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CONFIDENTIAL
機密
HONG KONG PAPER NO. 1
HONG KONG - LONDON ROUTE
THE CBJECTIVE OF THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT
1. Introduction
1.1
Constitutional, historical, financial and economic links between Hong Kong and Britain make the London/Hong Kong air route the most important intercontinental air link in the eyes of the travelling public of Hong Kong. In these circumstances, the Hong Kong Government is particularly concerned that this service should be a through-plane service offering air transport of optimum availability, regularity, punctuality and comfort at minimum cost to the passenger. As the route links two British points, it has been regarded as a domestic route served first by BOAC and latterly by British Airways. No other airline has rights to operate a through-plane scheduled service on this route.
2. Standard of BA's service
2.1
For a number of years now, the BA service has not met with the objectives of the Hong Kong Government. Public dissatisfaction over the standard of service offered by BA has been growing. It has been reflected in the correspondence columns of daily newspapers, on radio programmes and in questions asked in the Legislative Council. It has centred
largely on poor punctuality, poor customers service and insufficient capacity.
2.2
In consequence of these criticisms, the Director of Civil Aviation has maintained since November 1976 a record of BA's time-keeping and more recently available capacity into and out of Hong Kong. These records, which have been conveyed to the Civil Aviation Authority, confirm the unpunctuality of the service, and, from time to time,
CONFIDENTIAL
機密