Tyler – don`t weaken HK`s hub strength

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who, what, where
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Code share
deal inked
Deep end of
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Personal
touch
Getting high
in Tibet
Flights to Fiji another
boost for Hong Kong hub
New team dives in
with a raft of ideas
Meet the Team campaign
brings crew closer
Trekking in the heart
of Shangri-La
Page 5
Page 8-9
Page 14
Page 16
A magazine for staff and friends of Cathay Pacific Airways
September 2009, Issue 162
PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER
PRD route changes to cut fuel burn, emissions and lead to cost savings
Shorter routes,
bigger benefits
Changes to flight paths over the
Pearl River Delta into Hong Kong being introduced next month will cut
flight times and see reductions in fuel
burn and emissions over the area.
The changes, being implemented
by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department (HKCAD) with effect from
22 October, will also lead to significant cost savings for the Cathay Pacific Group.
The redesign will considerably
shorten the two longest of the current arrival routes used by CX and
KA flights inbound from the north
and west.
“The route inbound from Bangkok, for example, will be more direct
and around 210 kilometres shorter,
saving us around eight minutes flying time over the current route,” says
Russell Davie, General Manager Operations in FOP.
All flights inbound from Europe
and China and most services from
New York and Toronto will be affected by the arrival route from the
north which exits Mainland airspace
just to the west of Macau.
“Here we will see the route shortened by 190km, saving 6-8 minutes
in flying time. That doesn’t sound
much but it will save us money, reduce emissions and even help passengers through better on-time performance,” says Russell.
Other flights from the west, including from Bangkok and India,
will benefit with the changes to the
second arrival route over Hainan Island.
Russell says CX has been working
through IATA and with HKCAD for
several years to achieve route improvements.
“This is a very positive initiative by
HKCAD that will also aid future PRD
airspace redesigns and help in the
further expansion of HKIA” he says.
Head of Environmental Affairs
Mark Watson says the initiative is
welcomed as it supports the industry’s overall commitment to reduce
air-traffic management inefficiencies around the world.
“The PRD has long been seen as
one area in which more direct routings could have real significance in
terms of reducing unnecessary fuel
burn and lowering emissions,” says
Mark. “This will play an important
role in assisting in IATA’s commitment to the overall carbon-neutral
growth of aviation.”
Tyler – don’t
weaken HK’s
hub strength
In an interview with CX World, Chief
Executive Tony Tyler says that while
closer economic cooperation between
Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta is
inevitable – and will bring many benefits
– there is a need to ensure that Hong
Kong’s role as an international aviation
hub is not weakened as a result.
With HKIA projected to be at full
capacity by 2018, “it is incumbent on
Cathay Pacific and the Airport Authority
to make sure there is enough capacity
and a good enough service to ensure
passengers can come and go, and that
cargo can flow efficiently through the
airport,” he says.
A growth in passenger numbers
should not be seen as a strain: “It is a
business opportunity that we shouldn’t
be giving away to other people!” he says.
In the short- to medium-term this
will require an increase in the runway
frequency rate at HKIA. “In the longer
term, however, there is no doubt that a
third runway will be needed,” he says.
• See page 4
Airline the
most-admired
Cathay Pacific has taken top
honours for the fourth year in
a row in the Wall Street Journal
Asia’s reader survey of Hong
Kong’s most-admired companies.
Among the different
categories in the survey –
conducted among 2,622
executives and professionals
in the region – CX was placed
top in Quality, second in
Innovation and third in both
Long-Term Vision and Corporate
Reputation.
In an interview in the
paper, Chief Executive Tony
Tyler reiterated the airline’s
commitment to product and
service excellence and the
ways CX is continuing to seek
improvements, including the
ongoing strategic review.
Jumbo flight
Things got heavy on board CX001 on 17
August with two baby elephants flying from
Hong Kong to Brussels.
Originally brought in on CX3249 from
Jakarta, the animals, named Ani and Valentino, were a gift to Belgium from the Indonesian government to strengthen bilateral
relations between the two countries.
Twenty litres of water were on standby in
Hong Kong to keep the two hydrated while
an ample supply of fruit was available for
the 18-hour flight to Brussels.
Message
from the
Chief Executive
The fact that this is an extremely
challenging time for the aviation
industry was made strikingly evident at this month’s Asian Aerospace event in Hong Kong. The
mood was quite downcast and
there was a lot of speculation
about how long it would take the
industry to get back to the healthy
state we were enjoyed when we
last convened in 2007. The jury’s
still out on that one.
As the business downturn drags
on we have to do everything we
can to put our business on a surer
footing, and that includes looking
for more opportunities in our own
backyard – the Pearl River Delta.
The economies of Hong Kong and
the PRD are becoming more closely
integrated and that presents great
opportunities for the Cathay Pacific
Group. Integration could also bring
challenges, however, and it’s important that we don’t let our guard
down and see traffic from Hong
Kong being siphoned off to other
airports in the region.
