Setting a new standard

Horizon8 reaches
major milestone
Briefs
n Nepal contribution tops
HK$10m
The contribution by the Cathay
Pacific Group to the Nepal earthquake relief effort has topped
HK$10 million.
The two-week appeal among
staff of the Group and its subsidiaries, together with dollar-for-dollar matching by the company,
raised HK$3.4 million, while a further HK$2.6 million was collected
through Change for Good.
All the proceeds have been
directed to support UNICEF HK’s
relief efforts and to build community resilience in Nepal.
In addition to the cash donation, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair
gave free support to a number
of local and overseas charities in
sending rescue teams and relief
supplies to the affected areas.
The Group’s support in this area
has an estimated value of HK$4
million.
End goal in sight for project to modernise finance and procurement
Horizon8 has reached a critical
stage in its journey.
The project, which is set to
modernise finance and procurement
activities across Cathay Pacific
through the implementation of
end-to-end process improvements
enabled by a standard integrated
technology solution, has now had
all its future processes outlined in
31 Functional Design Documents
(FDDs).
“This marks another important
milestone for the Horizon8 ascent,”
says Martin Murray, Finance Director.
“These FDDs provide the critical
road maps to lead us to the summit.
Four years from starting we can now
see how far we have progressed. New
organisation structures are in place,
along with a new management
reporting
framework,
project
benefit tracking, and tighter contract
compliance, to name but a few.”
Martin explains that over the
past 10 months alone Cathay has
seen HK$1.5 billion in procurement
n New business cards
Cathay’s business cards have been
redesigned to reflect the new
brand design ethos and are now
available for ordering through
CXeBuy.
The new design respects the
continuing importance of a
business card in the Asia-Pacific
region, but strives to make it as
simple as possible.
Staff have been asked to
exhaust their current business
card supply before ordering new
ones. For enquiries, email brand@
cathaypacific.com.
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On-time performance
Fuel price - Rolling 6 Months
69.3%
100
80
n
Performance Index
USD per Barrel
90
How will Horizon8 impact you?
The process designs follow four key accounting principles:
Segregation of duties – more than one person will be involved in an
activity to reduce risk and enhance internal control. Approvals will be
automatically sent to approvers for processing.
Standard processes – a consistent way of performing finance and
procurement activities across the Group.
Single source of truth – all financial and purchasing data will be
stored in a single repository, providing more accurate and timely data
to drive better business decisions.
No PO No Pay – Purchases will require a Purchase Order (PO), which
will be matched against the invoice for payments to be made. Nine
purchasing channels have been identified to allow departments to
make purchases, each representing a valid way to make purchases and
ensure appropriate documentation is in place before payment.
Cathay Pacific Catering Services (CPCS)
became Japan Airlines’ inflight catering
supplier for flights out of Hong Kong
last month, bringing the caterer’s
customer portfolio to 43 – the highest in
its 48-year history.
This is the first time for CPCS to serve
two top Japanese carriers, All Nippon
Airways and Japan Airlines, boosting
the economies of scale and expertise in
its Japanese kitchen.
Pictured celebrating the partnership
are (left to right) Philip Tung, Andy
Wong and Jenny Lam from CPCS, and
Shigeki Suzuki , Thomas Woo and
Futoshi Nakahara from JAL.
The Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal
began providing cargo operations
and documentation services for
Philippines-based AirAsia Zest
from 8 May.
The terminal now handles
eight customer airlines including
Cathay Pacific, Dragonair and Air
Hong Kong.
n
Sing Jet Kerosene
Within 15 mins
Industry standard
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Traffic/capacity (CX + KA)*
Passengers carried
2,810,592
7.6%
ASKs (000)
11,751,688
6.1%
Freight carried
141,136
0.5%
ATKs (000)
2,450,767
6.0%
Passenger load factor 87.2%
1.3pt
70
60
50
40
Feb/15
2
bureaucracy and more accurate
and timely data, which will lead
to clearer accountabilities and
improved reward.”
For more information, contact the
project team via Horizon8_project@
cathaypacific.com.
submissions and storage of receipts
will be possible for expense claims.
“The budgeting process will be
significantly simplified,” says Martin.
“The implementation and change
will take time but the result will be
increased transparency and less
JAL becomes
latest CPCS
customer
n Cargo terminal welcomes
AirAsia Zest
n
benefits, of which HK$300 million
was reflected in the 2014 accounts.
“The end goal is in sight,” he says.
The FDDs are the result of
hard work between the Horizon8
project team, Financial Services,
Airline Purchasing, Information
Management, various business
units, outports, subsidiaries and
consultancy Capgemini.
“The new design results in more
efficient finance and procurement
processes, as well as increased
transparency and less bureaucracy,”
Martin explains.
Over the coming months,
Horizon8 will be engaging with
the business to begin bringing the
process design to life.
“The biggest visible changes will
come through the procure-to-pay,
flight order, budgeting and expense
processes,” Martin explains.
A central repository for flightrelated information will allow the
Route Contribution Report to be
generated within 10 days. Electronic
33.3%
ICE Brent
on-the-dot CX standard
Jul/15
Cargo load factor
* Figures for Jun 15
62.7%
-2.2pt
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Produced by Cathay Pacific’s Corporate
Communication Department
7/F North Tower, Cathay Pacific City,
Lantau, HK
Publisher: James Tong
Managing Editor: Mark Tindall
Editor: Kawai Wong
Enquiries: 2747-8227
GalaCXy ID: CCD#SCT
Email: ccd#[email protected]
n
n
Summer hots up
Extra sectors for Cathay and Dragonair as latest peak arrives
Load factors were high across most of the
network in June and could go even higher as
Cathay moves deeper into the annual summer
peak.
Traffic figures just released showed a
systemwide Cathay/Dragonair load factor of
87.2% last month, climbing to almost 90% in
the week ending 27 June.
“We are predicting load factors averaging
88% during July and August, which is up
almost two percentage points up on last
summer,” says General Manager Revenue
Management Patricia Hwang.
“It’s going to be a predominantly back-end
story with high Economy Class demand on
regional routes, and long-haul sectors getting
good support from student groups and VFR
[visiting friends and relatives] traffic.”
Patricia says that 97 pairs of extra sectors
– 70 pairs for Cathay and 27 for Dragonair –
are currently scheduled to cater for summer
travellers, operating primarily to Southeast
Asia and North Asia.
Hong Kong Office requested 28 pairs of
extra sectors which will operate to Langkawi,
Osaka and two secondary cities in Japan,
Nagasaki and Okayama.
“Japan is definitely the main hotspot for
Hong Kong travellers this summer, though
Bangkok and Singapore are also proving very
popular,” says General Manager Sales, Pearl
River Delta & Hong Kong Lavinia Lau.
“For the long-hauls out of Hong Kong, UK
and European flights will be especially busy.”
Routes with softer demand will include
Jakarta, Siem Reap, Yangon and Kathmandu,
with load factors in the 70s, but the main
shortfall will be to Korea where the travel
sentiment has been heavily affected by the
MERS outbreak.
“Bookings on the Korea route are only half
what we had last year and we don’t expect
Chief Executive
Message
HOT SPOTS: Japan, Thailand, and Singapore are the most popular summer destinations.
this to change substantially in view of the Red
Outbound Travel Alert issued by Hong Kong
government,” says Patricia.
Capacity to Korean destinations has been
temporarily reduced by as much as 40%
compared to last summer, with resources
being deployed to Japan and Southeast Asia.
In terms of premium traffic, Patricia says that
demand is still falling short of the capacity
increase on some long-haul routes, though
short-haul routes are buoyant.
“In Hong Kong we have introduced some
tactical home leave fares targeting premium
leisure traffic,” says Lavinia.
“This created some base load for the
summer but the overall picture will become
clearer from September when corporate
travel gets back up to speed.”
Initiatives to improve OTP
On-time-performance (OTP) remains a top priority for the Cathay Pacific Group
as its teams face up to myriad challenges, including weather-related issues,
extensive air traffic flow controls and increasing congestion in the home hub.
Last month’s OTP fell to just 33% for on-the-dot departures, while departures
within 15 minutes – the industry standard – were at 69%.
In June’s CX World, Director Service Delivery James Ginns commented on the
disruptions that resulted from the “perfect storm” in late May, saying that the
airline is looking at options to minimise the impact of future disruptions.
These included looking at alternative routings for some flights over China
and the more extensive use of proactive delays during periods of extensive
disruption.
James also pointed to three projects that have been set in motion that will
help to improve overall OTP and ease the situation when disruptions occur.
Ground time
optimisation project
Tail-to-tail baggage
transfer
Dragonair on-timeperformance project
This is a significant HKIA Lean project to
enhance turnaround times – involving all
parties both above and below the wing. This
is due to complete in October. “The initiative
is designed to eliminate waste in processes,
maximise cooperative effort and streamline
the precision time schedule for aircraft
turnaround,” James says.
