Orders of the Day — Civil Aviation

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 23 November 1961.

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Photo of Sir Arthur Harvey Sir Arthur Harvey , Macclesfield 12:00, 23 November 1961

I have only a very indirect interest in the matter now, through a holding company and not an operating company. Everybody is told that large profits are just around the corner, but it just has not happened. Companies both large and small have been operating on marginal profits, or even on no profits at all. We have now reached the stage where there is an overcapacity certainly on the North Atlantic route. It has been a question of one line competing with another to keep up with the Joneses.

I recently looked up some documents to discover the number of different types of major aircraft operated by B.O.A.C. in recent years. During the last six years it has had the original Comet, which unfortunately met with some accidents, then it had the Stratocruisers and then the DC7c, which the House was assured would be sold for dollars. I imagine that they are being sold for sterling, at a very nominal price.