56
S 900
CONFIDENTIAL
FM CANBERRA 270700Z JAN 79
CONFIDENTIAL
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELEGRAM NO 75 OF 27 JANUARY
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по
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INFO SINGAPORE KUALA LUMPUR BANGKOK JAKARTA
यौ
A
A
MANILA
HONG KONG (GOV AND BCARFE) WELLINGTON (FOR ROGERS) DELHI
MY TEL 53: UK/AUSTRALIA AIR SERVICES DISCUSSIONS
1. DISCUSSION OF THE PROPOSED UK/AUSTRALIA STOPOVER APEX FARE WAS
RESUMED ON 24 JANUARY AND CONTINUED ON 25 AND 26 JANUARY.
2. EXTENSIVE STATISTICAL DATA ON THE YIELDS (IN TERMS OF CENTS PER MILE) FOR ALL THE PROPOSED LOW FARES ON ALL THE RELEVANT ROUTES HAD
BEEN PREPARED BY BA AND QANTAS. THIS PROVIDED A USEFUL BASIS FOR
CONSIDERATION OF RELATIVE FARE LEVELS. IT REVEALED THAT THE DIS- PARITIES BETWEEN THE VARIOUS SECTOR FARES, AND BETWEEN THE SECTOR FARES AND THE END TO END FARES, AS AT PRESENT PROPOSED, WERE NOT AS LARGE AS HAD EARLIER BEEN THOUGHT ALTHOUGH THEY WERE, STILL SUB→
STANTIAL.
3. VARIOUS ALTERNATIVE POSSIBILITIES FOR ARRIVING AT AN APEX STOP--
OVER FARE WERE PREPARED BY BA AND QANTAS, AND THEIR PROS AND CONS
EXAMINED IN DETAIL. NONE COULD BE FOUND WHICH WAS ENTIRELY ECONOMIC AND YET MET THE POLITICAL AND POLICY OBJECTIVES. THE ONE FINALLY
SELECTED PRODUCED SEASONAL COMBINATIONS WHICH WOULD NOT UNDERCUT THE APEX THROUGH FARE WHILST GIVING REASONABLE ALL-YEAR-ROUND RE-
DUCTIONS ON THE STOPOVER FARES AS COMPARED WITH THE FIGURES PREVI-
OUSLY PROPOSED BY THE AUSTRALIANS. SINCE THE VAST MAJORITY OF
PASSENGERS WHO TAKE STOPOVERS STOP ONLY IN ONE DIRECTION IT WAS
DECIDED THAT THE CONDITIONS ATTACHING TO THE FARE SHOULD BE FOR
STOPOVER IN ONE DIRECTION ONLY. CARRIAGE IN THAT DIRECTION COULD
BE BY THE THIRD/FOURTH FREEDOM CARRIERS OF THE COUNTRY OF STOPOVER, TRAVEL END-TO-END IN THE OTHER DIRECTION COULD BE BY BA OR QANTAS
ONLY. THIS REDUCED THE LOSS OF TRAFFIC TO BA AND QANTAS ALTHOUGH
IT AGGRAVATED THE PROBLEM OF DIRECTIONAL IMBALANCES.
CONFIDENTIAL,
14.