This has been discussed with Civil
Aviation Department and the
feasibility is now being studied by
the Airport Authority. James says
it is a “longer-term initiative that
will help baggage connectivity in
the congested environment we see
currently.”
This project aims to improve Dragonair’s
OTP by looking at scheduling, crew patterns
and improved availability of aircraft from
the hangar after overnight maintenance. “It’s
being run by the Disruption Management
Group so we are proactively managing
issues rather than simply responding to
them,” James explains.
It has been a very challenging start to
the summer from an operational point
of view. At the time of writing our teams
were gearing up for the approach of
typhoons Linfa and Chan-hom – just the
latest in a string of weather-related issues
since May. These have come on top of
extensive delays resulting from air-traffic
flow controls and the problems associated
with operating out of an increasingly
congested airport in Hong Kong.
These operational issues affect us in a
number of ways, from the financial impact
to the understandable frustration felt by
passengers at having their travel plans
disrupted. And, of course, these ongoing
delays and operational hurdles have a
big impact on our staff, too, with frontline
colleagues having to deal with tired and
unhappy passengers, rosters being disrupted, and people regularly being asked
to go beyond the call of duty.
We could not have got through the
past two months without the superb
effort from our teams in Cathay Pacific
and Dragonair, and I thank each and every
one of you for your hard work and commitment in looking after our customers
in the most trying circumstances. I can
assure you that your efforts are greatly
appreciated.
I can also assure you that we are doing
what we can to ease the pain. We can’t
change the weather, of course, but we
have introduced initiatives such as the
pre-emptive cancellation of flights to try
and make the impact less severe.
The ATC issues in the Mainland have
been more severe of late. From 1 May
to 16 June, there were 10 days of flow
controls that led to more than 230 flights
being delayed to and from Eastern and
Northern China. The knock-on effect
across the operation has been considerable.
Such a situation is not sustainable in the
long term, especially for our colleagues
who deal with this on a day-to-day basis,
so we are now in the process of reassessing our schedules to Shanghai, particularly for Dragonair, which will take some of
the strain out of the operation. We are also
looking at other measures that will help
to ease the pressure in the long term. In
the meantime, thank you all again for your
dedication!
Ivan Chu
3
Briefs
n United backs Fulcrum
United Continental Holdings Inc,
owner of the world’s second-biggest airline, has joined Cathay
Pacific in investing in Fulcrum
BioEnergy Inc to help develop jet
fuel from garbage.
United said the biofuel producer
will begin supplying the carrier
as early as 2018, with deliveries
increasing to 340 million litres
annually by 2021 – equivalent to
around 2% of the fuel it used last
year.
“What United has done is a big
step forward, getting involved
in helping us accelerate the date
that we’ll be producing renewable,
low-carbon fuel,” Fulcrum Chief
Executive Officer Jim Macias said,
commenting on UA’s US$30 million
investment.
A new Discovery
Cathay magazines get revamp in both design and editorial content
New features
Adventure
Australian adventurer Tim Cope, a former
National Geographic Adventure Honouree,
embarks on an epic journey of adventure
and self-discovery across Asia. Striking
photography and life-affecting epiphany.
n New air traffic records for HK
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 64.7 million
passengers in fiscal year 2014/15
– an annual increase of 6.6% and
a new high for the airport, making
it one of the 10 busiest passenger
airports in the world.
For the fifth consecutive year,
HKIA was also the world’s busiest
cargo airport with a throughput of
4.4 million tonnes, up 5.5% over
the previous year.
Philosophy
n Taipei lounge update
As part of Cathay’s ongoing lounge
upgrade, the lounge at Taiwan
Taoyuan International Airport in
Taipei is closed for renovation until
early December 2015. During this period, eligible
passengers are being invited to use
lounges from partner airlines.
Obituary –
Sofina Fung
Colleagues and friends were
saddened to hear of the death of
Sofina Fung, former Secretary to
Director Flight Operations, who
passed away on 13 June following a
prolonged illness.
Sofina joined Swire Air Caterers
(SACL, now CPCS) as Secretary in
February 1979, moving to Cathay
in July 1980 as Secretary to General
Manager Passenger Services. She transferred to Flight
Operations in January 1995 as
Secretary to DFO and remained in
that position until retiring in January
[2013]. She served four DFOs in total
– Captain Gerry Clemmow, Captain
Ken Barley, Nick Rhodes and Captain
Richard Hall.
Sofina is survived by her husband
and two daughters.
4
FRESH APPROACH: Discovery commissioned Hong Kong-based artists to create covers to celebrate the
magazine’s relaunch. The hero image in the above collage features the word “new” in Chinese.
Four decades ago, at a time when there was no
entertainment on board, Cathay Pacific thought
long and hard about easing passengers’ long-haul
ennui. The result? Discovery magazine.
The magazine made its debut in 1970 on board
the Sydney route. Forty-five years on, and in
line with the new Life Well Travelled campaign,
Discovery has undergone a complete revamp to
embrace a new look and an engaging editorial
direction.
“Travelling well is about travelling in comfort
and with confidence. It’s also about why we travel
– for holidays, work, or to challenge and enrich
ourselves,” says Toby Smith, General Manager
Product. “Hundreds of millions of flyers have read
and enjoyed Discovery since its inception. Today,
even with the variety of entertainment options
such as mobile tablets and StudioCX, our inflight
magazine remains an important touchpoint for
Cathay’s passengers, some of them the world’s
most frequent travellers. That is what we have
embarked upon in this major refresh of Discovery,
filled with articles that embody the essence of Life
Well Travelled.”
To translate the Life Well Travelled experience
into print, Cathay Pacific asked Cedar Hong Kong,
1970
Inaugural
issue
1975
Subscription
service
offered
a content marketing agency with extensive
experience in travel journalism and inflight
publishing, to take the helm of the redesign.
“We want to position the airline as a real expert
on travel as well as aviation,” says Hannah Saunders,
Cedar’s Managing Partner. “It is a magazine by welltravelled people for well-travelled people.”
Cedar has also been appointed to publish Discover
the Shop and Cargo Clan for Cathay, and Silkroad and
Emporium for Dragonair.
A new line-up of writers and photographers has
been commissioned to unravel a new dimension
on the topics of world travel, lifestyle, food, brands
and adventure for the globe-trotting community.
To celebrate the launch of the new Discovery,
four Hong Kong-based artists have been asked
to create four special covers for the magazine,
making the July issue a collector’s item.
Scan the QR code on the right to
download an iPad version of the
Discovery magazine via the Apple
Store.
CX World is giving away
four special-edition Discovery cover
prints for staff. Visit our Yammer
group to see how to win.
1991
-Second
major
revamp
Western and eastern philosophers face
off on the meaning of discovery. Editor of
Philosophers magazine Julian Baggini namechecks Plato, while UC Berkeley Professor of
Philosophy Wong Wai-hung quotes a Song
Dynasty poet.
Insight
Guardian, GQ and Business Life contributor
Amanda Morison ruminates on the future
trends of hotel stays. Which type of traveller
are you? What kind of accommodation do
you prefer?
2008
Fifth
major
revamp 2003
Third major
revamp,
became
bilingual in
English and
Chinese
Art
1975
Chinese and
Japanese
stories added
to Englishonly lineup
1981
First
major
revamp
1992
Regular
Chinese
special
features
introduced
2007
Fourth
major
revamp
2012
iPad
version
available
Former Time Out editor Ysabelle Cheung
interviews four Hong Kong-based artists
who have been commissioned to create
four unique covers for Discovery’s July re
launch issue.
Taking shape in Toulouse
First A350 gets wings and tail as teams ramp up operational readiness
With just seven months to go before entry
into service, the assembly of Cathay’s first
A350 (designated by its manufacturing serial
number as MSN 029) is progressing according
to plan in Toulouse.
“The three fuselage sections have now
been joined up and the wings and tail-plane
are currently being installed, after which the
aircraft will be electrically powered up for the
very first time,” says Bob Taylor, Head of A350
Project.
Cathay’s second A350, MSN 032, is also now
on the final assembly line and is currently
having its fuselage sections joined together.
As things ramp up on the production line,
there’s a lot more happening in terms of
operational readiness activities across various
departments.
The Technical Training School recently
received Hong Kong Civil Aviation
Department (HKCAD) approval to perform
in-house training for A350 ground engineers
and the first course is underway.
“Applications and submissions to HKCAD
for a large number of regulatory approvals
that are necessary for Cathay to operate
and maintain the A350 are in progress,” Bob
explains.
Preparations for e-Operations are also
progressing well with key IT infrastructure
and systems being procured, tested and
implemented, while new e-Operations
operational support teams are being formed
in Engineering and Flight Operations.
“We’ve also been through our first technical
review meeting with Airbus to review the early
entry-into-service experience of Qatar and to
understand any early maturity issues that may
affect the first Cathay aircraft,” Bob says.
