§ 75. Mr. Beswickasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether, in view of the success of the Comet IV aircraft and the orders placed for the VC10 replacement, he will review the order placed for the Boeing 707 aircraft.
§ Mr. NeaveNo. The Government authorised B.O.A.C. to order fifteen Boeing 707s to enable them to hold their competitive position on the North Atlantic route from 1959–60 onwards. B.O.A.C.'s main competitors on this route will soon be operating Boeing 707s or DC.8s and B.O.A.C. must have comparable equipment. The Comet IV, which is a smaller capacity aircraft of quite different, characteristics will in due course be used by222W B.O.A.C. mainly on the eastern and southern routes for which it was designed. The VC.10 will not be available until 1963.