Home / Series / Man Alive / Aired Order / Season 1980 / Episode 16

Airfare: Unfair?

If distances by air from London were measured in money rather than miles, then the Shetland Isles would be further than Boston and Geneva would be only a little short of New York. Why is it that air travel in the United Kingdom and in Europe costs two, three and even four times as much per mile as it does over the Atlantic or in North America? Is it lack of true competition? Is it lack of sufficient passenger volume? Is it perhaps just inefficency? Jenny Conway and Nick Ross investigate. Will an alleged system of ' price-fixing ' among European ' state ' airlines be declared illegal - under the Treaty of Rome? Will the day come when one will be able to fly to Stockholm or Naples (1,000 miles) for appreciably less than one can fly all the way (5,500 miles) to Los Angeles today?

English
  • Originally Aired September 30, 1980
  • Created June 6, 2022 by
    AddingStuffIsFun
  • Modified November 2, 2024 by
    mosipd