Top of the - Dragonair

DRAGON
A magazine for staff and friends of Dragonair
MAR-APR
AUG
2013 2013
ISSUE
ISSUE
153 152
Top of the
World!
High Summer
Teamwork, together with service
and product enhancements,
makes KA a winner
Hot Tips
Holiday routes performing well
Where to eat spicy food and more in Bengaluru
Wat a Destination!
In the Frame
Cambodia’s Siem Reap to come online in October
PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER
Xiamen colleague paints a pretty picture
01
Message from CEO
Dragonews Issue 153
Message
from
CEO
There is no doubt that the big news as far as Dragonair is concerned is the Skytrax award. This is the third
time that we have been named World’s Best Regional Airline. I am absolutely delighted with this, and it
was an honour to represent the airline at the awards ceremony at the Paris Air Show recently and receive
the trophy on your behalf.
It is wonderful to be recognised by the
travelling public in this way – it underlines
the value that we put on service excellence
and is a tribute to the teamwork that goes on
both on the frontline and behind the scenes.
It is your hard work, commitment and
professionalism that have won us this award.
On the topic of excellence in service delivery,
I would like to offer my congratulations to the
seven Dragonair staff honoured at the recent
Betsy Awards. They all demonstrated
extraordinary can-do spirit and I felt very
proud to be on hand to present them with
their awards at the ceremony. They truly are
an inspiration to all of us! You can read more
about their efforts on page 05.
In other good news, as part of our on-going
network expansion, Dragonair will
commence flights to Siem Reap in Cambodia
on 29 October. This is a very exciting addition
to the network, as Siem Reap is the base for
visits to the magnificent temples of Angkor
Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
proving especially popular and since early
July we have added one extra flight per
week to the schedule.
Of course, while we can all pat ourselves on
the back at this happy time, we also have to
redouble our efforts to not just maintain
these standards, but strive to go even
higher. The difficult operating environment
does not always make this easy, but we
have two big things in our favour: our status
as a true Hong Kong brand, and our
presence in and knowledge of the mainland
China market.
However, we all know that summer in Hong
Kong and the rest of the East Asian region
can bring typhoons and heavy rainstorms. In
addition, air traffic control issues are still
having an adverse effect on KA schedules. I
encourage you all to stay positive and work
diligently as a team to cope with disruptions
caused by weather and congestion and
minimise the effects on our passengers and
our cargo customers.
We are now in the middle of the summer
peak holiday period. Our Japan operations
are performing particularly well, while our
traditional resort destinations are showing
good figures, too. One of our newest
destinations, Da Nang in Vietnam, is
Patrick Yeung
CEO
Warmest regards,
Performance Index
On-time performance
Traffic/capacity (KA + CX)
Jun13
Vs Jun12
2,484,683
2.9%
84.9%
2.0pt
10,353,881
-2.1%
Freight carried (tonnes)
122,170
-4.3%
40%
30%
Cargo load factor
61.7%
-4.0pt
20%
2,127,273
0.2%
Passengers carried
Passenger load factor
Available seat km (ASKs) (‘000)
Available tonne km (ATKs) (‘000)
within 15 mins
70%
60%
50%
Produced by the Corporate Communication Division. We welcome staff feedback and news for Dragonews.
Email: [email protected]
69.98%
70.56%
on-the-dot
37.28%
APR-13
61.26%
41.11%
30.43%
MAY-13
JUN-13
Cover Story
A Busy
Summer
Loads high as travel sentiment remains buoyant
Frontline staff across the KA network will
be kept busy throughout August as the
summer travel peak keeps load factors
high.
The peak season for passenger traffic
kicked off in late June and the momentum
built steadily throughout the first three
weeks of July.
“Moving into August we will see this trend
continue,” says General Manager Revenue
Management James Tong.
Not surprisingly, the holiday routes are
performing well, including established
destinations such as Phuket and Okinawa,
and newer destinations such as Chiang Mai
and Taichung.
“Out of all our new destinations, Chiang
Mai and Taichung are showing the
strongest advance load factors for the
summer peak,” says James. “Da Nang has
also been doing well since its launch and
we added another flight – to make four a
week – with effect from July.”