“Our understanding is that the aircraft is
performing quite well technically although
some early maturity issues still have to be
addressed. The feedback from operating
crews has been very positive.”
5
Appraisal update
Performance management under review following survey findings
Do you know why our
Sustainable Development (SD)
Reports (www.cathaypacific.
com/sdreport) have focused on
safety, climate change, waste
management, sustainable
sourcing, biodiversity, and our
people in the last two years?
This is the result of our
stakeholder engagement. We
regularly meet with a range
of stakeholders that include
our customers, staff, investors,
analysts, sustainability thoughtleaders, non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), suppliers,
businesses, and community
partners.
Our stakeholders help us
understand their expectations
of Cathay and sustainability. As
a result, they can provide input
to our SD and communication
strategies. Many people are
interested in the way we
incorporate sustainability into
the business and how we plan to
address certain issues. Through
the engagement process, we
are able to adapt and prioritise
our SD efforts to ensure that
we are responding to the views
and concerns of different
stakeholders.
Here are some highlights of
the top line feedback we have
received over the past two years:
- Carbon emission is of
increasing importance. Other
issues include fuel efficiency and
labour relations.
- Dedicated projects and
communications are key ways to
addressing these issues.
- SD is increasingly important
to customers.
- Cathay is perceived to be
performing better than its
competitors, but we need to work
harder to reach a best-in-class
level in sustainability.
- Areas of improvement:
tailored communication to each
stakeholder group; integration of
SD across the organisation, and
educating passengers and staff
around SD.
We welcome feedback. Send
us your thoughts and ideas via
[email protected]
or share them on our Yammer
Sustainability Group.
6
Q1 2015
Design Steps
Finding out
what people
think
A programme of work to review
and revamp existing frameworks
for performance management for
Cathay Pacific ground staff is now
underway.
Manager Recruitment & MPR
Planning Tony Reynolds is leading
the project, which is being driven
by the response of staff in the 2014
Alignment and Engagement Survey.
“We know from feedback
received in the employee survey
Programme sign-off and
consultancy partner
selected:
Towers Watson have been
selected to work with the
People Department on
the development of new
frameworks
that our existing performance
management framework (PDMP)
can be significantly improved, along
with corporate competencies and
support for career development,” he
says.
Tony explains that almost all
businesses have formal performance
management frameworks in place
to ensure that organisational vision
and priorities are translated into
aligned departmental, team and
individual objectives.
“It’s important that we get a clear
understanding of the competencies
required to execute the vision
and that meaningful, structured
development and career planning
discussions occur,” says Tony.
The new system will be in place
by 2016 with a roadmap already
outlined (see below).
Senior managers from across the
organisation have been invited to
join a project team to oversee the
design process, and Tony says that
suggestions from all ground staff
are welcome.
“We do want as much feedback as
possible, so if you have a view about
how to improve our performance
management framework, we’d love
to hear it,” Tony says.
Feedback can be sent to peter_
[email protected]. A Yammer
group will also be set up.
Q2 2015
Q3-Q4 2015
Q1 2016
Q1 2016
Interviews and focus
groups:
Some 300 employees from
across all departments
(including outports)
have contributed their
improvement ideas so far
Design, development and
testing:
New principles, processes,
content, expectations,
resources and technology
solution developed or
tested
Training:
All managers will be
equipped with the tools
and skills to collectively
lead the revamped
performance management
approach with briefing
sessions for employees
Launch:
The new frameworks will
be launched in Q2 next
year
Staff join the AYO chorus
Asia’s
premier
pre-professional
orchestra, the Asia Youth Orchestra
(AYO), is celebrating its 25th
anniversary this year with an Asian
summer tour that takes in Hong Kong,
Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Taipei,
Chiayi City, Osaka and Tokyo.
Cathay Pacific has been sponsoring
the AYO since its inception in 1990.
This year, Cathay is once again AYO’s
official carrier for flying talented
young musicians from all across Asia
for rehearsals and performances.
On 16 August, AYO is hosting a
special performance of Beethoven’s
9th Symphony at the Hong Kong
Coliseum. Joining the performance
are Canto-pop legend Alan Tam and
110 Cathay chorus members from ISD
and HKIA (left).
A rehearsal was held at Cathay City
on 2 June, led by AYO chorus rehearsal
conductor Dr Mimi Law and including
the reading of the Beethoven score.
More rehearsals are taking place at
the APA in Wan Chai.
Pedal Kart team calling for pedallers and helpers
The Hong Kong Charity 24 Hour
Pedal Kart Grand Prix 2015, one of
the most exciting team sport events
in town, will be held at Victoria Park
on 14-15 November.
The annual charitable event
with a motto of “pedal for those
who can’t”, raises funds for a list of
charitable organisations in Hong
Kong, Mainland China and the rest
of Asia. The event is supported by
the Hong Kong Round Table.
The Cathay Group, which has been
supporting the 24-hour relay race for
decades, sees the race as a chance to
promote sportsmanship and athletic
excellence, as well as fostering interdepartmental cooperation within the
airlines.
Recruitment for pedallers and
volunteers to look after the logistics
has begun for the 2015 race.
“We aim to send out a squad of
two men’s teams, one women’s team
and a fun team for the event,” says
Graduate Engineer Aaron Yau from
this year’s Pedal Kart Organising
Committee.
Application deadlines:
Pedallers
Competitive teams - 25 September 2015
Fun team - 30 October 2015
Helpers
30 October 2015
Interested parties please contact Kevin ([email protected]) or Aina ([email protected]).
“We would like to invite all
interested colleagues to be part of
this year’s 100-plus-strong team to
share the fun and become a part of
the Cathay tradition. Keen cyclists
and amateurs are both welcome!” Selections for the competing
teams will be held in late September.
A lunchtime roadshow will be set up
on The Street at Cathay City between
3-13 August, with souvenirs to give
away on a first-come-first-serve
basis.
A large number of helpers will also
be needed to assist in coordination,
logistics and cheering on the racers
on the race day, Aaron adds.
All Cathay Pacific, Dragonair,
AHK, CPCS and CPSL staff are
welcome to join. Overseas staff
will need to take part at their own
expense, while pilots and cabin
crew members may need to change
their roster to get time off.
7
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Letters to the Editor
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Star Letter prize
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fibres are left all over dark business suits is
something to behold. The result was myself
and other FCL passengers (presumably
all having paid full fare) having to de-fur
before leaving the aircraft. A quick chat with the cabin crew indicated that the problem is well-known
and despite the problem being raised on
many occasions, it seems to have fallen on
deaf ears. It would seem that there is room
for improvement which will make it a e
walking fur ball impression!
David Lomax, Manager Ground Training
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winner
Louis
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demonstrates
yet
again what Service
Straight from the
Heart truly means.
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I was fortunate enough to be upgraded to First
Class for a Duty Travel trip to Haneda. FCL is a great
product and the service is exceptional. However,
the quality of the blankets used for short
daytime sectors is nothing short of abysmal. The
blanket looks very nice and has a nice fleecy feel
to it, but the after effect of using it when fine
Edmond Leung, Manager Equipment Logistics
& Operations, replies: Thank you for your
feedback. Our FCL blanket is made of 100%
wool. We are evaluating various effective ways
of improving the production process and the
specification to prevent fibres from shedding.
However, this will take a bit of time for evaluation
and to produce and replace our existing
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Moral high
ground?
I have no problem with the
lobster cover in the April issue of
CX World. The problem I do have
though is hypocrisy. Do vegans
squash mosquitoes? Do they step
on ants or cockroaches? Aren’t
those living creatures too?
Some people do assume a moral
high ground when they complain.
The fact is, as long as we are part
of the human civilisation, we are
equally accountable for making
other living creatures suffer the
consequences of global warming,
deforestation and all kinds of
pollution.
Joni Chan, REV
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8
Fur real?
n
The loss of a loved one can
cause a great deal of sadness
and anxiety. For most people,
organising the final journey
for a family member can be a
disorientating affair. When this
happens in a foreign country,
things can get a lot more
confusing. At such a difficult
time, someone’s helping hand
can really make a difference.
On 11 March, CX881
passenger Mr Spore was
travelling from LAX with his
wife and father-in-law to join
a cruise ship in Singapore.
Unfortunately, his father-inlaw passed away during transit
in Hong Kong.
Faced with the unexpected
in an unfamiliar country, Mr
Spore was at a loss as to what
to do. But with the assistance of
Cathay’s cabin crew and HKIA
staff, Mr Spore was able to deal
with the logistical difficulties.
In Mr Spore’s thank you letter,
he thanked the Cathay team for
their calm and professional
assistance. Mr Spore also
noted: “I want to point out one
employee particularly, Louis
Lo, as being extremely helpful
once we were on the ground.”
Louis offered to contact
funeral services and acted as
the Spores’ interpreter. With
Louis’s help, Mr and Mrs Spore
were able to deal with the
logistical difficulties in a day
and make their onward journey
to Singapore the next day.
