{
CONFIDENTIAL
IMMEDIATE HONG KONG GOVERNOR
PEKIN
COPY IMMEDIATE PEKING W.
Your Tel 607: UK/PRC Air Services
We share the doubts expressed by Peking on the efficacy
of the course of action proposed in your tel 607.
However many times we review the 1979 arrangements our view
that Tianjin and Nanjing services cannot legitimately be
used to carry passengers to Peking and Shanghai and that we
are in consequence entitled to impose conditions on such
services, will not be accepted by CAAC unless we are
prepared to take firm effective action in support.
HK acce po!
mio
To embark on a review of the kind you have proposed without the
power to stop offending services or terminate the regional
CMU could only make the situation worse by leading to at least
de facto recognition of CAAC's position. With or without a
review, if we now concede 4 services to Tianjin and 3 to
Nanjing that is the end of any hope CPA may have of getting
services to Peking or improving their share of Shanghai traffic.
CAAC will simply continue to expand their Peking/Shanghai
services through these and other points. We should also be
giving up any hope that competition from CPA might improve the
standards of service, frequency and seat availability on
flights between Hong Kong and these important cities.
In such circumstances we could no longer consider ourselves
bound to ask BA to meet the undertaking given to your
predecessor to cease serving Peking via Hong Kong no later
than July 1983 in order to make room for Cathay Pacific.
There could be no certainty that Cathay would benefit from
مهده