Demand for travel to Japan has been
soaring since the yen started to depreciate,
and KA is operating charters to Nagasaki
and Kagoshima/Kitakyushu in July and
August to meet the requirements of
holidaymakers.
In China, demand on the eastern China
routes has been relatively weaker though
demand out of Fuzhou is strong and both
Xian and Chengdu are popular among
holidaymakers.
“Demand in the premium cabins is still a
bit below what we’d expect but otherwise
it’s shaping up to be a good summer,”
says James.
Temple Temptations
Siem Reap added to network with seasonal service launching in October
Dragonair continues to forge ahead with its
regional network development, announcing
that it will launch flights to Siem Reap on 29
October.
Siem Reap (REP) will become the 13th
destination to be either launched or resumed
by KA since April 2012, following on the
heels of other successful leisure destination
launches such as Chiang Mai and Da Nang.
The city has plenty to offer in its own right,
with a host of cultural attractions and a laidback charm.
With the new service, KA will become the
only airline currently operating direct HKGREP flights, and CEO Patrick Yeung says the
new destination is “an exciting addition to
the airline’s ever-expanding network”.
The new Siem Reap service will operate
three times weekly on a seasonal basis,
operated by an A320 aircraft.
The Cambodian city has become an
increasingly popular tourism draw due to
its proximity to the fabulous ancient Khmer
temples centred on Angkor Wat – a UNESCO
World Heritage site that has a fast-growing
reputation as a must-see for world travellers.
The temples of the Angkor Kingdom are Siem Reap’s big draw.
02
03
Cover Story
Dragonews Issue 153
Three Times a
Winner
Service and product enhancement, but above all teamwork, helped
Dragonair to an unprecedented third win as ‘World’s Best Regional
Airline’ at the prestigious Skytrax Awards, while also picking up the
award for ‘Best Regional Airline for Asia’.
Thumbs Up!
Rollout of new cabins is
progressing according to plan
By the end of July, six A330s and
four A321s had been fitted with
the new products, which as well
as new seats in both Business and
Economy Class feature on-demand
entertainment systems throughout
the cabin.
The new cabins will be fitted on the
entire A330 two-class fleet and A321
fleet, consisting of 12 aircraft and
six aircraft respectively, by the end
of 2013.
The Product team has been
monitoring feedback on the new
products closely, with surveys
conducted since the February
launch showing a positive reaction.
One in five of the respondents have
rated the overall seat experience
as excellent, while more than
half felt the seat exceeded their
expectations.
“Passengers consider the new
Business Class seat to be superior
to its predecessor in almost every
respect, but particularly in terms of
overall comfort, seat spaciousness
and the 12.1-inch personal TV with
audio-video-on-demand,” says Toby
Smith, General Manager Product.
Initial survey findings for the new
Economy Class, which features
expanded seat width, extra storage
space and on-demand programmes
available via 9-inch touch-screen
monitors, have been equally
encouraging.
Dragonair has been voted “World’s Best
Regional Airline” in the annual Skytrax
World Airline Awards for the third time. No
other airline has achieved this feat since
this category was added to the awards in
2010. KA was also named “Best Regional
Airline for Asia”. The Skytrax Awards are the
largest airline passenger satisfaction survey,
and the most prestigious among surveys of
this type.
CEO Patrick Yeung was on hand at the
awards ceremony, held at the Paris Air
Show. “It is a great honour to receive such
recognition from travellers,” he said. “On
behalf of Dragonair I would like to extend
my heartfelt thanks to everyone who voted
for us. We are extremely proud to share this
achievement with the people of Hong Kong,
our home for 28 years.”
Patrick highlighted the fact that the awards
were a reflection of great teamwork
displayed by KA staff. “It is the hard work,
commitment and professionalism of our
frontline staff and those who support
the operation behind the scenes, from
flight crew and engineers to our airport,
operations and management teams.
Everyone should feel proud.”
This is a massive tribute to all
the teams that help make this
a great airline.
GM Operations Peter Sanderson
General Manager Operations Peter
Sanderson added his thoughts: “Hearing
that we were again awarded the ‘World’s
Best Regional Airline’ this year is fantastic
news for all of us in Dragonair. It was made
even more special this time round as this is
the third time we have been honoured by
this award and this year we were also voted
the ‘Best Regional Airline in Asia’ too!
