37. Air Commodore Harveyasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation the numbers and types of aircraft at present operating for British Overseas Airways Corporation; and what steps are being taken to supplement the fleet.
§ The Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (Mr. John Profumo)The operating fleet of B.O.A.C. consists at present of 22 Argonauts, nine Stratocruisers, 11 Constellations and four Yorks. To replace the Constellation which crashed at Singapore on 13th March the Corporation has been authorise to purchase a secondhand Constellation in America. In view of the grounding of the Comets, the Australian Government have been asked if they will approve the release by Quantas Empire Airways to B.O.A.C. of a number of Constellation 749s. In addition, B.O.A.C. proposes to bring back into service two York freighters and also, with the agreement of the purchasers, four Hermes aircraft.
Air Commodore HarveyI thank my hon. Friend for his very full reply and also our friends in Australia for their assistance; but the matter is still not clear. Will my hon. Friend say whether the aircraft to be obtained from Australia are being bought for dollars or for sterling?
§ Mr. ProfumoThe aircraft that we hope to get from Australia will be purchased for sterling as both Australia and the United Kingdom are in the sterling area.