Three of the tenets of a Contracts Manager are (a) that he should not be seen, (b) he only speaks if spoken to, and (c) he ensures that every answer he gives is capable of being interpreted in three different ways. You can imagine, then, how embarrassing it is for me to make what is supposed to be a forthright statement to an audience which I imagine contains a number of customers and potential customers.

I suppose one of the most ulcer-making things that can happen to an airline management is to see a piece of brand new and expensive aircraft machinery sitting on the tarmac unserviceable. With the increasing cost of civil aircraft, profits can only be made by keeping them in the air at a high degree of utilisation.