§ BARONESS BURTON OF COVENTRYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made concerning the suggestion referred to the State airlines that consideration be given to the possibility of having an experimental period, during which a simple cut-price holiday ticket would replace all other special holiday tickets, thereby minimising confusion to the public and work for staff cpncerncd.]
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, the radical suggestion made by the noble Baroness has been drawn to the attention of the three United Kingdom members of IATA. There has not yet been time to study it fully.
§ BARONESS BURTON OF COVENTRYMy Lords, I am glad that somebody is being radical. May I ask the noble Lord whether, as the Government are on 569 record in agreeing that the number of fares offered to passengers is too varied, and as the Government have supported an experiment between B.O.A.C. and British Caledonian with the consent of the countries at either end of the route, the Government can give their blessing to this radical suggestion?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, to deal with the noble Baroness's preamble first, may I say that the "experiment" to which she referred was not, as I pointed out on the last occasion, an experiment but something that was done to meet a particular situation at a particular time and was related to charter services and not to scheduled services. Her Question is about scheduled services; and to that I would reply that the airlines are fully aware of the desire that all Governments have that the tariff structure should be simplified as much as possible. But at the present time it is difficult enough to achieve agreement on the various fares packages.
§ BARONESS BURTON OF COVENTRYMy Lords, in connection with his preamble, may I ask the noble Lord whether he is aware that the experiment being carried out by B.O.A.C. and British Caledonian is listed as being for an initial period which will terminate in March?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, I should have thought that it was more of an expedient than an experiment.
§ LORD BESWICKMy Lords, can the noble Lord say whether he has yet been able to consider the suggestion I made last week that a statement should be made by Her Majesty's Government laying down the policy, or the guide lines, to follow in this whole vexed question of pricing policy?
§ LORD DRUMALBYNMy Lords, I have written to the noble Lord and I am surprised that he has not yet received the letter.