TNAG-0781-FCO40-985-Involvement-of-Hong-Kong-in-air-services-agreements-1978 — Page 241

?

R Allen Esq

CONFIDENTIAL

DEPARTMENT OF TRADE -CAIR/la

1 Victoria Street London SW1H OET

Telex 8811074/5 DTIHQ G

Telegrams Advantage London SW1

Telephone Direct Line

Far Eastern Dept

FCO

King Charles Street

London SWI

Dear

Richard.

01-215-3127

Switchboard 01-215 7877

Air Services - China

HKK184/1

RECEPTESY MO. 51 15.00-1972

No

OFFICER.

You wrote to me on 31 August.

REGISTRY

Think

En Co

2

C.

575

Mf Thampi HugD

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we now have the information

Huvery Hoa's went there

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Date

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dift stateme Peking & Hay they

!! October 1978

I agree with proposals at X' above.

170

былько

REALL

(84

Nam not sure to what extent you would regard the object of your letter as having been overtaken by events since then, but since I set in train an enquiry of BA, the results of which I now have, I will let you have my contribution to a comprehensive paper - if there is going to be one.

BA would like to start operating to Peking; this initially would be once or twice weekly with B747s as an extension of their services to Hong Kong. Alternatively if there were problems in operating 747s into Peking airport they could, for a time at anyrate, operate a VC 10 shuttle service between Hong Kong and Peking connecting with the 747 service between London and Hong Kong. This mode of operation would however be time-limited as BA will be phasing out VC 10s to Hong Kong fairly soon.

To break-even on an extension of a 747 service beyond Hong Kong to Peking BA would need about fifteen passengers each way per service. They would

hope to get that number. Obviously if they could get traffic rights between Hong Kong and Peking that traffic would be a bonus.

In the longer term they would look to alterative more direct routeings. But this would be dependent on bi-lateral availability elsewhere. With this in mind it would be helpful if the following additional route points could be put in the UK route of the Route Schedule to the draft ASA:- a Gulf point; Bombay; possibly Rawalpindi; and possibly more flexibility as to European points. Getting these additional route points would also be helpful to flexibility in operating extensions of Hong Kong Services. BA could not at this stage estimate the likely profitability of more direct routeing.

Of much greater significance would be the ability to overfly China on all BA's services to Hong Kong (under the draft ASA only those of its services going on to Peking may overfly China). This would save BA on its present pattern of services around £2m per annum.

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