§ 12. Mr. Farrasked the Minister of Aviation what percentage of air passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and the United States of America was carried by British operators and United States operators, respectively, during the last full year for which figures are available.
§ The Minister of Aviation (Mr. Peter Thorneycroft)I do not think that I should publish commercial information that could be of competitive significance.
§ Mr. FarrWhile appreciating my right hon. Friend's point of view, may I ask him to resist any blandishments of the American airlines through the Civil Aeronautics Board to reduce any percentage of B.O.A.C. traffic obtained by pooling arrangements with Commonwealth airlines at the moment?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftI am aware of these points. That is one of the reasons why I do not want to go into publication. There is no agreed basis for these statistics. They are always very controversial in negotiations.