“It is common ground that there is no difference between best and all reasonable endeavours.” This is a quote from His Honour Judge Mackie QC in Jet2.Com Ltd v Blackpool Airport Ltd [2011] EWHC 1529 (Comm) (15 June 2011).
The case relates to an agreement affecting the use of Blackpool Airport by Jet2.com. The parties to the agreement agreed that: “Jet2.com and BAL will co-operate together and use their best endeavours to promote Jet2.com’s low cost services from Blackpool Airport, and BAL will use all reasonable endeavours to provide a cost base that will facilitate Jet2.com’s low cost pricing.” The case does not in fact decide what these words meant. The judge declined to declare. However, the judge was of the opinion that, although an obligation to use all reasonable endeavours did not normally require a party to sacrifice its own commercial interests (see Yewbelle v London Green Developments [2007] EWCA Civ 475), it was improbable that the parties would have intended BAL to have been able to pick and choose which commercial interests it wished to protect and to be able to abandon performance once it became undesirable or unprofitable. Some element of objectivity would apply.
As for the quote above? “Discuss.” That would be a good exam question….