“The Skytrax Awards are based on the votes
of more than 18 million airline passengers
from more than 160 countries. The survey
covered more than 200 airlines and assessed
customer-service standards of more than
40 criteria including check-in, boarding,
onboard seat comfort, cabin cleanliness,
food and beverages, in-flight entertainment
and staff service,” he said.
“This last year has been a great time for
us all in Dragonair. We have experienced
significant growth, added some great new
destinations to our network, with more to
come, and embarked on a full-scale in-flight
product enhancement. Considerable effort
from all the teams was required to make
this happen, while our frontline crews
often face many different challenges in
their day- to-day working lives. Yet despite
these challenges, we are still able to deliver
world-class service to our passengers. Quite
frankly, this is a massive tribute to all the
teams that help make this a great airline.
People make airlines and we have the best!
“We are all very proud to have been
awarded these Skytrax honours by the
people we serve, and we shall endeavour to
maintain the excellent standard expected of
us in the years to come,” Peter concluded.
This is a tremendous
achievement for everyone
in Dragonair. I would like to
thank all the cabin crew and
everyone in ISD, it would not
have happened without your
continuous hard work and
dedication.
GM ISD Andy Wong
On hearing the news, Head of Engineering
Darryl Chan said: “Whether on the front line
Cover Story
04
We are extremely proud to
share this achievement with
the people of Hong Kong.
CEO Patrick Yeung
facing our customers or behind the scenes,
we are proud to be part of the team, working
with our engineering partners across the
Dragonair network, to make us World’s Best
Regional Airline.”
Whether on the front line or
behind the scenes, we are
proud to be part of the team.
Head of Engineering Darryl Chan
Service and products play an important
role in the overall passenger experience,
and Dragonair has seen significant
enhancements on both fronts in the past 15
months. The network has been expanding,
with 12 — soon to be 13 — new or
resumed destinations launched since April
2012. A full-scale inflight product upgrade
is currently being carried人out, with the
introduction of new cabins on most aircraft,
together with a new on-demand inflight
entertainment system, StudioKA.
on inflight sales or home delivery products
received an instant 15% discount. In August,
for every HK$1,000 spent, passengers will
receive a HK$100 cash coupon for their next
purchase.
Celebratory offers
The “tasty surprises” will appear in
September. On all Hong Kong outbound
flights on which Häagen-Dazs ice cream
is currently offered, Economy Class
passengers can enjoy Häagen-Dazs 100ml
Macadamia Nut Brittle ice cream cups, an
upgrade from the existing 75ml mini cups.
Häagen-Dazs is providing this exclusively
to congratulate Dragonair on the Skytrax
honour. On all inbound and outbound flights
from Hong Kong on which ice cream is
currently served, First and Business Class
passengers will be offered a Vanilla & Milk
Chocolate Bar, an upgrade from the existing
100ml ice cream cups.
To thank passengers for their support in the
Skytrax Awards, Dragonair announced a
series of celebratory offers. These include
double Asia Miles, inflight sales offers
and tasty surprises on the inflight menus.
These offers will run from July through to
September.
Asia Miles members resident in Hong
Kong who booked roundtrip KA flights
during a period in July earned up to double
Asia Miles, while new members earned
an additional 500 Asia Miles. Also in July,
passengers spending HK$2,000 or more
05
News
Dragonews Issue 153
(From left) Jennifer, Tolmira, Josephine and Ophelia with their Betsy Awards.
Making Us
PROUD!
Seven KA staff go the extra mile to win coveted Betsy Awards
The 2013 Betsy Awards were held at
Cathay City on 12 July, highlighting some
astonishing acts of service from both Cathay
Pacific and Dragonair frontline staff.
suspects closely, and was invited to leave
a statement at the police station. She later
received a Good Citizen Award nomination.
A total of 19 awards were given out on
the day, seven of them going to KA crew
who really demonstrated the kind of
extraordinary service skills that have helped
to build the airline’s great reputation with
passengers.
