Western Air Lines, Inc. v. Civil Aeronautics Board et al. (347 U.S. 67)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided February 1, 1954 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 347 U.S. 67 · 74 S. Ct. 347
- Docket
- No. 225
- Argued
- December 9, 1953
- Decided
- February 1, 1954
- Term
- October Term 1953
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Douglas
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Warren, Justice Black, Justice Douglas (wrote), Justice Clark, Justice Frankfurter, Justice Burton, Justice Reed, Justice Minton, Justice R. H. Jackson
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Douglas delivered the opinion of the Court. These cases, here on writs of certiorari to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, present an important question in the construction of § 406 (b) of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, 52 Stat. 973, as amended, 49 U. S. C. § 401 et seq. Section 406 (a) authorizes the Civil Aeronautics Board to fix “fair and reasonable rates of compensation for the transportation of mail by aircraft.” Section 406 (b) requires the Board to take into consideration, inter alia, “the need of each such air carrier for compensation for the transportation of mail sufficient to insure the performance of such service, and, together with all other revenue of the air carrier, to enable such air carrier under honest, economical, and efficient management, to maintain and continue the development of air transportation to the extent and of the character and quality required for the commerce of the United States, the Postal Service, and the national defense.” The controversy in the present cases turns on the meaning of the words “the need of each such air carrier” and “all other revenue of the air carrier.” Western Air Lines filed a petition for a rate order April 26, 1944. In 1951 the Board finally determined the rate applicable between May 1, 1944, and December 31, 1948. During this open-rate period Western realized some $88,000 in profits…
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