| Airship Service[1] | Aëroplane Service[2] | |
|---|---|---|
| Capital required | $13,000,000 | $19,300,000 |
| Passenger rate: London-New York | $240 | $575 |
| Rate per passenger: | 8 cents | 18 cents |
| Mails per ounce: London-New York | 6-1/4 cents | 15-1/2 cents |
These figures for an airship service are based on detailed calculations, of which the more important are:
| Capital Charges: | |
| Four airships of 3,500,000 cu. ft. capacity, at $2,000,000 each | $8,000,000 |
| Two double airship sheds at $1,500,000 each $150,000 each | 3,000,000 |
| Land for two sheds and aërodromes at | 300,000 |
| Workshops, gas plants, and equipment | 750,000 |
| Working capital, including spare parts, stores, etc. | 850,000 |
| Wireless equipment | 50,000 |
| Miscellaneous accessories | 50,000 |
| Total capital required | $13,000,000 |
| Annual charge, interest at 10% | $1,300,000 |
| Depreciation and Insurance: | ||
| Airships. | ||
| Useful life, about 3 years. | ||
| Obsolete value, about $100,000 per ship. | ||
| Total depreciation per ship, $1,900,000 in three years. | ||
| Average total depreciation per annum for four ships for 3 years, $2,535,000. | ||
| Airship sheds. | ||
| Total annual charge | $90,000 | |
| Workshops and plant. | ||
| Depreciation at 5% per annum | 17,500 | |
| Total annual charge for depreciation | 2,650,000 | |
| Total annual insurance charges on airships and plant | 617,500 | |
| Annual Establishment Expenses: | ||
| Salaries of Officers and Crews— | ||
| 4 airship commanders | $20,000 | |
| 8 airship officers | 30,000 | |
| Total number crew hands (64) | 80,000 | $130,000 |
| $130,000 | ||
| Salaries of Establishment— | ||
| Management and Staff | $25,000 | |
| Workshop hands, storekeepers, etc. (50 at each shed—total 100) | 100,000 | $125,000 |
| Total annual establishment expenses | $255,000 |
| Repairs and Maintenance: | ||
| Sheds and plant, annual charge, say, | $25,000 | |
| Repairs and overhaul of airships | 100,000 | |
| Total charge | $125,000 | |
| Total annual charges on above basis | $4,947,500 | |
| Say | $5,000,000 | |
| Cost Chargeable per Crossing: | ||
| Taking the total number of crossings per year as 200 (London-New York)— | ||
| Proportion of annual charges per crossing | $25,000 | |
| Petrol per trip, 30 tons at $125 per ton. | 3,750 | |
| Oil per trip, 2 tons at $200 per ton. | 400 | |
| Hydrogen used, 750,000 cu. ft. at $2.50 per 1,000 cu. ft. | 1,875 | |
| Cost of food per trip for crew of 19 and 100 passengers | 2,000 | |
| Total charge per crossing (London-New York) | $33,025 |
The weight available for passengers and mails on each airship of the type projected would be fifteen tons. This permits the carrying of one hundred and forty passengers and effects, or ten tons of mails and fifty passengers. To cover the working costs and interest, passengers would have to be charged $240 per head and mails $2,025 per ton for the voyage London-New York.
This charge for passengers is already less than that for the more expensive berths on transatlantic liners. Without a doubt, with the coming of cheaper fuel, lower insurance rates and larger airships, it will be reduced eventually to the cheapest rate for first-class passages on sea liners.
With a fleet of four airships, a service of two trips each way per week is easily possible. For aëroplanes with a total load of forty tons the weight available for passengers and mails is 2.1 tons. If such a craft were to carry the same weekly load as the service of airships—thirty tons each way—it would be necessary to have fourteen machines continually in commission. Allowing for one hundred per cent. spare craft as standby for repairs and overhaul, twenty-eight aëroplanes would be required. The approximate cost of such a service is: