Information Paper for LegCo Panel on Public Service

Review of Duty Passage Arrangements for Officers on Duty Visits Outside Hong Kong

Background

At the LegCo Public Service Panel meeting on 21.12.98, we undertook to review the passage arrangements for officers on duty visits outside Hong Kong. We have now completed the review and would like to inform Members of our findings and the changes to be introduced.

Existing Arrangements

2. The existing duty passage gradings are as follows:

Rank	Grading
D8 and above	First Class
D7 - D5	First Class, if flying time is 6 hours or more Business Class, if flying time is less than 6 hours
D4	Business Class
D3	and below Economy Class

Departmental officers are eligible to upgrade their passage to a higher class if they fly for more than 12 hours, are subject to a heavy schedule of 3 flights in 5 days or are required to travel again within 7 days.

Review Findings

3. We have obtained information on duty passage provisions for government officials from a number of Asian Pacific countries. In addition, we have also been provided with details concerning the practices in a number of major companies in the private sector locally. A summary is at the attached Annex.

4. We notice that the current practice in both the private and public sector is for the most senior officers (prime minister or chairman) to travel First Class. For the rest, the class of travel is determined by a combination of seniority and duration of flight. We have decided that a similar approach is now appropriate for officials of the HKSARG.

Revised Duty Passage Arrangements

5. We will adopt the following revised arrangements:

Rank	Grading
Above D8	First class on all occasions
D8 - D7	Business Class, may upgrade to First Class if flying time exceeds 9 hours
D6 - D4	Business Class on all occasions
D3 and below	Economy, may upgrade to Business Class if flying time exceeds 9 hours

Upgrading from Economy to Business Class may also be allowed for an officer at D3 or below if he/she is subject to a heavy schedule of 3 flights in 5 days or is required to travel again within 7 days. For all categories of officers, however, outward journeys cannot be upgraded if an officer takes leave outside Hong Kong before duty is performed. Similarly, return journeys cannot be upgraded if an officer takes leave after completion of duty or upon return to Hong Kong before resumption of duty.

6. We will shortly promulgate the revised duty passage arrangements and implement them with effect from a current date.

Civil Service Bureau
10 February 1999

Annex

Duty Passage Arrangements in Asian Pacific Countries

Rank	Class of Passage
Country A
Government Minister	First
All other public servants	Business, Economy for domestic travel
Country B
Prime Minister, Governor General Minister, Deputy Minister Others	First Economy, Business if travelling distance exceeds 750 km Economy, Business if flying time exceeds hours
Country C
Deputy Minister and above	First
Bureau Head	Business, no provision for upgrading
OthersEconomy, no provision for upgrading
Country D
Prime Minister, Cabinet Minister, Head of Government Agencies, Head of Diplomatic Establishment Abroad, Director-General and above (Tier I)	First
Director Class below Tier I	Business, no provision for upgrading
Others	Economy, no provision for upgrading
Country E
Minister	First
Director of Ministry, Ambassador	Business
Others	Economy, Business if flying time exceeds hours
Country F
President, Prime Minister, Minister	First
Permanent Secretary of Ministry	First
Head of Mission	Business
Deputy Secretary and Director of Ministry	Business
Country G
Cabinet Secretary	First
Ambassador	Economy, Business if on first/final trip to and from post or when flying time exceeds 14 hours
Others	Economy, Business when flying time exceeds 14 hours