AVIATION: Jets for Fall

American Airlines President C. R. Smith last week made official a report that had skittered through the aviation industry for weeks. He had signed contracts for 50 new medium-range jet planes, thus bringing to no the number of jets slated for delivery to American between October 1958 and the end of 1962—more new equipment than has been ordered by any other airline in the world. Smith also sprang a new financing idea for planes: instead of buying the jet engines for the planes, the line will lease them from the manufacturers, save itself $80 million in initial cost.

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