Tolmira Taipo – Chief Purser
Jennifer Choy – Senior Purser
Josephine Lam – Flight Purser
Ophelia Lau – Flight Attendant
Congratulations to the crew below – you are
an inspiration to us all!
Alertness Rewarded
Paul Ho – Senior Purser
Maizy Lock – Chief Purser
Amber Chan – Flight Attendant
Sensitive Care
Senior Purser Jennifer Choy discovered that
effluent was covering the floor of the L14
toilet and the aisles of the Business Class
cabin, while the front zone of Economy Class
was also affected. She also noticed that one
passenger had stains on her clothing and
shoes.
(From left) Amber, Paul and Maizy.
Flight Purser Josephine and Flight
Attendant Ophelia apologised to
passengers and reseated all those affected.
They blocked off the toilet, and tried their
best to clean up the mess after equipping
themselves with protective clothing.
Meanwhile, Jennifer helped to clean up the
stains on the affected passenger’s shoes
and discreetly offered plastic bags, gloves
and wet towels so she could clean up on
arrival.
Thanks to the team’s endeavours, an
unpleasant situation was quickly smoothed
over.
Passengers spotted two male passengers
patrolling the aisle and opening bags in
overhead lockers mid-flight, and reported
their suspicious activity to Senior Purser
Paul Ho. He checked with passengers and
found that valuable items had gone missing.
Paul asked Amber to continue monitoring
the suspected thieves, and reported the case
to the Captain.
Amber kept an eye on the suspects
throughout the flight and Paul kept the
Captain and Chief Purser Maizy informed
about the situation.
Three suspected male passengers were
arrested when the aircraft landed. Amber
stayed at the scene and monitored the
Patrick Yeung proudly poses with KA winners at the presentation ceremony.
News
Enhanced info
on the go
New apps boost crew engagement
You may have noticed cabin crew members
on their phones even more recently: there’s
a good chance they are accessing the two
new mobile apps recently introduced by ISD.
The KA ISD Mobile Apps and Grooming
Apps were launched at an event officiated
by CEO Patrick Yeung, Head of Cabin
Services Michelle Cheng and Manager
Strategic Planning & QA Wendy Kwok.
Mobile Apps is designed to provide crew
with easy access to the latest information on
Dragonair anytime and anywhere on mobile
devices. It enhances crew engagement with
more up-to-date, two-way communication
and information channels with fun and userfriendly features. The features include minigames, inflight sales tool, next destination
(weather forecast and currency converter)
and useful documents.
Grooming
Apps
provides
crew with
a complete
makeover for
a professional
image, from
health and
fitness to appearance.
Users can familiarise themselves with
grooming guidelines, share personal pictures
with crew members, check personal fitness
with a BMI calculator and inbuilt pedometer,
access healthy eating recipes and grooming
and beauty tips suggested and uploaded by
crew members, and a camera function.
Smart Style
New grooming / uniform ‘bible’ is first e-manual
A new “Corporate Policy Grooming and Uniform” manual,
issued by ISD on behalf of the Uniform Management
Committee, was introduced at the same time as the new
uniform roll-out in March. It acts as a reference guide to
ensure that all uniform staff project a “young, energetic,
elegant and professional” image for Dragonair.
It is also important for being KA’s first-ever e-manual, and
supersedes the previous “Dress and Deportment Handbook”
as we aim to adopt an environmentally friendly approach
by reducing printing. Only minimal hard copies have been
printed for backup purposes. An e-copy of the manual can be
obtained from:
Home > About Inflight Services Division > Services
Development and Standards > Manuals & Handbooks >
Corporate Policy Grooming and Uniform
On behalf of the Uniform Management Committee, Andy
Wong, General Manager Inflight Services, says: “I would
like to express my appreciation for the effort made by
each representative from the uniform user departments
which include Airport Headquarters, Cargo, Engineering
Department, Hong Kong Office, Hong Kong International
Airport, Worldwide Reservations & Ticketing and Inflight
Services Division.”
CEO Patrick Yeung celebrated the
launch of the apps with staff.
06
07
News
Dragonews Issue 153
Five Million and Climbing!