Why is Louis always willing
to go out of his way to help
passengers? He says: “I put
myself in their shoes. If I were
them, I would want someone to
help me too. I would say I’m
merely doing my part.”
The winner of the CX World Star
Letter scores a bottle of Chateau
Fayan Puissenguin St Emilion 2012.
A blend of Cabernet
Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc
and Merlot, this sumptuous
French wine is medium
bodied with firm tannins.
Full of flavour, deep in
colour, with notes of cherry,
blackcurrant and hints of
chocolate, this red is
perfect with soft cheeses
and red meat dishes.
Chateau Fayan
Puissenguin St Emilion
2012 is served in the
Business Class.
ISD will be offering a
bottle of wine from the
Business Class selection
every month for the Star
Letter prize winner, so
watch this space!
Freedom of
change
Can IMT give back some form
of desktop wallpaper control to
individual users? Desktop users are
the ones who have to endure the
unalterable background whether
they appreciate the image or not.
There are many ways to
communicate
key
messages
without spoon-feeding staff this
way. What’s more, the photo
background makes it difficult
to locate a desktop icon. What’s
wrong with a simple brushwing
monochrome wallpaper?
Cathay City staff
Jessica Wong, Assistant Manager
Training Systems & Projects,
replies: Thank you for your
feedback. As the computer is a
company resource, to maintain
a professional corporate image,
the use of standardised wallpaper
assists with this purpose. We
feel that this platform assists in
communicating and sharing our
latest news to our colleagues in a
succinct manner. As for desktop
icons, there is a section on the
right-hand side for this function.
Lean spirit
With the Lean programme building
momentum, can someone do
something about the Lean poster
concerning the number of paper
forms saved when handling cargo
uplift? The spirit of Lean is not just
about printing fewer forms, but
making the process more efficient.
I am sure many colleagues are
confused by the poster and took
the wrong impression that Lean is
just another name for cost-cutting;
but Lean is so much more than
that. With the growing portfolio
of successful Lean projects, would
the Lean team care to share some
better examples of their work on
the poster instead?
Engineering staff
Aldric Chau, Lean Project
Manager, replies: Indeed Lean is
not just about cutting cost but
improving process efficiency too.
Typical examples of waste include
over-processing and printing of
documents that do not add any
values at all. As for cargo uplift,
apart from the actual number of
printouts being saved (which has a
direct environmental benefit), the
man-hours saved in handling these
forms can now be better utilised to
improve customer service, safety,
and quality.
Various on-going Lean projects
are taking place across the
organisation, the results of which
will be shared on posters, videos
and other channels. Please stay
tuned for more success stories in
the near future!
Meanwhile, please check out our
website to find out more: IntraCX >
Teams, Depts & System > Financial
Services (FIN) > Corporate Services
> Lean Programmes.
PEY for staff
When will staff be able to
purchase staff travel zoned
tickets on Premium Economy?
PEY is implemented on all our
long-haul flights and on many
regional flights. As an outport
staff with children under 15
years of age, my family and I
cannot travel on Business. I am
sure many colleagues with small
children will be delighted if they
can enjoy Cathay’s great PEY
product.
Dirk Lucas, Frankfurt
Jessica Chan, Manager People
Services, replies: Thanks for
raising this. We studied this in
2013 and apart from the fact that
PEY is not commonly adopted by
interlines for staff travel and there
are fares and system complications
relating to this, we envisaged that
the limited number of seats in PEY
will bring disappointment to staff
subload travellers. Nevertheless,
this is worth reviewing again and
we will study it in the light of PEY
capacity, loads, system support,
availability of fares etc.
Still changing
lives
Looking at the beaming face on the
cover of the June issue of CX World,
a sense of thrill washed over me.
As a long-ago beneficiary of
one of Cathay Pacific’s initiatives
- the Cathay Pacific International
Wilderness Experience (CXIWE) - I
read the headline as “Still Changing
Lives.”
It was in 2001 that Cathay Pacific
brought together my delegation
of CXIWE participants from all over
Asia and South Africa.
I recall that some of the goals
of the programme were to instil a
sense of stewardship and shared
responsibility for our planet, and
to highlight our similarities as
representatives of nations from all
over the world.
Now in our 30s, we are testament
to the indelible mark that the
experience has left on all of us.
Today, the group of CXIWE
participants have now gone on
to become remarkable leaders
in a variety of fields: there is an
MIT graduate, an award-winning
journalist, an accomplished theatre
actor, an official in South Africa’s
national department of Agriculture,
to name but a few.
I sincerely hope that Cathay
Pacific and your patrons will
continue to implement and support
programmes like these; ones that
set out to positively change the
lives of people all over the world.
You’ve changed ours.
Charissa Jaganath,
Project Manager, USAID
Stepping up to sustainability
Fourth Best Regional
Airline win for Dragonair
Dragonair was named “World’s Best Regional Airline”
for a record-breaking fourth time in the annual
Skytrax World Airline Awards. This is the first time any
airline has achieved such a feat since the category
was introduced in 2010.
The airline also picked up the “Best Regional
Airline in Asia” honour at the awards.
Dragonair CEO Algernon Yau represented the
airline to receive the awards in Paris on 16 June
and hosted a staff celebration in Hong Kong three
days later. Close to 100 cabin crew and back-office
staff joined the celebration where they took group
photos with the awards and enjoyed refreshments
together.
Algernon thanked staff for their contribution,
adding that Cathay has played a key role in
supporting Dragonair in delivering the best possible
products and services to passengers.
“I’m proud of each and every one of you in
the Dragonair team. The Skytrax awards serves
as a motivation for us to strive for even greater
achievements,” said Algernon.
Since commencing operations in 1985, Dragonair
has become one of the world’s most preferred
airlines. The fleet of the airline has grown from one
to 41 aircraft, while the network has expanded to
cover 52 destinations in 16 countries, including 23
cities in Mainland China.
Haneda is the latest addition to the Dragonair
network, followed by Hiroshima, which is set to
launch in mid-August.
“As a new
joiner, I feel
very excited
about the
celebration.
I know I’ve made a smart
choice for my employer!”
– Gary Chan,
Flight Attendant (Trainee)
“I am very
happy and
honoured
to be part of
Dragonair’s
‘world’s best’ team!”
– Maggie Kong,
Aircrew Personnel Officer
“Congratulations! I hope
that we will
be named
winner again
in the years ahead!”
– Johnny Fung,
Senior Fleet Technical
Engineer
“I feel
honoured to
be able to
witness Dragonair’s fourth
Skytrax win!”
– Winny Yeung,
Chief Purser
Best Caterer Awards results announced
The winners of this year’s “Best Caterer Awards” were unveiled, with
Fukuoka Inflight Catering Co. Ltd
from Japan named the top performer.
Early this year, a total of 29 caterers commissioned by Dragonair
were assessed in the Caterer Performance Management Programme
(CPMP), a survey that measures
the caterers’ services standards in
terms of safety, satisfaction, quality, supply assurance, innovation,
cost, and crew feedback.
Some 220 airport team members, catering managers as well
as senior cabin crew responded to
the survey.
A new category, “Most Reliable
Catering Operations Award”, was
introduced in this year’s CPMP to
recognise the caterer’s safe and reliable handling throughout catering operations.
Fukuoka Inflight Catering Co.
Ltd won the gold award by garnering the highest votes across different evaluation areas including
Safety Mindset & Compliance and
Food & Handling Service Quality.
Kolkata’s TAJSATS Air Catering
Limited and Qingdao Eastern Air
Catering Co. Ltd. were named silver and bronze winners respectively. The “Most Reliable Catering
Operations Award” went to Kaohsiung Airline Catering Services
Ltd. Co.
Dragonair General Manager
Inflight Services Brian Yuen and
Manager Catering Services Kim
Chong attended the award presentation ceremony held at the
headquarters of the winning caterers.
Senior management of the
local teams, including General
Manager Japan Clarence Tai,
Manager Qingdao Sabrina Lau,
Fukuoka Airport Manager Chikubu
Higashida and Kaohsiung Airport
Manager Joseph Tseng, joined
the events held in their respective
port.
“We’re happy to present the awards
to the outstanding caterers for their
remarkable performances,” says Kim.
“We’ve been forging good
relationships
with
different
suppliers which is the key to
delivering the best catering
services to our passengers.”
9
Setting a new standard
Revamped First Class Lounge at The Pier is a home away from home
The Pier First Class Lounge reopened its doors
to passengers on 20 June after extensive
renovations. The lounge, located at Gate 63 in
the North West concourse, is another creation
by London’s Studioilse – the same design
studio that contributed to the new Bangkok,
Manila and Haneda lounges.
The newly launched lounge has expanded
from its former incarnation of 1,229 sqm with
117 seats to take up 2,061 sqm of space for
up to 231 passengers. The lounge’s improved
design challenges the sterile aesthetic that
prevails in most airport lounges.
