בן
ほ
GPS 170
ASSIFIED
DESKBY FCO 091200Z FEB
FM KUALA LUMPUR 091239Z FEB 79
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELEGRAM NUMBER 97 OF 9 FEBRUARY 1979
HACK 194/!
CA
No
INFO IMMEDIATE SINGAPORE BANGKOK JAKARTA MANILA CANBERRA WELLINGTON
BCARFE AND GOV HONG KONG
MY TEL NO 91 : AIR SERVICES
1. TODAY'S NEW STRAITS TIMES CARRIES A BACK PAGE BANNER HEADLINE QUOTE DEADLOCK AGAIN AS THE AVIATION TALKS STALL - GREEN LIGHT
FOR MAS AIRBUS TO HONG KONG
BUT THAT'S ALL UNQUOTE.
2. THE SUBSTANCE OF THE ARTICLE IS LESS SENSATIONAL, QUOTING HAMZAH MAJID WHO DESCRIBED THE FOUR DAYS OF DISCUSSIONS AS QUOTE DISAPPOINTING UNQUOTE, IT SAYS THE BRITISH HAD AGREED THAT TRAFFIC STATISTICS ON THE HONG KONG ROUTE JUSTIFIED DAILY AIRBUS OPERATIONS BY MAS BUT THAT THERE WAS DISAGREEMENT ON TRAFFIC STATISTICS BEYOND HONG KONG AND FOR THE LONDON ROUTE. THIS WAS
ATTRIBUTED TO BOTH SIDES USING TRAFFIC LOAD FIGURES BASED ON
DIFFERENT ASSUMPTIONS.
3. THE MALAYSIANS, SAID THE ARTICLE, FELT THAT THEIR STATISTICS
SHOWED QUOTE BEYOND ANY DOUBT UNQUOTE THAT MORE FLIGHTS WERE
REQUIRED BUT QUOTE THE BRITISH WOULD ONLY ALLOW ADDITIONAL
SERVICES WHERE THE LOAD FACTOR OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS ABOVE
SØPER CENT. THIS WAS ABOVE THE INTERNATIONAL PRE-REQUISITE OF
65 PER CENT LOAD JUSTIFYING ADDITIONAL SERVICES UNQUOTE.
COPIES SENT TO CAD/DOT
HAWLEY FILES
HK YG D
MARD SEAD SPD
MISS GROWN
MR MURRAY