§ Sir R. Perkinsasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will now make a statement about the purchase of Britannia and Douglas aircraft by the British Overseas Airways Corporation.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterYes. B.O.A.C. already have on order 15 Britannia Mark 100 and 10 Mark 300. They now propose, with my approval, to confirm their provisional order for 8 Mark 300 long range Britannias and to have two of the Mark 300 converted to the long range version. They also propose to order 60 BE. 25 engines for subsequent re-engining of some aircraft of the Mark 300 series.
The 10 long range Britannias are intended for operation on the North Atlantic route, and Her Majesty's Government are confident that they will come into service on this route in a year or two. But in view of the highly competitive nature of this unique route and the consequent undesirability of relying on one type of aircraft Her Majesty's Government have authorised B.O.A.C. to order 10 DC7C aircraft. This is subject to the express condition that these aircraft shall be sold when the long range Britannia comes into on route service.
The gross cost in dollars for the American aircraft and initial spares will be of the order of £13 million, but most, if not all, of this cost should be recovered on re-sale.