Air defence strategies.

(From Lloyds List)

Japanese filmgoers are reported to be enthralled by the tragic story of the Yamato , the biggest battleship ever built, which was sunk with huge loss of life by US aircraft in 1945. Even the most capable warships, henceforth, would only be able to operate with adequate air cover.

Aircraft, commercial ones this time, did for the ocean liners in the 1960s, although the growth of the cruise sector has perpetuated passenger shipping in a spectacular fashion. And now, it seems, the budget airlines are making mincemeat of ferry services around the world.

There are pessimists around who foretell the demise of large numbers of passenger car ferries, leaving the freight ships sailing alone on what were once enormously busy passenger routes. It is seen to be a sort of progress, inevitable and irresistible change.

Newspapers are presently filled with advertisements for cheap flights to an increasingly varied list of destinations. Even though the actual costs of the journey may be considerably higher than those advertised, they make depressing reading for those who have ferries to fill on routes now losing out to the aircraft.

If car ferries have given way to the ro-pax vessels with greater freight flexibility, is there any point in persisting with passengers at all?

It is possible, of course, that the mad scramble of the airlines to fill their aircraft, come what may, might prove self-defeating. Their costs, especially those from fuel, are soaring into the stratosphere, and they have to pass these on to the passengers. And not even the wildest optimist could possibly pretend that flying was getting any more pleasant, at least for those who have to turn right when boarding, and for those treated like livestock by the 'economy' carriers.