§ 10. Mr. Cooperasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation if, in publishing the periodical statistics of civil air lines operation results, he will include information indicating not only the B.O.A.C. dollar-earning figure but also the total dollar expenditure; and, in particular, the dollar expenditure of B.O.A.C. in 1948.
§ Mr. LindgrenNo, Sir. The publication of information of this kind is a matter for the Corporation to decide in the light of commercial considerations.
§ Mr. CooperHas my hon. Friend noticed the rather one-sided approach by the Corporation in this matter, in that it publishes the figures of dollar earnings but fails to publish similar figures of capital and revenue expenditure? Will he use his influence to try to get it to publish both sets of figures so that an intelligent interest in them may be taken by the public?
§ Mr. LindgrenNo, Sir, because they would not give a true picture, even then. Dollar expenditure would also have reference to aircraft and spares which operate on routes other than the dollar air routes.
§ Mr. CooperWill my hon. Friend urge the Corporation to publish both the dollar earnings and the expenditure as an indication of what is really happening?
§ Mr. LindgrenPerhaps this is a little counter-propaganda to what has been done by other people.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydIn order to present a true picture and also relieve Socialist hon. Members of embarrassment, would not the best way be to hand the lines over to private enterprise?
§ Mr. LindgrenThey were never private enterprise under the Tory Government. In fact, the Tory Government nationalised Imperial Airways into B.O.A.C.
§ Mr. MolsonIs there any reason to suppose that many dollar earners are also dollar losers?
§ Mr. LindgrenIt all depends on what one includes in expenses. If, in fact, one excludes the capital cost of aircraft which are American, then they are dollar earning.