Spurred on by reaching an important milestone,
Asia Miles is striving to become even bigger
– and Dragonair has an important role to play
thanks to its China connections
Asia Miles recently achieved a record high
of five million members worldwide, and has
a goal to increase that to 5.6 million by the
end of 2013 – the equivalent of recruiting
2,000 new members every day for the rest of
the year.
Dragonair has a key role to play in meeting
these targets thanks to its extensive network
in China, where reward programmes are
still a relatively novel concept and given
the huge potential of frequent flyers.
To that end, Asia Miles recently ran an
“incentivised" inflight recruitment initiative
whereby, for the first time ever, cabin crew
are being rewarded with incentive miles for
every new passenger recruited inflight.
“The response was very enthusiastic,”
says Joyce Faye Wong, Assistant Manager
Communications and Public Relations. “To
ensure that cabin crew really understand
the programme and are fully knowledgeable
about Asia Miles in order to brief passengers
accordingly, we set up an Asia Miles booth
in the crew lounge to play some product
knowledge games and enrol crew as
members.
“Although many crew are already members,
we were also able to enrol a number as new
members. And besides being an Asia Miles
member crew need to pre-register for the
incentive via Dragonet.”
Joyce notes that recruitment of Asia Miles
members inflight tripled during the first two
weeks of the campaign, compared to the
same two weeks last
year.
Speaking about the
impressive growth
of Asia Miles,
Director and General
Manager Asia Miles
Stephen S.Y. Wong,
says: “Loyalty is
important to our
business – we hope
to turn passengers
into repeat
travellers, which
in turn contribute
to the profitability
of the Asia Miles
programme.
“Ultimately, all of this feeds back
into the Cathay Pacific Group.
I’d like to thank KA cabin crew
and outports, as well as airport
teams for being so proactive and
creative in meeting our growth
targets,” he adds.
The Asia Miles team has
ambitious expansion plans in
Greater China and the Pearl
River Delta. Travel reward
programmes are still coming
into their own in China, so Asia
Miles wants to raise its profile to
ensure it is the top choice among
frequent flyers.
(Above) Stephen (centre) with Kendrik Ko and
Corinna Kwan of Asia Miles.
(Below) Asia Miles’ incentivised inflight
recruitment inititive.
Service Stars
Congratulations go to Manson Lee and
Margaret Lee for their recognition in the
Customer Service Excellence Awards
organised by HKIA. Nominations for the
annual awards are based on passenger
feedback, as well as ASQ results.
arrived from Phnom Penh on a KA flight
without Hong Kong visas. Manson assisted
them in applying for visas online, and even
though he was about to finish work for the
day, he first accompanied the pair to the
hotel desk.
KA and its ground-handling company HAS
were winners in the “The Most Efficient
Check-in Staff” category. As well as
Manson and Margaret, five other staff were
complemented in the individual category,
while other staff were recognised in the
team category.
Passenger Services Supervisor Margaret
Law assisted a passenger who had missed
his connecting flight rather than simply
directing him to the airline desk. She
helped him to check with several airlines
and even travel agents to find a convenient
flight and the lowest ticket price to India.
Passenger Services Officer Manson Lee
helped two Taiwanese passengers who
The KA and HAS service stars at the Customer
Service Excellence Awards.
News
08
Getting Ready for
Early FM
New load management system rolling out in Q4 2013
The first key date for the PSS Phase 2
programme is quickly approaching, with
the progressive rollout of Altéa Flight
Management (FM) across KA and CX ports
set to start in the fourth quarter of 2013.
“Altéa FM analyses the passenger and
cargo load more precisely and automatically
defines the optimal aircraft load distribution
so that the fuel required for each flight
departure is always at the optimum level,”
says Manager Operations Services - APT,
Richard Kan. “With improved load control
performance and more accurate, safer
weight and balance operations the new
system will bring productivity and efficiency
gains to our outports.”
Centralised Load Control (CLC) staff will be
the biggest users of the new FM system, with
Operations Coordinators and
Cargo staff also requiring some
training. Training for CLC has
been on-going since mid-2012
while training at outports began
in May 2013.
The FM Rollout is the first step
in implementing Altéa Departure
Control System – a nextgeneration technology platform
used by many leading airlines
across the globe. It covers the
areas of check-in with all its
related functions, baggage
management, flight disruption
management, and aircraft weight
and balance.
