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Aviation History
1965
1965 - 0515.PDF
ft/GHT International, 25 February I96S and argument in particular cases, will, I believe, offer reasonable security and a good prospect of growth both to the air corporations and to the independents. Both types of operator have an important part to play in the rapidly expanding future of British civil air transport. In the view of the Government they need not achieve this at each other's expense. In the debate following his statement, Mr Jenkins stressed at least three times the wish of the Government to prevent "unrestricted competition." No one commented that there never had been (and probably never would be) such competition—though Mr Jenkins himself remarked that there had not been "anything approaching" unrestricted competition rights under the previous administration. The Minister said that he had seen representatives of the two main independent airlines [British United and British Eagle] before making the statement. He also said that he had been "under considerable pressure from one of these airlines to make the state- ment as soon as possible." He was also, he said, meeting the British Independent Air Transport Association to discuss "general matters" with them. BIATA is Subdued Reactions from the independents were strangely subdued. British United's Mr Freddie Laker, who more than anybody might have been expected to kindle the fires of protest, made no comment. This was probably because he was in Gambia. The independents representing BIATA called a press conference in London on the evening of the following day, February 18. No strong expressions of dissent was made by the president, Wg Cdr L. B. Elwin of Cambrian ("we agreed with the Minister to disagree"), and the conference was curiously off-hand. It started half-an-hour late because Wg Cdr Elwin was being interviewed by television; and the man whom most correspondents wished to hear talk, Mr Harold Bamberg of British Eagle, left immediately afterwards for the BBC television studios. At this conference BIATA distributed copies of a two-page report, British Air Transport Policy, which they had given to the Minister on February 1, though they did not publish it at that time. At about the same time Mr Bamberg had circulated copies of his own report to the Minister to the Press as background. Comparison of the two statements shows that they are broadly similar, though differing in certain important details (see later). Mr Bamberg's statement was as follows:— (1) In broad terms, the best policy to adopt is one which provides the maximum possible expansion of British air transport, even if this results in increased competition. In theory this has been the objective of the Air Transport Licensing Board, but it has not been achieved in practice. (2) The main benefits of such a policy would be: (a) Better and more adequate service to the public; (b) improved industrial expansion and a better distribution of industry throughout the British Isles; (c) increased use of British aircraft and equipment and, consequently, less redundancy and a better chance of technical progress; (d) following on (c) there would 279 be better chances of sales of aircraft and equipment in the export market. (3) It should be made clear by the Minister that the independents are an integral and permanent part of British air transport, and will continue to enjoy Government support. They must be encouraged to expand as part of the general growth, and it is not in the national interest that they should be unduly curtailed by the corporations. (4) The Government should promote the formation of a Chamber of Air Transport, with a wide and representative membership and in which both the corporations and the independents should play a part. (5) The Minister should take immediate and direct action to establish the following points: (a) As a general principle all domestic routes with an annual traffic potential of more than 200,000 should be operated by two separate carriers, each with unlimited frequency; (b) the ATLB should be directed only to apply frequency limitations to regular services in very exceptional circumstances; as a general rule, frequencies should be unlimited; (c) licences for regular services should be granted for periods of at least ten years to encourage operators to buy and use new British equipment; (d) the corporations must not be permitted, through either the ATLB or the appeal procedure, to obstruct the development of inclusive-tour charter traffic; (e) although the decision has been taken to permit the corporations to tender for trooping contracts, the transfer of any contracts to them should be delayed until the Air Transport Advisory Committee (see below), has had an opportunity of studying the matter as part of an overall policy. (6) Because it is virtually impossible to devise a complete and con- structive policy in a short time, and it is something which warrants very serious study, the Minister should set up, as quickly as possible, a new central Air Transport Advisory Committee, consisting of a full-time chairman and four part-time members with the same qualifications as those required for the proposed British Airports Authority. This committee should be charged with the task of producing a long-term, progressive and flexible policy for British air transport, giving special attention to the following points: (a) The expansion in terms of routes and services which should take place during the next 15 years; (b) the national airport requirement necessary to meet this expansion; (c) the respective roles of the corporations and the independents in terms of achieving the optimum expansion; (d) the need for the independent operators to develop on a sound economic basis; (e) the possibility of allotting to the independents certain areas and activities (such as cargo), which they might be responsible for developing to the national advant- age; (f) the changes which may be necessary in licensing policies and procedures to obtain optimum growth; and (g) the types of transport aircraft which may be required during the period under review. (7) The committee would take evidence from all interested parties and would make recommendations to the Minister. It would also be responsible for up-dating the policy in the light of changing conditions and technical development. (8) The action recommended in paragraph 5 is essentially that required to make survival for the independent carriers possible. It is suggested that the action proposed in paragraphs 6 and 7 is the best method of dealing with the future. Main differences between this statement and that of BIATA are: (1) BIATA made no reference to unlimited frequency competition (para 5a and b of the Bamberg statement above). (2) The BIATA The first of two Handtey Page Heralds for British Midland Airways at Birmingham Airport during a crew-training flight
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