U.K. and back: $700

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32779, 2 December 1971, Page 1

U.K. and back: $700

Qantas plans to introduce special low fares to the United Kingdom and Europe early next year. The Australian Minister for Civil Aviation (Senator R. Cotton) said in Australia yesterday that a return fare of about $7OO on scheduled flights would be part of the proposal. The airline planned to introduce the special fares either by agreement between the International Air Transport Association lines, or by bilateral arrange-

ments with individual European countries. There would be an I.A.T.A. meeting in Geneva next Monday, Senator Cotton said, and it would be asked again to consider low-fare travel on scheduled flights. If it could not agree, an open-rate situation would exist on the route between Australia and the United Kingdom and Europe by early next year. This meant that the Australian Government would negotiate special low fares on scheduled

services with European governments, several of which had already indicated their agreement in principle with such a scheme. Senator Cotton said that the Qantas non-I.A.T.A. subsidiary company set up to provide low-fare travel would go ahead, and would be able to operate side by side with scheduled Qantas services by providing lowcost charter flights of all kinds, such as inclusive tours, own-use charters and affinity groups.