Richard says the new system will bring productivity gains.
Want to know more? Contact the PSS team by email: pss#[email protected]
Top of the Menu
The newly launched Catering
Awards recognise suppliers’ hard
work and dedication
Dragonair has a renowned reputation for
providing quality food and beverage services
for passengers. In order to objectively assess
the food standards, as well as to recognise
the efforts of catering service providers, the
Catering Services Department has developed
an evaluation programme.
The Catering Performance Management
Programme (CPMP) was launched in
January 2013. It measures caterers'
performance based on seven major criteria:
safety, satisfaction, quality, supply assurance,
innovation, cost and cabin crew direct
rating. A total of 24 caterers that provided
catering services for Dragonair in 2012 were
assessed.
Online surveys were given out to both
internal and external departments, namely
the Catering Services Department, local
airport teams and cabin crew. The local
airport teams helped identify the importance
of caterers being able to deliver smooth
catering operations, whereas the feedback
from cabin crew helped to discover the
details of catering services being served on
Awards handed out in (clockwise from
right) Fukuoka, Manila and Shanghai
board. “The overall response rate of over
30% within the senior crew community
was indeed encouraging,” says Manager
Catering Services Kim Chong. “In addition,
valuable comments from other crew
respondents were received; all allowed us
to follow up with caterers for necessary
improvement.”
The Gold Winner of the Best Caterer
Award 2012 is Fukuoka In-flight Catering,
of Fukuoka, Japan; MacroAsia Catering
Services, from Manila, Philippines, is the
Silver Winner; and the Bronze Winner is
Shanghai Eastern Air Catering, ShanghaiPudong, China.
CEO Patrick Yeung and General Manager
- Inflight Services Andy Wong joined Kim
in attending all three award presentation
ceremonies, which took place at the awardwinning catering units, and presented
the trophies and prizes to the senior
management of the relevant caterers. All
the award-winning caterers were impressed
and delighted with their teams' hard work.
“The recognition not only acknowledges the
efforts of the caterers but also solidifies KA’s
commitment to sustaining close working
relationships with our suppliers,” says Kim.
09
Around the Network
Dragonews Issue 153
Start of the
Dream
Recruitment days for Youth Aviation
Training Programme
The “Dreams Take Flight” Youth Aviation Training Programme was launched
in Mainland China in May for students aged 14-16 with no flying experience.
Recruitment exercises were carried out in Beijing, Shanghai and 12 other ports
during which youngsters attended presentations on various aspects of the aviation
industry, in preparation for the trip to Hong Kong on Dragonair in August.
Speaking at the kick-off to the Beijing event, Manager Northern China Winnie Tong
said: “KA and CX have always been committed to corporate social responsibility and we are
delighted to help these young people realise their flying dreams.”
A total of 15 students in Beijing were given presentations by the Engineering Department,
catering company and Airport team. They also got the chance to take a look at the production
lines of the catering company and taste the meals of KA Business Class. Moreover, students
enjoyed being “Customer Services Officers” during role-play. Each participant was asked to
deliver a speech about their flying dreams and the future of the aviation industry at the end of
the programme. Similar activities were carried out in the other ports.
Watch out for news and pictures of the Hong Kong trip in the next issue of Dragonews!
COOL
LANDINGS
Bengaluru
Top travel tips from Flight
Attendant Maggie Lee
I love learning about other cultures, so
requested the Bengaluru pattern and have
been flying to India almost once a month
since, so now let me introduce you to this
mysterious curry kingdom!
Eating
There is no excuse not to try curry in India
-- though Indians don’t call it “curry”, it’s a
western term for spicy Indian food. Most
of my colleagues like to go to Tandoor,
on MG Road, but after a purser took
us to a restaurant near our hotel called
Nandhini Deluxe, I love to dine there – not
just because it is affordable but because I
especially like their garlic and butter naan
bread. The tandoori chicken and baby corn
are great too, but if you can’t take too much
spice, try butter chicken with naan.
For non-Indian food choices, I love dinner at
Pizza Hut restaurants, which can be found
at multiple locations in the city. A pasta set
Youngsters in Beijing get a taste of the high life.
costs only 99 rupees (approximately HK$ 20)
– it’s so good!
