§ Lord Mancroftasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have noted the recent report of the International Air Passengers' Association to the effect that British Airways is their members' least preferred carrier and Heathrow the airport they least like to use, and whether they have access to any other statistics which might reflect upon the reliability of this report.
§ The Secretary of State for Trade (Lord Cockfield)British Airways and the British Airports Authority publish extensive information on their standards of performance in their respective annual reports, and both have been able to report a substantial improvement in consumer reaction to their services over the last few years.
The International Air Passengers' Association is a private commercial organisation with no official standing. Despite the statement to which the noble Lord refers, the same survey, which was published over a year ago, shows that British Airways and Heathrow were also recorded as among the five most popular airlines and airports respectively of the association's members. More recent surveys have been more favourable towards them.