General Manager Product Toby Smith
explains the design language of the lounge:
“We wanted to create a space where our
customers would feel at home and well
looked after. StudioIlse created an atmosphere
that reflects that of a top quality apartment,
offering the highest levels of comfort with the
“We wanted to create a
space where our customers
would feel at home and
well looked after”
- Toby Smith, General Manager Product
characteristics of a contemporary home. “The choice of building materials, furniture,
lighting, art, music, and food have all been curated to feel coherent, residential and to epitomise the idea of a life well travelled.”
The Pier is also the first Cathay lounge
to feature a bespoke fragrance, a carefully
conceived playlist, and a foot massage service.
A focus on wellbeing is the lounge’s core
principle. The Pier has introduced for the first
time a foot massage service to cater to passenger’s physical and emotional needs. In addition, the lounge also features eight Day Suites,
each furnished with a comfortable daybed
and a panoramic view of the airport apron. To
freshen up before a flight, passengers can take
to one of the 14 elegant Shower Suites.
As part of an ongoing commitment to
enhance the passenger experience, The Pier
Business Class Lounge is now closed for
renovation until the second quarter of 2016.
Concept of The Pier: Designer’s point of view
“We started by questioning what luxury really means to first
class travellers today. Our belief is that wellbeing, health, and
comfort are contemporary luxury values. The warmth of a
domestic environment is more attractive and appropriate today
than the old formality. Even in public space, people want to
feel at home. Small things like chair heights, charging sockets,
lighting levels, hooks, storage can add up to make or break the
entire experience. You only notice these details when they are
wrong or thoughtlessly handled; and we have done everything
in our power to ensure that using the lounge feels intuitive.”
10
- Ilse Crawford
VISIT THE PIER!
See CX World’s Yammer
page to win one of three
pairs of passes
to The Pier
Creating a cosy environment for passen
“We set out to create a lounge that would make pas
feel as calm and relaxed as possible, and so it made
that the lounge should adopt the concept of a con
apartment, centred on a magnificent hallway. The la
each room is clear, simple, and follows the floor pla
residential apartment. We also opted for simple nam
each zone: The Living Room, The Bar, The Library, T
and so on. The whole experience has been curated
the heartfelt warmth, considered simplicity and con
Asian values at the heart of the Cathay brand.”
Six finer details
Home furniture pieces are used
in place of contract furniture.
ENTRANCE HALL: Wrapped in green oynx and
anchored with a long sofa, the hallway is the
ideal place to pause for a while and re-orientate.
Key features of The Pier First Class Lounge
Aesop
toiletries
are used
throughout
The Pier First
Class Lounge.
Furniture and lighting by Knoll,
Cappellini, Fredericia, Kalmar,
and Roll and Hill.
Passengers’ wellbeing is The Pier’s core focus.
The lounge’s designer Ilse Crawford says: “Our
mission is to put people and their needs first
in all that we do.”
For this, the lounge’s Retreat area is
designed to cater to passengers’ physical and
emotional needs. Inside The Retreat, there
are eight Day Suites, 14 Shower Suites, and a
massage zone.
The Pier is the first of all the Cathay lounges
to offer massages. The service, provided by
London’s Gentlemen’s Tonic, is available on
a first-come-first-serve basis. A standard
30-minute treatment includes a foot soak,
neck and shoulder massage and a 20-minute
foot massage. This service is available between
6am and 2am.
The Pier also places a greater focus on
food and beverage. The Dining Room is an à
la carte-only, table service restaurant with a
breakfast and all day menu where dishes are
made-to-order by the chef. For those who
are on the go, The Pantry offers a self-service
buffet of canapé-style breakfast items and
drinks. Adjacent to The Pantry is The Bar, a
full-service bar which serves fine wines and
cocktails.
Where working is concerned, The Bureau
offers six fully-equipped work stations for
working and web browsing. The Library
has the biggest bookshelf out of all Cathay
Pacific’s lounges.
Work & play The Bureau is home to six
independent work stations, each featuring a
local landline and an iMac with both Windows
and iOS operating systems.
Grab & go The Pantry serves buffet-style
delicacies with menu changing throughout
the day. There is also a self-service coffee
machine and a beer dispenser.
Eat & chill The Dining Room provides table
service with freshly prepared dishes made-toorder by the chef.
See & be seen The full-service bar area offers
a view of the apron with comfortable seating
for a relaxed lounge experience.
Dishes at The Dining Room are
made-to-order by the chef.
The in-house
designed side
table features
built-in sockets
for ease of
access and use.
ngers
ssengers
e sense
ntemporary
ayout of
an of a
mes for
The Retreat,
d to express
ntemporary
- Toby Smith
Wood panelling, screens and
furniture are used for warmth
and tactility.
11
SIMbolic moment
Inside Cathay’s new A350 simulator
in the Flight Training Centre.
2. The jig allows for moving the sim
into position using muscle power!
Cathay’s first A350 full-flight simulator is now up and
running and awaiting just one final external touch – the
airline’s branding.
Inside the sim, engineers are currently updating the
programming to incorporate the latest performance
and systems simulation data from Airbus, with the Flight
Technical Services, Simulator Training and Simulator
Engineering teams from Cathay ready to begin in-depth
testing and checkout in early August.
Qualification for the sim is scheduled for late
September, followed by training courses for the
instructors and engineers. Crew training is expected to
begin in November.
Manager Simulator Engineering Neil Cothran says that
new sim has been drawing a lot of admiring comments,
particular the 4K resolution projectors which produce
“fantastic images”.
“Also, the cockpit is huge. Combined with some of the
design features of the simulator structure, everyone will
notice how large it is inside,” Neil says.
Users will also notice a more modern design and
updated features for the instructor station while the
aircraft display screens are very large compared with
other Cathay aircraft types.
“The head-up display (HUD) is also unique among
Cathay aircraft and simulators,” adds Neil.
3. Installing the rear structure
and side cladding panels.
4. Calibrating the
visual display optics and mirror.
6. Motion system performance
5. Testing the controls after 4K resolution
testing under way.
projectors are in operation.
Photography: Karen Yung
1. Wall panelling on the Flight Training
Centre is removed (bottom) and the
simulator frame and cockpit is lifted
using a custom track-and-roller jig
(below).
13
oneworld
rolls out new
signages
oneworld is making it
easier for frequent flyers
to see where they can take
advantage of the privileges
the alliance offers by rolling
out brand-new signages
across the 1,000 plus airports
served by member airlines in
155 countries worldwide
The
distinctive
new
oneworld “Priority” branding
will
highlight
the
key
touchpoints
where
the
alliance’s benefits are offered
to top tier frequent flyers –
at check-in, fast tracks lanes,
lounges and boarding gates.
The new oneworld Priority
logo features the three
oneworld
frequent
flyer
gemstone tier status symbols –
Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby –
to enable alliance cardholders
to identify quickly where they
are entitled to receive their
oneworld benefits.
The first airport to receive
the
Priority
treatment
was Australia’s Perth, to
be followed by Sydney,
Melbourne, Berlin Tegel and
Düsseldorf in August
HKIA will get the signage
early in the fourth quarter of
2015.
oneworld wins
again!
oneworld was named World’s
Best Airline Alliance for the
third year in a row in the annual
Skytrax World Airline Awards.
oneworld is the current
holder of an unprecedented
six of the nine “best airline
alliance” titles available in the
leading international industry
award schemes. oneworld Vice-President
Corporate Communications
Michael Blunt said: “oneworld
aims to be the first choice
alliance for frequent
international travellers the
world over, so we very much
appreciate being judged best
in the biggest independent
survey of international air
travellers for the third year in
a row.”
14
Volunteers celebrate
achievements
Senior management join volunteers to mark their contribution
Cathay Pacific staff have got a big
heart not only for passengers but
also for people in need.
A number of members from the
Cathay Pacific Volunteers (CXV)
team, who have been exceptionally
enthusiastic about giving back to
the community, received certificates
for their outstanding service records
in 2014 at the annual Cathay Pacific
Volunteer Appreciation Party on 11
June.
Chief Operating Officer Rupert
Hogg and Director Corporate Affairs
& Chief of CXV James Tong joined
the event with more than 80 CXVs
and presented awards to the top
volunteers.
Shannon Lee and Philip Chan,
both from ISD, were praised for their
outstanding record of service hours,
while ENG staff Nuwan Kamaragoda
and Thomas Lau got a big round
of applause for taking part in the
highest number of volunteering
activities.
Kinna But from Cargo and Sheron
Liu from IMT were star volunteers
having invested their personal
time for the highest record for both
service hours and activity number.
On a team level, AHQ was named
the “Department with the Highest
Volunteer Involvement”.
“In 2014, the Cathay Pacific
Volunteers contributed more than
3,000 hours of their personal time
for various projects,” James said.
“Thanks must go to our staff
for supporting Cathay’s volunteer
projects despite the fact that they
all lead very busy lives.”
