The long-awaited Civil Aeronautics Board decision on the rich New York-to-Miami airline run came last week. To little (eleven aging DC-3s, six early-model Convairs) Northeast Airlines (1955 net: $379,937) went the grandest prize in the CAB bag: permission to fly the "Gold Coast" run, with National and Eastern.
Of the seven lines competing for a slice of the world's best air route, Northeast had one of the weakest claims. A CAB examiner had recommended Delta; New York City and Baltimore had officially endorsed Pan Am. Northeast's very weakness, however, turned out to be its strength. It was the only domestic...