To the Stockholders and Employees of
NEW YORK AIRWAYS, INC.
 

The year 1956 may be characterized primarily as a period of prepax'ation for
the further development of your Company's operations. The principal events of the
period under review were the acquisition of improved Sikorsky S-58 helicopters
and the inauguration of service to Manhattan Island.

Other steps included the installation of a passenger reservation system directly
integrated with all domestic and most international airlines serving New York; the
establishment of a facility at the Company's main base adequate to accommodate
airframe and major component overhauls previously "farmed out"; and the open¬
ing of separate ticket counter facilities at the three major airports in the New York
Metropolitan Area.

Your management has also pressed its program for the acquisition of even
more efficient helicopters and heliport facilities, with a view to advancing the time
at which civil transportation by helicopter may be placed on a self-sustaining basis.

The public interest in our forward planning along these lines was stressed
in a letter addressed to your management on February 25, 1957 by Mr. Austin J.
Tobin, Executive Director of The Port of New York Authority. Mr. Tobin stated
in part:

"I cannot overemphasize the importance the Port Authority attaches to the devel¬
opment of a reliable helicopter transport system. As a result of careful studies over
the years, we are convinced that the hehcopter system now being created is a vital
link in the overall transportation complex of our community and of the nation.
We understand, of course, that such a program now looks primarily to the future
and that the successful development of the program will require time, patience and
strenuous efforts by your management as well as ourselves and the other interested
governmental agencies."

1956 OPERATIONS. The operations conducted during 1956 are shown by the
map set forth at the end of this Report. These services were flown with the fleet of
five Sikorsky S-55 helicopters acquired in 1952-1953 and (toward the latter part
of 1956) with the new Sikorsky S-58 helicopters. In addition to these scheduled
services, in the interests of maximum utility to the public, your Company has con¬
tinued the development of its charter operations. Charter services were provided
both with the helicopters employed in scheduled operations and with a three-place
Bell 47-H helicopter utilized for pilot training as well as other technical purposes.