In summer 1961, Silver City agreed with rival French air ferry operator Compagnie Air Transport (CAT) for the latter to finance the construction of a two-mile rail spur into Le Touquet Airport from the nearby main line to reduce the travelling time between the airport and Paris by cutting out the coach/rail change at Étaples. In return, Silver City transferred three of its Superfreighters to CAT along with the traffic rights to operate the "Ferryfield" — Le Touquet and Bournemouth (Hurn) — Cherbourg routes. This arrangement gave CAT a 25% share of the car ferry market between Britain and France.