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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 0558.PDF
FLIGHT MARCH 22ND, 1945 THE CIVIL AVIATION CHARTER be initially assigned to the three Corporations shall include all thoseujxjii which, in the view of His Majesty's Government, it is essential that United Kingduu. Air Lines should be ready to operate ass<x>n as war conditions permit and the necessary aircraft are avail- able. In the future as air traffic develops, the need for new routeswill emerge. It is not intended to make any present commitment as to the right to operate new routes. The Government consider thatany new routes should be left open to whatever operator—whether one of. the main Corporations or some entirely new operator—canestablish that he is best fitted to run them. Power of the Government to require Corporations to operatenew Routes,.—The Government, however, may irom time to time wish to have operated, either within the Commonwealth or outsideit, a particular route which is not in the agreed schedule of services, and which is not the subject of any application to operate eitherby the Corporation or by a new operator. In such a case the Government would have power to require the appropriate Cor-poration to undertake services on that route; but if the Corpora- tion satisfied the Government that such a service could not be runwithout loss, the Government must be prepared* to give the Cor- poration such temporary financial assistance as may be reasonable. In order to ensure that the interests of the users of air transportare adequately and continuously safeguarded, it is intended to confer upon an impartial Tribunal jurisdiction to consider com-plaints as to such matters as the absence of reasonable facilities, the granting of undue preference, and the reasonableness of ratesand charges of United Kingdom air lines. Such Tribunal should have power to enforce compliance with its decisions. In thecase of complaints relating to overseas services—which are neces- sarily regulated by inter-Governmental agreement—the decision ofthe Tribunal must be subject to confirmation by the Minister. The Commonwealth routes will be operated in full co-operationwith other countries of the British Commonwealth. These routes have already been discussed with other Commonwealth Govern-ments and with the Colonial Office as representing the Colonial Empire. The Commonwealth Governments have expressed theirdesire that reciprocal services from their countries to the United Kingdom shall be operated in parallel with the United Kingdomservices to their countries. In order to make this parallel system effective ancj economical, arrangements are being made as regardsfacilities at the terminals and along the routes. Provision will also be made for an equitable division of revenue and expenditure whereit is agreed that a pooling arrangement is advantageous. Arrange- ments for parallel operation will not, of course, exclude—theyshould, on the contrary, facilitate—the ultimate conversion of parallel operation into joint operation whenever and wherever theGovernments concerned agree that this has become desirable. His Majesty's Government will welcome the closest co-operationbetween foreign air line operators running services to the United Kingdom and the Air Transport Corporations set up under theGovernment plan. Here, too. while parallel operation will probably prevail in the initial phase, the possibility of running joint servicesyices through subsidiary companies in which the foreign operator wouldparticipate, is one which in the view of His Majesty's Government may present great advantages. It is hoped that the combined training establishment for aircrews and ground staff which will be set up in the United Kingdom, and possibly the joint organisation for the overhaul of aircraft, mayprove of use to other Commonwealth operators and to foreign opera- tors who desire to avail themselves of the facilities offered by theseorganisations. User/Producer Collaboration Provision oj Aircraft.It is, of course, the intention of His Majesty's Government, as it is the desire oi the Corporations, that tne Corporations shall useBritish aircraft as soon as they can be made available. The Min- istry of Aircraft Production in collaboration with the BrabazonCommittee, has already placed orders lor a number of civil types. In war, when resources are strained and Service demands are para-mount, the Government must place the orders for aircraft for civil aviation, because they must control and allocate the priority anddistribution of all calls upon the resources of the aircraft industry. But there must be the closest collaboration between the Departmentresponsible for placing the orders, the user and the producer, so as to ensure that the user gets the type of aircraft that suits theservices he is to operate, and that the producer can apply to the needs of the user the best and latest experience in technical develop-ment and in the ingenuity and initiative of design staffs. Air line operators, no less than Air Forces, must have their eyes alwayson the future and not on the past, save in so far as the experience of the past may point the way to future progress. Arrangementshave already been made to bring the new Air Transport Corporations into close collaboration of this kind with the manufacturers of air-craft and the Government Departments concerned. As soon as eve- * cumstances permit the Corporations and their subsidiaries will befree to buy