§ Mr. Montgomeryasked the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if, in pursuance of his policies of giving greater weight to consumer interests in aviation, and of aviation liberalisation, he will now set up a meeting between officials of his Department and Singapore International Airlines with a view to reaching agreement on Singapore Airlines flying three flights a week between Manchester and Singapore starting in April 1985, additional to current United Kingdom to Singapore flights, on the understanding that reciprocalflights will be available to a British carrier;
(2) what indications he has received from Singapore International Airlines about its willingness to see British airlines granted additional route rights between Manchester and Singapore on a reciprocal basis to any additional route rights granted to Singapore International Airlines;
(3) what discussions he or officials from his Department have had with Manchester international airport following Singapore International Airlines request to fly three times a week between Singapore and Manchester; what was said in those discussions; and if he will make a statement;
(4) if he will make a statement on the request he has received from Singapore International Airlines for permission to fly three times a week between Singapore and Manchester additional to current frequencies; what reply was sent; and if he will place in the Library a copy of both Singapore International Airlines request and his Department's response.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerAs I explained in the House on 26 October, at column 979, we believe that the capacity provided by Singapore Airlines on its services between Singapore and London is greater than is justified under article 7 of the air services agreement, which requires the services to bear a close relationship to the demand for travel on the route. The services are supposed to cater primarily for travel between the UK and Singapore and they are more than adequate for that purpose. Indeed, the effective capacity of SIA's seven services a week has recently been significantly increased by the introduction of larger aircraft and the elimination of stops on some services. We welcome these developments, which provide an improved service to the public, but in the circumstances we are fully justified in telling the Singapore Government that we will not accept any incease in the present frequency of SIA's services. It is of course free to transfer one or more of its London services to Manchester if it wishes.
As requested by my hon. Friend, I am placing in the Library a copy of a recent exchange of telex messages between the deputy chairman of Singapore Airlines and one of my officials about the proposed services between Singapore and Manchester. I am also placing in the Library a copy of article 7 of the air services agreement to which reference is made in the telex message.
§ Mr. Montgomeryasked the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the commercial 1107W benefits to Manchester international airport and to industry and commerce in the north-west if Singapore Airlines is allowed to fly three times a week between Manchester and Singapore.
§ Mr. RidleyDirect services from Manchester to Singapore and Australia are already available twice a week on QANTAS, which has transferred these services from London. I am not in a position to evaluate to what extent a comparable transfer by SIA would generate increased benefits for industry and commerce in the north-west.