Among the awardees, Nuwan
was this year’s most active new
volunteer. Talking about his experience, he said the most memorable
event for him had been the I Can Fly
programme.
“It was interesting to see the
participants’ reactions when we
showed them what went on behind
the scenes [of an aircraft],” he said.
“It’s important to invest in the next
generation, and it is good for the
company to establish relationships
with the local community.”
Scan the QR
and watch
CXV highlights
Lean approach to simplifying baggage claims
HKIA has embraced Lean in two
Quick Wins projects. The projects
aim at simplifying the paperwork
involved in processing baggage
claims and found property.
The Baggage Claims team
handles thousands of claims every
year, with each responsible staff
from the department processing
around 10 claims per day.
Before Lean was introduced,
every claim involved the printing
of over 10 pages of documents for
recording purposes. The process
consumed a vast amount of paper,
time and storage space.
Having pared back on unnecessary
printing procedures, paper savings
of up to 50% have been made. The
reduction in document processing
time also means that staff can now
zoom in on value-added services to
improve service efficiency.
Assistant Manager Baggage
Claims Parry Fung says: “These
improvements have freed up our
time to focus on resolving customer
claims, which is more meaningful to
the customers. We also realise that
Lean has allowed us to simplify our
daily tasks by working in a smarter
fashion.”
In the past, staff would first
look into the details of a claim
before inputting all the data and
information into the WorldTracer
system. The whole document would
then be printed to keep on record.
In fact, not all information in the
printed document was useful. As far
as confidential personal information
was concerned, the hard copies
containing such details would
simply have to be shredded. This all
added to paper wastage.
When a case was updated, the
entire file would be reprinted. These
documents would be filed away in
hard copies at the Baggage Claims
office for two years; and after that,
another seven years in a warehouse.
After spending several hours to
review the above procedures, HKIA
rolled out a project in March to
simplify the paperwork process.
Since the WorldTracer system is
capable of storing information for
two years, there is no need to print
the entire document apart from the
essential information. This means that
if there are any updates in a case, there
is no need to track down hard copies
to make amendments. This way, man
hours are significantly reduced. In
addition, the paper used for each
case has been reduced by up to 50%.
Files that used to be 10 pages
long are now down to two since
Lean was introduced. Not only is
the new practice environmentally
friendly, document storing space
has also been freed up.
LEAN TEAM: Staff in the Baggage Claims team worked together to find a
way to simplify the baggage claims process.
Top shots from Yammer launch photo contest
The Yammer launch photo contest was held
between 27 May and 12 June to celebrate
the launch of Cathay and Dragonair’s internal
social media platform. Themed around Magical
Travel Moments, the contest drew hundreds of
entries that captured staff’s most special and
memorable travel experiences.
Taipei’s Cargo Services Officer Vincent Liu’s
unique perspective of Mt Fuji was the most
popular among colleagues, scoring the highest
number of Likes when the contest ended. As the
winner of the competition, Vincent received an
Xbox One games console courtesy of Microsoft.
CX World asked the contest’s top photographers to talk about their winning shots.
MT FUJI – 88 VOTES
Where was the shot taken?
I was on my way back from Tokyo after
a holiday. The shot was taken on board
CX451 en route to Taipei.
Which camera and lens did you use?
Sony NEX-5TL & 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 lens.
How did you come across that shot?
My seat was 14K, and I knew there might
be a chance to see Mt Fuji on this flight.
When the plane approached Mt Fuji, the
sky was cloudless and I was lucky to be
able to get some shots from the top down.
Vincent Liu, Cargo Services Officer
STARRY NIGHT OF AUSTRALIA – 72 VOTES
Where was the shot taken?
The Margaret River area in Perth. It was pitch
black, I could see millions of stars and the
Milky Way on the cloudness night.
Which camera and lens did you use?
Nikon D4, 24-70mm lens. The shot was taken
at 24mm, 30 second exposure, F4, ISO200.
Tony Lam, Flight Crew
BUDDHA IN THE CLOUDS - 64 VOTES
Where was the shot taken?
I was on the way back from Cheung Chau.
Glancing off the back deck of the ferry, I
noticed that the clouds had formed into
the shape of Tian Tan. I’d just arrived in
Hong Kong and looking for a job. I saw this
as a sign – I knew everything would be fine.
Which camera and lens did you use?
iPhone 4.
Gordon Saunders, Integrated Channel
Experience Project Manager
DIVING IN THE CENOTE - 47 VOTES
Where was the shot taken?
Cenote Dos Ojos near Playa del Carmen,
Mexico. The shot was taken back at the
surface after my first ever cavern dive. I’d
always been an open water diver, but this
time I had rocks above me and I was diving
in very tight places in total darkness. I was
a little apprehensive when we got in the
water – and the skull and crossbones signs
all the way along the descent didn’t help
lessen the nerves!
Which camera and lens did you use?
Panasonic Lumix in an underwater housing.
Mary Grice, Account Manager
15
NEWS FOCUS
JOHANNESBURG
Strong demand
on Japan routes
A treat for top agents
The Johannesburg team took its top 10 agents
to Phuket, Thailand recently to thank them for all
their hard work and dedication in supporting the
port over the past year.
Country Manager Rakesh Raicar, Sales
& Marketing Manager Karlene Barkley and
Assistant Sales & Marketing Manager Leandi
Beling hosted the trip and treated the agents like
royalty, despite a one-day flight delay on their
return from Hong Kong due to the poor weather
at the time.
The tour included time by the beach at the
Club Med resort and a trip to the gorgeous Phi
Phi Island (pictured).
A life-saving gift
DUBAI
Upon hearing the news that his father had been
diagnosed with failure in both kidneys, Dubai Cargo
Services Officer Issah Hossain (inset and second from
right) didn’t hesitate to offer one of his own organs.
The life-saving operation took place on 21 April and
Issah’s father was discharged from hospital nine days
later and is on the steady road to recovery. Unfortunately Issah developed a minor
complication from the operation and was not
able to return to work as early as anticipated.
Issah’s courage and love for his father has
touched everyone in the UAE team. The team is
happy to say that Issah has now fully recovered
and has returned to work.
16
ITALY
Sharp business acumen
The 12th edition of the Cathay Pacific Business Award
was held in Milan at the Palazzo Lombardia on 19 June.
Italian companies were awarded in the categories of
Creativity, Dynamism, Innovation and Know-How,
for their ability to build relationships and foster their
business with Hong Kong, China, Asia and the Pacific.
Over 650 VIPs including corporate clients, Marco
Polo Club members, representatives from various
institutions and the media were in attendance to
celebrate together with Revenue Manager Europe, Asia
Pacific & Africa Mark Celenk. Mark says: “Italy is one
of the most forward-thinking countries in the world.
Cathay Pacific is delighted to be able to recognise
some of the incredible businesses across industries.”
Connecting with the kids
FRANKFURT
Cathay’s Japan routes have been enjoying very healthy
growth, mainly driven by strong inbound tourism
resulting from the depreciation of the Japanese yen.
For the first five months in 2015, the Japan routes
recorded an overall revenue growth of 14.6%, comparing
to a 10.7% growth in capacity.
As one of the favourite destinations for Hong Kong
holidaymakers, at least 29 pairs of extra flights have
been scheduled to fly into Japan to cater for the surge in
demand during the summer peak (see page 3).
“Visitor arrivals to Japan have increased by some
45% this year according to the Japan National Tourism
Organization (JNTO),” General Manager Japan Clarence
Tai says. “Tourists flock to the country to enjoy shopping,
sightseeing and dining as exchange rates improve.”
Among all the Japan destinations, Clarence notes that
the triple-daily service operating out of Haneda has been
performing particularly well. “Many business travellers prefer Haneda over Narita
because of its proximity to the centre of Tokyo,” Clarence
says. “The premium traffic has been further boosted since
our own Haneda lounge opened last December.”
Southeast Asian destinations such as Taiwan, Bangkok,
Ho Chi Minh City, and Bali are popular for outbound
passengers.
“Since March’s introduction of the new ‘red-eye’
Dragonair flight from Haneda, it is now possible for
passengers to make same day connections to Bali from
Tokyo. As a result, we have managed to generate more
sales to Bali,” Clarence says.
Zurich is another popular new destination. “Different
Japanese ports have been in cooperation with travel
agents to launch package tours to Zurich and the
response has been encouraging,” Clarence says.
The recent travel alert to Korea has had a mixed effect
on Japanese traffic. “We are seeing some ex-Hong Kong
demand for Korea shifting to Japan, and so are expecting
more inbound passengers, which is anticipated to result
in less availability of inventory for point-of-sale from
Japan,” Clarence says.
“At the same time, demand from Japan to Korea is also
dropping drastically. Some tour groups originally booked
on other airlines for Korea have rebooked with Cathay to
travel to Hong Kong or Taipei instead.”
