TNAG-0868-FCO40-1078-Air-services-between-China--Hong-Kong-and-the-UK-1979 — Page 168

133

GRS 440

CONFIDENTIAL

DESKBY FCO 291300Z

CONFIDENTIAL

136

HKK 184/2

10 MAR 1979

30

OFFICER

NO. 51

REGISTRY

Action Take?

DESKBY PEKING 300100Z

- FM HONG KONG 291230Z MAY 79

TO IMMEDIATE F C O

TELEGRAM NUMBER 3/2 OF 29 MAY

INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING

PA

по

Job

PEKING TELNO 494 (DTS 2906352) TO F C O: UK/PRC AIR SERVICES

NEGOTIATIONS.

1. IT IS STILL NOT CLEAR TO US FROM THE REPORTING TELEGRAM UNDER REFERENCE WHETHER THE CHINESE HAVE NOW CONCEDED FULL TRAFFIC RIGHTS BETWEEN HONG KONG AND PEKING. IF THEY ARE GIVEN TO A

ધ

TRUNK OPERATOR, THEN IT WOULD APPEAR THAT :

(A) OF THE THREE REGIONAL ROUTES ON OFFER, THE MOST LUCRATIVE ONE LINKING HONG KONG AND PEKING WILL BE PRE-EMPTED BY THE TRUNK

CARRIER FOR A PROTRACTED PERIOD:

(B) ANY HONG KONG BASED REGIONAL CARRIER WOULD ONLY BE ABLE TO OPERATE TO SHANGHAI AND ONE OTHER INDETERMINATE POINT IN CHINA: AND

(C) AS AGAINST (B) CAAC WOULD HAVE SEVEN REGIONAL ROUTES INCLUDING

SHANGHAI AND PEKING.

2. IF FULL TRAFFIC RIGHTS HAVE BEEN CONCEDED, IT SEEMS TO US MOST UNLIKELY THAT A TRUNK OPERATOR COULD EXPLOIT THEIR BENEFITS

TO ANYWHERE NEAR THE SAMF EXTENT AS A REGIONAL OPERATOR. WE FEEL

AA TRUE STRONGLY THAT TRUE REGIONAL ROUTES SHOULD BE OPERATED BY REGIONAL OPERATOR, WE HAVE SEEN NO ECONOMIC JUSTIFICATION FOR THE VIEW THAT THE HONG KONG/PEKING LEG OF A LONG ROUTE LINKING PEKING AND LONDON IS REALLY NECESSARY FOR THE VIABILITY OF THE TRUNK ROUTE: UNDER THE 1973 AGREEMENT BA HAD CONTEMPLATED OPERATING IT WITH ONLY OWN STOPOVER TRAFFIC.

3. IF IT IS DECIDED THAT THE HONG KONG/PEKING REGIONAL ROUTE MUST BE USED AS PART OF THE TRUNK ROUTE, THEN WE FEEL THAT THIS UTILISATION MUST BE STRICTLY FOR A LIMITED PERIOD OF, SAY, TWO YEARS AND NOT FOR A PROTRACTED PERIOD AS IN PARA 10 OF TUR. IF

Ar

CONFIDENTIAL