 275 aircraftl Ij h-eak even. I British European Airways I

is the prime candidate for boosting Lockheed’s fortunes by placing a firm order for the TriStar, but this may be still several months away. Lockheed today started to make up lost time after the Senate approved by one vote (49 to 48) President Nixon’s $250 million rescue loan bill and sent it to the White House. The House of Representatives approved the guarantee by a three-vote margin on Friday and now President Nixon is expected to sign the measure quickly,, possibly by the end of the week. Mr Nixon expressed deep satisfaction at the vote, saying that Congress had acted in a prudent and far-sighted way to save tens of thousands of jobs, and to en-: sure that the United States Would continue to play a leading role- in aerospace technology. Then Senate approval yesterday capped a six-month long British-American effort to save the TriStar and Rolls-Royce’s continued participation in it. j Congress’s approval also :met the final condition imi posed by the British Govemjment. which has ploughed 's42o million of British tax-

payers’ money into the RollsRoyce RB2II, most of it to keep the engine project alive since the firm went into receivership in February because of huge cost overruns on the original Lockheed

contract The Lockheed chairman, Mr Daniel Haughton, noted that.,the company still had to complete its agreement with Rolls-Royce for supply of the engines and with its airline customers. But a Lockheed spokesman said that no problems were expected iri either of these areas. . Mr .. Walter Johnson, Labour M-P. for. Derby (south), where the ' RollsRoyce RB2II jet. engine to power Lockheed’s TriStar airbus is being produced, said: "How, 15.000.’ Rolls workers in Derby will sleep more easily. It is. still necessary, however, to get additional firm orders to make, sure the project is secure for the long-term future.

“We must never be in this position again where we have to rely on another country controlling the destiny of thousands of British workers —even a friendly country like thg United States," Mr Johnson said.’