TNAG-0964-FCO40-1183-Air-services-between-the-UK-and-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 127

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9th April 1980

The Secretary of State for Trade.

(bearing in mind the option in practice to revert to a separate plane for the intermediate passengers when the end-to-end traffic justifies this) therefore permits a more flexible operation than using a DC10 end-to-end with or without such rights: it meets all the CAA's stated desiderata and enables a faster build-up to a daily service:

(4) The CAA completely overlooked or ignored the unchallenged and agreed evidence as to the special travel pattern on the route, thereby falling into a fundamental error of fact and hence of law. The traffic pattern shows extraordinary fluctuations in demand. It exhibits high peaking on and near the weekends throughout the year with three very slack days mid week: additionally there are intense seasonal peaks when passengers are turned away in large numbers and reservations are closed weeks ahead of departure dates. Thus at present on some days each week the existing BA flight is under-utilised whilst at other times the extra demand requires to be met by an additional B747. That extra demand will not physically be able to be met by adding a DC10 to the single daily B747 to be operated by BA following the latter's proposed and announced frequency reduction under their new flight schedules:

5) The CAA apparently overlooked or ignored other substantial arguments advanced in the evidence for licensing Cathay, attached insufficient weight to others and fell into error by failing to balance the pros and cons of the entire situation in reaching its decision, but instead relied upon one reason alone (the basis for which it clearly misunderstood as explained below).

(a)

(i)

above,

It ignored or overlooked:

the special route characteristics described in (4)

(ii) the operational desirability (and moreover the universal custom and basic equity where traffic rights are concerned) of serving routes by airlines based at opposite ends, for instance, the travelling public are likely to be less inconvenienced if. industrial troubles occur when a route is served from both ends rather than entirely from one, albeit by two carriers,

(iii)the evidence that both before and especially since the various DC10 accidents, a substantial majority of the travelling public show a marked preference for the B747 compared with the DC10 aircraft,

(iv) the substantial benefits arising in the past and the future to the British balance of payments and economy from

Cont'd....