Shopping & Activities
After your meal, you can
take an autorickshaw to
MG Road and exchange
money for Indian currency
at a store that sells
sports shoes – they offer
great rates. Then you
are geared up to hit the
market on MG Road to
buy aromatherapy items,
scarves, or spices at the
supermarket. Some colleagues like buying
ladies finger vegetables, also known as
okra, because it is mild and supposedly
good for women. If you like to visit large
shopping malls, I recommend the newly
opened Mantri Square, where there is a vast
supermarket carrying great-value skincare
products and daily necessities -- Himalaya
lip balm costs only HK$5.
If you are interested in Indian culture, you
can enrol in a cooking class to learn how to
cook Indian food, or you can practise yoga
with Indian teachers.
Sightseeing
Bangalore palace and the Vidhana Soudha
legislative building are very impressive.
At the Bull Temple you can have a red dot,
or tilaka in the local language, put on your
forehead as a sign of blessing.
Getting there:
MG Road (officially known as Mahatma
Gandhi Road) in the city centre is probably
Bengaluru’s most famous road, and is
home to many of the major hotels. Mantra
Square is on Sampige Road, Malleswaram;
Vidhana Soudha is on Dr Ambedkar Road,
Seshadripuram, and the Bull Temple is in
Basavanagud. The best way to get around is
by taxi or autorickshaw for short trips.
Around the Network
SHA
10
Design Talk
Eddie Lau – the designer of the new KA uniforms – put in an appearance at the Shanghai
town office in April to meet with the Shanghai R&T team. He shared some behind-thescenes stories about the new uniform project, as well as talking about the inspiration
behind the new look. The team were thrilled to meet with the fashion designer!
KHH
Farewell & Well Done!
The Kaohsiung team held a farewell lunch recently for Airport Manager John Shen, retiring
after working for the Group for more than 25 years. Vivian Lo, General Manager Taiwan &
Korea, made a presentation to John and used the same occasion to present long-service
awards to a number of loyal staff. Long-service pins went to two staff with 10 years of service
and six staff with 15 years – a total of 110 years of employment!
RMQ
Enhanced Service
With the opening of the new Taichung
International Airport, the Dragonair checkin counter has been moved from Terminal 1
to Terminal 2. Passengers with check-in
baggage can complete the procedure at
the same Dragonair check-in counter;
also enhancing the service quality are
the availability of online check in, mobile
boarding passes, and advanced seat
reservation service. Aircraft landing at the new terminal
are now connected by air bridge, offering passengers more convenience.
PUS
Mayoral Meeting
CEO Patrick Yeung recently made his first
trip to Busan. He had a very busy schedule
that included a meeting with the CEO of
Gimhae Airport, a visit to the KA town office,
media interviews with newspapers and
magazines, and an update on PUS sales.
The highlights of the day were the courtesy
visit Patrick paid to the mayor of Busan,
Hur Nam-sik (top photo), and dinner with
the entire PUS team in the evening. Patrick
thoroughly enjoyed his day, and only regrets
it took him so long to visit the city!
11
Around the Network
Dragonews Issue 153
We are the
CHAMPIONS!
The KA basketball team (pictured right)
was crowned champion at this year’s CX
Interport Basketball Tournament held in
Kaohsiung in May. It was just reward for
battling though six rounds over two days.
The competition brought together seven
teams and 70 players from Korea, Sydney,
Hong Kong, Vancouver, Dragonair, the host
Taiwan and new joiner HKIA. The KA team
comprised Kenneth Ku (IMT Services),
Michael Wong (ISD S/P), John Chan (OPS
Services), Jerry Chan and Kenny Chung
(both OPS Rostering), Derek Li, Norman
Wong and Kenneth Mak (all OPS F/O) and
Steve Xiong (REV China & Taiwan).
The passion for the game was on show
here from all the teams. Everyone is
already looking forward to the 2014
event, which will be the 20th anniversary
of the tournament, to be hosted by KA.
Anticipation is high that even more teams
will participate.