Meanwhile, the Japan teams are busy preparing for the
relaunch of the Hiroshima service in August, after a gap
of 12 years, as well as the upcoming Silver Week holiday
in September.
Clarence continues: “We will be operating extra sectors
from Osaka and Nagoya, and charter flights from Sendai
and Niigata in light of the travel peak.”
The Frankfurt team ran a CSR activity in conjuction with
the renowned local newspaper Frankfurter Neue Presse
(FNP). The activity was part of a bigger initiative aimed
at helping 20 fourth graders develop journalistic skills
and put them a step closer to their dreams of becoming
newspaper reporters.
The FNP initiative is called ZING – Zeitung in der
Grundschule – which means “newspaper in elementary
school“ in German. Together with Fraport, the FRA team
chipped in to help turn this initiative into reality.
The Frankfurt team organised an aircraft visit for
the students. Then, students were divided into groups
for interviews and photograph sessions with the FRA staff.
After the activity, students then wrote articles about the
visit and the Frankfurt team.
Leader of this project, Marketing Communications
Executive Cathrin Moen, says: “The CSR activity coorganised by the Engineering team and Fraport
colleagues was a great way to share with the children our
passion for Cathay‘s products and services. We enjoyed
welcoming the students ‘on board‘ and we were impressed
with the quality of the articles they wrote after their visit.”
PORT PEOPLE
Life Well Travelled Roadshow
the QR code “boarding passes” which
they had received at registration. They
could also win two Premium Economy
tickets by selecting their favourite
of our key destinations from the UK,
voting using a special hashtag on either
Instagram or Twitter. On top of these
great competitions, visitors even had the
chance to sample non-alcoholic cocktails
inspired by some of our destinations
with evocative names such as “Balinese
Breeze” and “Once Upon a Time in
Shanghai”.
35 YEARS
OF SERVICE:
Bahrain
staff Yaqoob
Khan recalls
some fond
memories
of Cathay
managers
UNITED KINGDOM
Cathay Pacific celebrated 35 years of
flying out of the UK this June by bringing
the Economy, Premium Economy and
Business Class seats to both London and
Manchester for the first time. Visitors
had the chance to try out the comfort
of the seats while being guided by the
very helpful cabin crew, sales staff and
engineers. Thousands of visitors
enjoyed the event as it spent three
days in the busy Canary Wharf
area of London followed by three
sunny days in Spinningfields in
Manchester.
Upon entry to the event,
visitors were invited
to enter an exciting
competition to
win two Business
Class tickets to the
destination of their
choice by scanning
Travelling vision shared
PRD
On 30 May, a media event was hosted in Shenzhen to
promote the “Life Well Travelled” campaign in the Pearl
River Delta region.
A sharing session took place where bloggers and staff
talked about their vision of LWT and travel experiences.
Photo booths and exhibits were also set up for visitors to
learn more about the campaign.
Steve Xiong, Manager Pearl River Delta says: “The
concept of LWT reflects our promise of creating pleasant
journeys for the passengers and our confidence in
future developments. Our teams will keep offering more
personalised, high quality services and products to suit
passengers’ needs.
Yaqoob Khan, who served Cathay for more than 35 years,
bade farewell to the Bahrain team last month.
In over three decades of service, the driver/office
messenger ferried around five General Managers and 14
Country Managers.
Yaqoob says that all the GMs he encountered have been
very nice and diligent. “From my point of view, Robert
Atkinson is the kindest,” he smiles. “I know I’m biased
because he is the one who hired me!”
Yaqoob shares an anecdote about Robert – a nervous
passenger who has great reservations about ground travel.
Yaqoob says: “Robert trusted no one and he would always
instruct me to stay in the slow lane,” Yaqoob smiles.
One time, however, Robert was late from work, leaving
him with only 15 minutes to catch a flight. “At that moment,
Robert asked me to do something totally out of his
character. He said: ‘Drive as fast as you can!’ In the end, we
managed to reach the airport,” Yaqoob says. “But the funny
thing was – I noticed that Robert has kept his eyes firmly
shut - even when he was changing clothes in the car!”
On his 60th birthday, Yaqoob was preparing to pack his
bag. “To my surprise, I was asked to extend my tenure with
Cathay for another six months,” he says. “At that precise
moment, I realised how much Cathay values us and my
importance to all the staff in the office.”
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Building homes & hope
In May, the Adelaide team hosted their top
travel agents to a luncheon at the Adelaide Oval.
In recognition of the agents’ consistent and
outstanding sales performance and their support for
the CX174/173 flights, awards were presented to the
top agencies by General Manager Southwest Pacific
Nelson Chin, who attended the luncheon along with
the Cathay Adelaide staff. Prior to the lunchtime
event, the travel agents were invited on a private
tour of Adelaide Oval, where a major revamp took
place in the public areas in 2014. There, the agents
visited the refurbished stadium, the (Don) Bradman
Collection, and took an inside look at the historic
Adelaide Oval scoreboard.
AUSTRALIA
A taste of success
MALAYSIA
Exuberant glamour The Kuala Lumpur Sales & Marketing team recently
organised a Top Agents Award Dinner in appreciation
of their million-dollar travel agents. Taking place at
the Renaissance Hotel Kuala Lumpur, the dinner was
themed around “Shanghai Splendour”, where ladies were
dressed in cheongsams and men in dapper tuxedos. The
talented KUL team members also performed a spectacular
“Chinese Fan Dance” to emulate the exuberance of the
Shanghainese golden era of yesteryear.
At the dinner, General Manager SE Asia Wilson Yam
presented Million Dollar Agent and Top Agent Awards to
35 travel agencies from Klang Valley, who had gathered for
an exquisite dinner and a memorable night of fun.
Life in the slow lane
Kevin Nguyen had what he called the “great honour” of
being part of Cathay Pacific’s Habitat for Humanity Trip to
Cambodia.
“Along with 30 colleagues from ISD, I was able to take
Service Straight from the Heart to a new level,” says the San
Francisco-based Flight Attendant (below left).
The trip started with a visit to the Chong Khneas floating
village on the edge of the vast Tonle Sap lake.
“Here we took our first glimpse into how the majority of
Cambodians live,” Kevin explains.
The next day took the team to the Nokor Pheas II village
in the Pouk Commune. “Immediately, we got to work and
helped out with tasks such as transporting materials, filling
foundations with dirt stone and sand, compacting floors,
mixing mortar, and laying bricks.
“It was challenging working with rudimentary tools
under 30oC heat. But it was rewarding because we saw the
families’ happiness
in seeing their new
homes that would last
a lifetime.”
The final day saw
a house dedicated
to each family with
a
ribbon-cutting
ceremony and a
traditional
Khmer
blessing.
“Not only did we
come to Cambodia
to physically build
homes,
but
we
also built ‘hope’ for
generations to come,”
says Kevin.
17
Life on the edge
McLaughlin has written a fascinating book about his time in Papua
New Guinea
Leanne Szeto, Inventory
Management Specialist
1. You’ve just celebrated a
victory. What was it?
I was the Grand Champion in Hong
Kong’s first obstacle race.
2. That sounds incredible…
There were 10 obstacles in the
2km circuit; and I beat 4,100 male
and female runners to the title.
3. Amazing! How did you feel?
Happy! The win was totally unexpected. In my mind, I also wanted
to prove that women are not
weaker than men.
4. How did you prepare for
the race?
I’d been in the HK Triathlon
National Team for more than 10
years. Now that I’ve quit, I train
everyday with the Cathay running
team and I’ve incorporated regular
intervals and cross fit sessions into
my weekly training.
Senior Captain Matt McLaughlin is
happy to be at the current stage in
his career, piloting wide-body jets for
an international airline, but he still
has fond memories of a time when
flying was much more on the edge.
From 1992 to 1995 Matt operated
as a bush pilot flying over the rugged
terrain of Papua New Guinea – a job
that took him to the brink in terms
of safety and where the scary things
he witnessed were countered by the
sheer exhilaration of what he was
being asked to do.
Now all the thrills and spills have
been captured in a self-published
book, Flying the Knife Edge: New
Guinea Bush Pilot, which has already
won positive reviews. Writing in
the SCMP, William Wadsworth said
Matt has produced a “delightful,
well-written memoir” of his time
flying in a beautiful, yet chaotic and
unforgiving place.
Matt’s flying career started in
1989 when he joined the Royal New
Zealand Air Force as an officer cadet.
That didn’t work out as planned so
he worked hard to gain a commercial
pilot’s licence in between working in
different part-time jobs.
When his goal of joining Air New
Zealand was scuppered by job cuts,
he decided to follow a very different
path in pursuit of an aviation career
– flying as a missionary pilot in the
wilderness of Papua New Guinea.
After a few months doing God’s
work he went “from missionary to
mercenary”, working for a small airline operating out of Port Moresby.
“They were not cowboys but they
didn’t care too much how you got
the job done,” says Matt, who carried everything from people and
produce to aid workers and troops
into 98 airstrips across the country.
