Mr. Shawcrossasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation whether he will take steps to secure that the fares charged by the Railway Air Services bear a reasonable relation to the fares charged for first class rail travel over the same routes and distances.
Mr. Ivor ThomasIf subsidies for internal airlines are to be avoided, fares must be governed by the costs of operation, and not by the fares charged for rail travel. When post-war routes are fully organised and more suitable aircraft become available, the cost of operation per passenger-mile will come down and enable lower fares to be charged.