Biggles and Co °ally of a Bader or a Richthofen
is the lofty dogfight between Lord Sir Adam in the British Airways cockpit, and Adam Thomson, flying British Caledo- luau- Now Sir Adam, sights locked on his foe, has loosed off a belt of ego-piercing munition supplied by a well-known Stratford-on-Avon firm: 'In the names of all the gods at once, Upon what meat doth munition supplied by a well-known Stratford-on-Avon firm: 'In the names of all the gods at once, Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed, That he has grown so great?' At its simplest, the row is over routes — Sir Adam wants them, Lord King has got them. It becomes more complex and More bitter as British Airways comes closer to the stock market. Take-off is timed for next year after British Telecom finally has lumbered off the runway. But if Telecom cannot come to market this autumn (and it IsA :))T no means sure to be ready) then British Airways is first reserve, and would be urought forward. Lord King, understand- ably, does not want to weaken his prospec- tus. Sir Adam with equal force asks why, if We now believe in market forces, one com- petitor in his market should be, by decree, more equal than others. British investors, unused to airline shares, wonder what they will really be asked to buy. How far is British Airways a franchised operation, whose principal assets were conferred and may be withdrawn by a stroke of the Government's pen? See what is happening at Manchester, where three airlines — Malaysia Singapore, Pakistan, and Singapore Airlines — want to start schedul- ed international services. The Department of Transport has told them that they can only do this if they give up an equal number of flights to and from London. This cer- tainly protects British Airways, with its London base, but it does not do much for the north, or for competition — or for customers.
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