First for shuttlers
Also on the sporting front, competition
was keen at the inaugural Dragonair Cup
Badminton Friendly Competition held in
Hong Kong in early June. Alongside KA’s
own team of shuttlers were Cathay Pacific,
Cathay Pacific Catering Services, and China
Pacific Catering Services from Taiwan. For
the record Cathay Pacific Catering Services
were the winners. KA Chief Pilot Captain
Peter Healey presented the trophies.
Win a Fabulous
Prize!
The Amari Orchid
Pattaya provides
a beach lifestyle
hotspot on the
picturesque northern
crescent of vibrant
Pattaya Bay, Amari Orchid offers an array
of seaside experiences, from an idyllic
Thai beach holiday, to destination dining
among the fashionable crowd, to a laidback barbecue party on the beach. The
hotel’s oceanfront location is five minutes
away from the city’s entertainment
zone as well as golf courses and other
recreational activities.
ts an
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er
ew
• Th an Delux er for
Oce ean Tow ding
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c
at O ghts incl wo.
i
rt
n
o
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tw
ast w
f
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www valid un
s
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• Th 31 Octo
Know Your Airline!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Where was CEO Patrick Yeung when he
received the Skytrax Awards?
Name 1 of the 2 KA winners of the
Customer Service Excellence Awards.
Which company won Best Caterer
Gold Award?
What is the 3﹣letter code of Siem Reap?
Where did this year’s CX Interport
Basketball Tournament take place?
Email [email protected] with the correct
answers before 31 August and you get the chance
to win a wonderful prize! All answers can be found
in this issue of Dragonews. Open to staff with
Dragonair email accounts only.
KA PEOPLE
12
Brush Strokes
Lynn Ye balances life in the busy Xiamen cargo office
with creating beautiful works of art in her spare time.
Lynn Ye, Cargo Reservation Sales Officer in
the Xiamen office, has a talent that no one at
work knew about until recently. In her spare
time, Lynn loves to create Chinese-style
works of art – she finds it an excellent way to
relax after a busy week in the office.
other styles, including Western art, too.
“Different schools of painting present artistic
beauty in different ways, and I can also
get inspiration and new ideas from them. I
just regret that I only have time to focus on
practising Chinese painting at the moment.”
“When I was 10 years old, I loved doing
Chinese painting and calligraphy,” explains
Lynn. “But my regret is that I had little time
to develop this hobby at that time – Chinese
students are always overburdened with
school assignments.” However, she picked it
up as a hobby again last year, and found she
really loved spending time in this way.
Her favourite artists are Chen Zhifo, a master
of painting flowers and birds, and Bai
Xueshi, known for his masterful landscape
paintings.
“I like the wordless beauty of the artistic
concept of Chinese painting. My favourite
subjects are flowers and birds, and
landscapes. The beauty of nature inspires
me,” she says, but she does appreciate
Lynn likes to look through albums of
paintings in the evenings after work, while
she sets aside Saturday afternoon for
painting. “Sometimes, my three-year-old
son joins me, and scrawls on his paper,
which is a very enjoyable time for both of
us.” She says she hasn’t hung any on her
walls yet as she reckons she isn’t “satisfied”
enough with her work – though most people
would probably disagree with her. Certainly,
friends are happy to receive them as gifts.
She says that her work colleagues share
her love of painting and she even gets
constructive criticism from them regarding
her work. Lynn laughs: “Especially from
Rick (Zhang, Cargo Sales Executive)…
Chinese painting is his favourite!”
STAFF Movements
Flight Purser promotion
Eva Chan, Samantha Chan, Rita Cheung, Ashley Choi,
Natalie Fung, Savina Kim, Janet Kim, Rosa Li, Joe Lung,
Virginia Tsai, Doris Tse, Karen Wan, Ruby Wong, Jaco
Wong, Chloe Yu
NEW JOINERS (from left to right)
Alex Chau Second Officer, Jeff Chiu Second Officer, Clevin Ling Second Officer,
Jonathan Tam Second Officer, Raymond Tam Second Officer, Winnie Tam Second Officer,
Cyrus Wong Second Officer, Michael Yau Second Officer, Jonathan Justin Airport
Services Officer (Kota Kinabalu), Allison Wan Operational Services Officer,
GRADUATION
The Class of A142 celebrate their new role with ISD
managers.