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Public Corporation to Control
Air Services
LONDON? BSaturday.-The Air eBere
tary (Sir Kingsley Wood) announced in
the House of Commons that the Govern
ment proposed to recommend to Parlia
ment legislation establishing a public
corporatlon, which would acquire Im
penal Airways and British Airways.
The Government, he said, had been
considering the question of the most
suitable instrument for developing the
country's overseas civil aviation com
munications. In the light of large
sums payable to undertakings by way
of subsidy and of opinions expressed
by the Cadman Committee that the
dividend of subsided air transport con
corns should not exceed publico utility
rates, it appeared desirable to ensure
that the large additional capital need
for development should be raised on
terms which would not prove unduly
expensive to the Exchequer.
Moreover, the rapid expansion of
overseas services, coupled with vast
technical advances being made in this
sphere, called for a poolin of resour
as £nd strongthesia s ad uinistratiQn
and operational organisatieon to the
fullest extent. In these circumstances
the Government had reached the con
clusion that the most satisfactory in
strument for the development of over
seas civil aviation would be provided by
the association of the two chosen in
struments--Imperial Airways and Brit
ish Airways-in a public corporation.
aBefore leislation was introduced the
Government hoped to Afix with the dir
ectors of the two companies a fair and
reasonable price for each undertaking
which could be submitted to the'share
holders for approval and, if agreed
upon, could be inserted in a bill. If an
agreement could not be reached, a bill
would provide for the price to be fixed
by an independent arbitral tribunal.
It was proposed that the new public
corporation should obtain funds for the
purposes of acquirinug the two existing
undertakings and for further capital
requirements by the issue of fAxed in
terest stocks guaranteed by the Govern
mnent. Full details would be contain
ed in the bill which would be available
at an earlg iate,
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