§ Mr. Geoffrey Finsbergasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why he did not refer the failure to agree North Atlantic air fares with the United 152W States aviation authorities for arbitration to the International Civil Aviation Organisation as provided for under the Air Services Agreement, Command Paper No. 6747.
§ Mr. OnslowWhile it is open to either Government, under the Air Services Agreement, to ask for an advisory report from the International Civil Aviation Organisation, both we and the United States have so far judged it preferable to seek agreement on these complex questions by direct negotiations.
By the time it became apparent that our recent differences could not be quickly resolved it would, in any event, have been too late to go through these procedures in time to make any resulting changes effective for the coming summer. The only practical solution was therefore to continue with the existing fares for the next few months. The airlines are now making a renewed attempt in IATA to agree on the fares to operate after 31st December 1973.