aircraft direct from the manufacturers. In the* meantime it is the intention of the Government that inthe initial stages, where such a courffe is convenient, the Goverment shall lease the aircraft which they have ordered to the Air TransportCorporations. The Government will also be prepared, in appro- priate cases, to consider leasing to other Commonwealth operatorsand to foreign operators. In framing their air transport policy, the Government have soughtto apply to the development and expansion of our own air services those principles of ordered progress which they have advocated inthe international sphere. They are planning to bring into operation as rapidly as the exigencies of war permit a complete network ofCommonwealth services in full co-operation with other Common- wealth Governments. They are bringing into partnership, on prac-tical business lines, those elements which, by reason of their experi- ence and organisation, can contribute to the full and rapid develop-ment of British air transport. In this way the Government believe that they can best " meet the needs of the peoples of the world forsafe, regular, efficient and economical air transport." and enable British civil aviation, which has had to be subordinated to thesupreme war effort, to take its rightful place on the airways of the world. Lords Debate the White Paper Widespread Approval and Some Criticisms VHE Government's White Paper on British Air Transport-was discussed in the House of Lords on March 15th. VISCOUNT ROTHERMERE opened the debate and paid a tributeto Lord Swinton for the speed with which he has set about his allotted tasks, of which there were three: the international,the national, and the question of aircraft. He asked Lord Swinton to calm the anxiety felt by many as to the position in regard totransport aircraft, the date on which it was hoped they might be in service. Turning to (he main poliry set out in the White Paper, ViscountRothermere welcomed the breaking-away from the single " chosen instrument" policy. "Undoubtedly," he said, "a single choseninstrument is bound, sooner or later, to inherit the vices of com- placency, and sooner or later it will be found that initiative islacking." He thought three chosen instruments were better than one, but he found it difficult to know whether there were three.They seemed rather like the doctrine of the Trinity—three in one and one in three. Although he would like to see comparativecompetition, he did nut see how that could develop between three organisations so mixed up as these were. He did not quite under-stand why it was necessary that BO.A.C. should have its finger in the pie of both the other chosen instruments instead of being allowedto maintain itself on its own so that it could be judged according to its merits He thought tremendous powers were being givento the Minister of Civil Aviation. He had great confidence in the' present Minister, but changes would be bound to be made later, andit was essential to understand the full implications of these powers. He disagreed with the monopoly on internal air routes and thoughtthere ought to be at least two internal services. LORD RENNELL thought the grouping of internal and Europeanservices a little strange in that the internal are to be exclusive while the European will be competitive with foreign air lines. Asto the three Corporations, he thonght there would not be much difference in managements His third point dealt with the scheduled services. 11 these initially covered virtually the whole field ofoperation there would be little left for new corporations. THE MARQUESS OF LONDONDERRY welcomed the progress made:the separation of civil aviation from the Air Ministry, the appoint- ment of a Minister, the abandonment of a single chosen instrument, ithe association of the railway and shipping interests, and a plan. A He thought as much had been done as could be done in the shorttime. He pressed for information about the future licensing authority, and deprecated the decision to grant no compensationto private companies. VISCOUNT KNOLLYS and LORD KENNETT, as might have beenexpected, spoke in favour of the White Paper, both stressing the good intentions which B.O.A.C. and the railways have.VISCOUNT TRENCHARD supported the. White Paper wholeheartedly, but made the suggestion that when legislation is prepared it mightbe embodied in a charter, like that of the B.B.C., which could be reviewed once in five or once in ten years. LORD BRABAZON OF TARA said the White Paper dulled the edgeof controversy by satisfying everyone. He thought, however, it looked as it the paying routes were to be handed over to therailways But as to the plan in general, he thought we were " going places." VISCOUNT SWINTON very ably defended the White Paper andcleared up many of the points that seemed in doubt. He stressed the spirit of goodwill he had found in the shipping and raihvavinterests Of the new aircraft he said: " The prototypes, as soon as they are finished with as prototypes, will be used for trainingthe crf'ws The Tudor 1 ought to begin with a trickle of production in June of this year—perhaps we may get one in May. Thenumbers are not very large. Tudor II ought to begin in November of this year " . . . " we ought to be getting a flow of productionof that type early n=xt year. The V.C.i begins at the beginning of next year, but it will be slow at first and will get into its strideabout the1 middle of next year."
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