ANTI-TRUST

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

I, like many other Harvard students, was upset to see the increase in fares for the HSA charter flights to Europe this summer. Therefore I set out to find out exactly what is involved in chartering a plane and how much it actually costs. My first conclusion was that it is not a simple matter, since the airlines are not anxious for charter business. Therefore, for making all the arrangements we should all be grateful to HSA for fighting the red tape. After all, the HSA charters are still cheaper than the commercial fares (yet their flight to Chicago this Christmas was not significantly cheaper, as HSA was not able to obtain a charter and the group rate was only about $10 less than the normal commercial fare).

Trying to find out exactly what it costs to charter a plane is nearly impossible. After all the trouble that American Airlines had with the Christmas charter, they not only refused to tell me how much they had charged HSA but they also were reluctant to discuss the matter of chartering a plane to me or any other Harvard organization, saying that they deal exclusively with HSA at Harvard.

The Dean's office seems to have granted HSA monopoly rights at Harvard, which may or may not be justified. However, as long as HSA has such a monopoly. I believe it should make public such information as the cost of the charter planes. If the different between the cost and the fares charged to students is reasonable. HSA has nothing to hide. (Note: HSA has no "profits." It maintains it is a non-profit organization.) Therefore I called the manager of the Charter Flight Agency, Lawrence Robertson, who told me that he was unable to divulge the cost of chartering the planes. He told me that the only person who would be able to give me that information was Dustin Burke. And Dustin Burke refused to make public that information.

Therefore all I can do is make a guess. I know for a fact that last year a group chartered a plane from NYC to LA for a cost of $155 per seat round trip, compared with $205 for HSA this Christmas. The same group chartered a plane from NYC to Copenhagen for $272 (jet) and $216 (propeller), and to Madrid for $251 (jet). These are last year's prices and it will be a month before I can obtain this year's figures from that organization. My guess is that HSA is charging between five and ten per cent about their cost, and since over 1500 people will be transported this summer, it is my guess that HSA will clear between $20,000 and $50,000. This is only a guess, yet such a figure seems a bit high considering that there are only four or five people working in the Charter Flight Agency, according to Lawrence Robertson. If I have guessed wrong, I hope that HSA will promptly and explicitly correct me. John Polacheck, 64-4