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STAT 
Approved For Release 2004/10/13 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000 
= 
THE DAILY OKLAHOMAN 
OKLAHOMA CITY 
26 June 1979 
‘By Paal Wenske 
Two 
federal 
suits 
asking combined cam- 
ages of over $1 billion 
were 
filed Monday 
al- 
laging the government , 
~~ through the Central. 
Intelligence Agency —~' 
conspired 
to gain an. 
unfair aviation advan-: 
tage 
over 
other, 
cornmerical airlines. 
The suits, filed in Ok-} 
lahnoma 
City federal: 
court, claim “The gov-! 
ernment of the United 
States of America was: 
inextricably 
involved | 
in this conspiracy by} 
the CIA and various of | 
jts agents and direc-| 
tors.” 
‘ 
_ One of the suits was. 
ed by U.S. Overseas, 
ae Inc., composed ; 
of five other aviation! 
fierms. .The. other was} 
filed by California Air; 
‘Charter Inc. and Holi-: 
day Airways Inc. 
The suits claim fed-! 
eral aviation agencies! 
and numerous airlines! 
conspired “to gain un-| 
just profit for their own, 
benefit and. to the uilti-! 
ruate detriment of the: 
plaintiffs and the con-) 
sumers of commerical 
aviation services of our| 
. country ters 
_ 
hey : 
‘claim: the all 
leged * | conspiracy! 
deprived. the America: 
people of “low cost. 
high. quality. commer- 
cial air transportation”: 
for years and caused a; 
Joss to the nation’s in-i 
dustrial. development, 
“measured 
in the bil-; 
lions of dollars.” 
~ 
The CIA’s 
involve-! 
ment, according to-the 
suits, “was apparently| 
the agency’s effort to! 
develop sources of in- 
core 
to finance clan- 
clestine activities with- 
out the inconvenience 
of congressidpprowed 
sight” from 1938 to the 
present. 
Thnk Ul iktae 
Ula ae 
ce em: 
Airline Plot Al 
vately held” commeri-' 
cal airlines, and were: 
allowed 
“‘to 
souge’ 
greater 
profits 
from; 
‘military 
airlift 
con-, 
tracts as well as exces-. 
-Sive profits from con-: 
tract air services from, 
the private sector.” 
4 
While 
the govern-{ 
ment allegedly 
forced| . 
the complaining 
avia- 
tion firms 
to’ comply 
with arbitrary regula-- 
tions and security con-. 
siderations, the govern-/ 
ment-run 
firms were! 
“allowed a ‘hands 
off’ 
Status” the suits state. 
| 
Besides 
the 
United; 
States 
and 
the CIA. 
ants include the Civil 
Aeronautics: 
Board; 
Federal 
Aviation 
Ad- 
ministration, 
Depart: 
ment of Defense; 
- U.S. 
Army, Navy and 
Air 
Force; 
Air America 
inc.; 
Southern 
Air 
Transport Inc.; Air Asia! 
Ltd.; and 
Civil 
Air! 
Transport Inc. 
_ 
| 
Also, Evergreen. 
In- 
ternational 
Airlines! 
Inc.; Trans Internation-| 
al Airlines Inc.; World , 
Airways Inc.; Capitol 
Airways ‘Ine.; Overseas 
National Airlines Ine; 
Continental Air Ser- 
J 
vices Inc.; Flying Tiger 
Air Services Inc.; Na- 
‘tional Air Carrier Asso- 
‘ciation, and 10: named 
individuals... 
. 
U.S. Overseas 
Mice 
lines alleges it consti- 
tuted the most success-! 
ful of what is known in: 
the trade 
as supple- 
mental 
airlines 
from 
1946 to 1964 when it in- 
curred 
a loss of $135 
million in business be- 
& 
-other named 
defend- ; 
use 
of ave alleged 
spl 
he comoanies under , 
ie umbrella 
of the 
firm flew iarge four-ene ; 
gine transoort aircraft., 
California Air Char-' 
ter Ine. made 
flights: 
within the country and 
to the Virgin Islands 
between 1947 until Oc- 
tober 1959. Holiday Air- 
ways Inc. was formed | 
as 
an 
air carrier - to! 
gain rights to operaté | 
low 
cost 
charter 
flights, the suits state. - 
For Release 2004/10/13 : CIA-RDP88-01 315R000300120008-1 
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