“There was no GPS back then – you
had to rely on the map, compass,
your eyes and your instinct.”
It was hair-raising stuff at times,
flying into small landing strips cut
out of mountains, and a number
of his fellow pilots didn’t live to tell
the tale. “Was I good or was I lucky?
I think luck played a big part!” Matt
smiles.
After three-and-a-half years,
Matt had achieved an impressive
3,300 takeoffs and landings on
5. That’s some incredible
dedication…
I’ve never had more than a week
off without exercise, and I still
maintain a regular triathlon training schedule!
6. What does sports mean to
you?
You are stronger than you are,
faster than you think and tougher
than you imagine!
7. What other sport team are
you in?
I am looking forward to joining
the Cathay Dragon Boat Team and
Pedal Kart Team!
8. What’s your next step?
I am going to represent Cathay
in the World Airline Road Race in
Dubai this year.
9. What is it like being a girl
in engineering?
I think women bring a different
perspective to engineering. I’ve
never felt discriminated against
for being female, or felt less capable than my male counterparts.
10. There aren’t many girls in
the field…
Equal representation is especially
important in engineering, as engineers plan and solve problems
that affect a world where both
sexes live in.
18
A striking performance
Members of the Cathay Bowling Team returned from the 48th
Intercontinental Airline Bowling League Tournament with a great deal of
satisfaction, having won a clutch of trophies and spent a few days in one
of the world’s most exciting cities.
This year’s tourney was held in Las Vegas and all the team members say
they had a wonderful trip. “We had the privilege of being the first group among bowlers from other
airlines to play on the South Point bowling lanes prior to their opening to
American professional bowlers for the PBA and other competitions,” team
organiser Vincent Tche said:
“Our bowlers performed very well in the competition and we took
second place in the mixed team event and first place in the mixed doubles
event.”
Alice Oon nabbed a trophy for scoring the highest game in the Ladies
division. “Our individual best results were 13th place (out of 130) in the Men’s
division and fifth place (out of 50) in the Women’s division,” Vincent adds.
The bowlers are already looking forward to the next IABL, which will be
held in Kuala Lumpur next year.
those treacherous routes, but in his
heart he still yearned to fly with an
international carrier. The opportunity
came when an application submitted
to Cathay Pacific before he went to
PNG finally resulted in an interview.
He came to Hong Kong as a
Second Officer in September
1995, but never forgot the
unique experience he had
enjoyed.
As he writes in Flying the Knife Edge: “I was
aware that my three-anda-half years as a boss-man
balus in PNG were special …
I was fortunate to be put
in a position where I could test my
mettle; really learn that my professional flying skills were up to scratch.
Not many pilots get tested like that.”
Matt’s book is now available from
Bookazine stores in Hong Kong,
the CXcitement shop in Cathay City, and as an e-book
from Amazon, Kobo and
iBooks.
WIN A COPY!
CX World is giving away
two copies of the book.
Visit Yammer for details.
A nice surprise
BIRTHDAY TREAT:
Purser Veronica.
inflight for Senior
Passion for flamenco
Characterised by
intricate footwork and
body movements,
flamenco is a highly
expressive form
of Spanish dance.
Amongst us is a semiprofessional flamenco
dancer, Flight Purser
Andi Rini Poernomo.
“I was looking for a
hobby to shake off the
stress of life and work,” says Andi (above). “And I was captivated by the
eloquence of this powerful dance.”
“Being a flight attendant means that I’m always meeting new people
and having new experiences. And I use the emotions that come with the
job to help me interpret the psychology behind different dance routines.”
The committed dancer has been taking lessons with Clara Ramona –
the producer of Hong Kong’s annual Flamenco Bacchanal – for the past
three-and-a-half years. As a mother of two children juggling a busy flight
schedule, Andi admits that perseverance is the key to staying committed.
“Different parts of the brain need to work cohesively to bring together
a perfect performance. So it takes a lot of practice,” says Andi. “Most times
I’ll be dragging my suitcase to a class before or after a flight. I once went
straight from a Paris flight to the dance school in Wan Chai!”
Andi’s hard work has paid off. She recently performed eight routines
out of 15 at the Flamenco Bacchanal 2015. “Six months before the show
my classmates took daily lessons to prepare for the stage. But with the
flight schedule, I mostly practiced in a hotel by myself.”
Andi sees flamenco as a good outlet for stress release, and of course it
is fun to dance too. “Maybe I will bring flamenco lessons to Cathay City
one day. I am sure the dance will be a hit among colleagues.”
FOND FAREWELL: CC
D hosted a luncheon
for the Swiss
Consulate General in
Hong Kong and Macau
. It was also
a nice farewell for Mr
s Rita Hämmerli-Wesc
hk
e, one of
the VIP guests at the
Zurich inaugural lau
nch. She will be
returning to Switzerla
nd in July for a new
posting.
s Supervisor Jerome
NOODLE BAR: Airport Ser vice
ues to try out the
eag
Reynon was joined by coll
s at Manila’s lounge
ring
offe
s
Noodle Bar’s deliciou
before its grand opening.
visited JFK to hand
LOYALTY REWARDED: Tom Owen
Cargo staff during
to
rds
awa
ice
out long-term serv
a luncheon.
organised the annual
POWER PLAY: The Mumbai team
party.
on
onso
um-m
carrom tournament-c
MODEL BEHAVIOUR: Cindy Crawford and her
daughter travelled out of Mumbai to Los Angeles
on flight CX696 on 20 June. Here the model poses
with the BOM Airport team.
GAMIFICATION:
The UAE sales
team organise
interactive tra
d two
de workshops
for frontline tra
agents to lear
vel
n about Cathay
’s products, ro
and loyalty pr
utes,
ogrammes on
15 May.
CONTEST WINNER
: Taipei’s Cargo Se
rvices Officer
Vincent Liu won an
Xbox in the Yamm
er launch photo competition; se
e p15 for his winn
ing photo.
19
#lifewelltravelled
A monthly roundup of some of the most beautiful, provocative travel
images submitted by fans of Cathay Pacific using the
#lifewelltravelled Instagram hastag.
FLORIDA
Enjoying Butterbeer on the
streets of Hogsmeade - Harry
Potter World, Universal Studios
Florida. Frozen beer is the way to
go!
The sky of hopes
and dreams
Flight Attendant Kay
Goh sends her hopes
and dreams to the sky
at the world-famous
annual Sky Lantern
Festival in Taiwan
An hour and a half away from Taipei lays the magical hillside town called Jiufen. Home to nine families
during the Qing dynasty, the name Jiufen literally
means “nine portions”, referring to the portion of
amenities the families would bring back from a trip
to the market at the mountain base.
Characterised by its winding old streets and narrow staircases, Jiufen is reminiscent of the Greek
town of Santorini. Throughout the day, the Jiufen
passageways are often inundated with visitors and
local street vendors. But amongst the hustle and
bustle stands the unmistakable landmark of Jiufen,
the Ah Mei Tea House. Featured in the Academy
Award winning animated film Spirited Away, the secret to maximising the joy of a visit is to immerse
oneself in the spirit of the film when the red lanterns
are lit at night.
On the topic of lanterns, there is a world-famous
sky lantern festival located approximately 23km
@on_the_wander
BANGKOK
Try the new tom yum chicken
noodle soup at our Bangkok
lounge (Suvarnabhumi Airport,
Concourse G, 3/F) @cathaypa-
cific
HONG KONG
Best part of flying on my birth-
day... a Business Class upgrade
from BKK to HKG! Massive
thanks to Cathay Pacific - my
favourite airline! @Cheenkee
PARIS
Buckwheat waffle with foie gras
and strawberries for Sunday
HOPEFUL: Kay sends a latern to the sky for the first
time at Taiwan’s Sky Lantern Festival.
from Jiufen. This magnificent event takes place
annually during the Chinese New Year in either in
Shifen or Pingxi, where hundreds of lanterns are released to the sky. Festival goers scribble their wishes on lanterns available in different colours – red for
health, yellow for fortune or career, pink for romance
and green for harmony – before sending their hopes
and dreams to to the sky.
Although the festival was in the evening, crowds
started to gather at 9.30am to get tickets for the
night-time festival. While waiting for the sunset, I explored the city and took the opportunity to release
my very first sky lantern, hoping my dreams will be
taken as far as the lantern flew.
When the sun went down, more lanterns were
ready to be let go. I gasped at the beauty of 200 lanterns lighting up the night sky. It was just like a scene
in the Disney movie Tangled.
I felt so blessed to have witnessed this magical
festival with my own eyes. I hope to return one day
with my family and release some lanterns together.
This is the kind of experience that no one will
ever forget.
brunch at @Ellsworth.
@TheHungryChronicles
LAS VEGAS
Life is in the fast lane in Vegas.
@stephridhalgh
VANCOUVER
Nature is always the best filter,
isn’t it? @eewern