The U.S. got its first glimpse last week of a Russian jetliner that figures to become a regular visitor. Into Washington’s Dulles International Airport—and later into airports at Philadelphia and New York, flew an Ilyushin-62 fan jet laden with caviar, vodka and souvenirs for American reporters and dignitaries. Purpose of the visit was to pass U.S. airworthiness and noise-abatement tests preliminary to the introduction, long delayed by cold war vicissitudes, of nonstop flights between New York and Moscow.
The service would involve one weekly round-trip flight each (two a week during the summer season) by Pan American World Airways and Aeroflot, the U.S.S.R.’s government-owned airline. Though U.S. and Soviet officials agreed more than a year ago to start such flights, the Russians were understandably reluctant to pit their obsolescent turboprop TU-114s against the much faster (600 m.p.h.) Boeing 707-320C jetliners that Pan Am plans to use on the runs. The IL-62, with a 560-m.p.h. cruising speed only slightly slower than the Boeing, was the obvious Soviet answer, but it had been beset by bugs ever since its maiden flight in 1963.
After biding their time while they corrected the problems, the Russians finally signaled their satisfaction last summer when they introduced the IL-62 on their year-old Moscow-Montreal runs. A high-flying (42,600 ft.), far-ranging (more than 5,000 miles) ship that resembles Britain’s Vickers VC-10, the 186-passenger plane now rivals the best in Western commercial aircraft. To meet U.S. navigational requirements, it has been rigged out with RCA antennas and other American-made avionics gear. And to judge from last week’s proving flight, at least, its lissome Russian stewardesses seem ordered to U.S. specifications as well. In fact, about the only fault that Federal Aviation Agency officials could find was that the Russian crew’s command of English—the official international airways language—was something less than masterly.
When the direct flights finally begin, the fares (example: $548 for a 21-day round-trip excursion) will be the same as those for present flights that require a change of planes. Because such costs are better suited to American pocketbooks, little change seems likely in existing travel patterns; last year 20,000 Americans visited Russia while only 3,000 Russians came to the U.S. But as a symbol of U.S.-Russian cooperation, the reciprocal flight should eventually stimulate two-way traffic on the bridges the U.S. is trying to build with Eastern Europe. Best guess is that the new service will be under way, barring some unforeseen spasm in U.S.-Soviet relations, by early spring.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- L.A. Fires Show Reality of 1.5°C of Warming
- Behind the Scenes of The White Lotus Season Three
- How Trump 2.0 Is Already Sowing Confusion
- Elizabeth Warren’s Plan for How Musk Can Cut $2 Trillion
- Why, Exactly, Is Alcohol So Bad for You?
- How Emilia Pérez Became a Divisive Oscar Frontrunner
- The Motivational Trick That Makes You Exercise Harder
- Zelensky’s Former Spokesperson: Ukraine Needs a Cease-Fire Now
Contact us at letters@time.com