UK-US Aviation Market

HC Deb 17 January 2002 vol 378 cc436-7W

Miss McIntosh

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) when and where officials from his Department last met US officials to discuss (a) an open skies agreement and (b) the proposed British Airways/American Airlines alliance; [R] [23898]

(2) how officials of his Department travelled to their last meeting in the United States with US officials to discuss (a) an open skies agreement and (b) the proposed British Airways/American Airlines alliance; [R] [23899]

(3) what plans his Department has to consult with the aviation industry ahead of an open skies agreement with the United States; [R] [23900]

(4) what discussions his Department has had in the last four weeks with United States officials and politicians on (a) an open skies agreement between the two countries and (b) the proposed British Airways/American Airlines alliance. [R] [23897]

Mr. Spellar

I held informal discussions with the US Deputy Secretary of Transportation in Washington on 7 November 2001 on the prospects for liberalising the UK/US aviation market. An official from my Department met officials from the US Department of Transportation as part of these discussions. As I had a prior engagement in New York, celebrating the re-launch of Concorde services, I and the official travelled on the inaugural Concorde service, on the outbound sector of the journey only. Both tickets were paid for by my Department. We then completed our journey to Washington by train.

My officials continue to be in regular contact, by telephone and by correspondence, with their US counterparts and will, as usual, consult UK aviation interests in advance of any formal talks with the US.

Mr. Pickles

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the state of bilateral negotiations between the USA and the UK on open skies. [27430]

Mr. Spellar

We remain keen to liberalise the UK-US aviation market on terms which will give UK carriers effective access to the large US domestic market.