That’s why we are enthusiastic supporters of building a third
runway at HKIA, which will ensure
our home hub has the capacity it
needs to enable it to compete effectively with other expanding regional hubs in the future.
China as a whole, of course,
remains of huge importance to
the Group’s future – something
we were very aware of when we
brought Dragonair into the fold in
2006. Last month’s announcement
that Air China and Swire Pacific
were buying the bulk of CITIC Pacific’s stake in Cathay Pacific was a
natural extension of the deal made
three years ago and will reinforce
the strategic relationship that already exists with Air China. At the
same time Swire will remain our
major shareholder and there will
be no change in Cathay Pacific’s
strategic direction or the way the
company is managed.
To close, I’d like to express my
gratitude to everyone in the team
for helping Cathay Pacific being
named Hong Kong’s most-admired
company for the fourth year in a
row by the Wall Street Journal Asia.
This is a fantastic achievement that
shows that, whatever the current
challenges we face, we are doing a
lot of things right. Thank you all!
Tony Tyler, Chief Executive
2
ARATS head pays visit to Cathay City
A delegation of senior leaders from the
Mainland overseeing Taiwan affairs visited
Cathay City on 30 July, led by Chen Yunlin,
President of the Association for Relations
Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS).
Also present was Sun Yafu, Vice Minister
of Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council,
and nine other officials from ARATS, the
Taiwan Affairs Office and the Taiwan Affairs
Department of the Liaison Office of the
Central People’s Government in the Hong
Kong SAR.
The dignitaries enjoyed a simulator ride in
the Flight Training Centre and a tour of other
facilities in the headquarters complex.
A lunch at CPCS was hosted by CX Deputy
Chairman Philip Chen along with Chief
Executive Tony Tyler, Chief Operating Officer
John Slosar, Director Corporate Development
Ian Shiu and Director Corporate Affairs Quince
Chong.
During the visit President Chen thanked
various business sectors in Hong Kong for
their support and contribution towards the
development of cross-Straits matters.
Hong Kong, he said, has for a long time held
an important role in cross-Straits relations
and the Central People’s Government has
been concerned about the impact of “three
links” on the SAR’s economy.
President Chen acknowledged the impact
of cross-Straits direct flights on the Hong
Kong aviation industry and welcomed
recommendations to offset the impact.
OFFICIAL VISIT: Chen Yunlin (centre) with Philip Chen (left)
and Tony Tyler during his tour of Cathay City.
A show of strength
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Event shows way forward for Asian aviation following downturn
Asian Aerospace 2009 stood up
against the pressure of a challenging business environment with 400
exhibitors from over 20 countries
showcasing their products in Hong
Kong from 8-10 September.
CX was the Official Carrier of
Asian Aerospace which took place
at AsiaWorld-Expo and included the
Aircraft Interiors Asia and Air Freight
Asia exhibitions as well as the Asian
Business Aviation conference and
the Asia Pacific Airline Training Symposium.
Cathay Pacific and Dragonair
had a combined booth in the main
exhibition hall which gave visitors
a chance to try out the First Class
seat while staff were also on hand
to demonstrate the CX Mobile application.
Another booth highlight was the
imitation airport lounge with the
sides decorated with images from
the “Meet the Team” marketing campaign.
Assistant Marketing Manager Elise
To says there was a steady stream
of visitors and the overall response
was positive.
“The First Class seat was popular with everyone and even Hong
Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang
dropped by to try it out!” she says.
Manager Product Alex McGowan
says though he thought the space
was smaller it was just as busy as
previous events.
“I was impressed by how vibrant
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BEST IN SHOW: Scenes from Asian Aerospace 2009 including the vibrant
opening ceremony (top) attended by Hong Kong Financial Secretary John
Tsang (centre) and Chief Executive Tony Tyler (third from right).
the CAD Director-General, delivered
the keynote speech on new aviation
technology and aviation training.
There were discussions about the
overall need in the industry to hire
more pilots and more staff in general so it’s not all gloomy, which is
good to see,” he says.
and lively the show was. All the
right people are here to meet with
so from our perspective it’s a useful
exercise,” he says.
Engineering Director Chris Gibbs
says there was still a definite buzz
about the place.
“At the Symposium, Norman Lo,
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Performance Index
On-time performance
Within 15 mins
Industry standard
Traffic/capacity (CX + KA)*
89.5%
61%
on-the-dot CX standard
Passengers carried
2,210,068
3.8%
Passenger load factor
84.1%
5.7pt
ASKs (000)
9,389,709
-5.0%
Freight carried
131,732
-6.3%
Cargo load factor
72%
6.1pt
ATKs (000)
1,852,374
-9.9%
* Figures for Aug 2009
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Produced by CX’s Corporate
Communication Department
7/F North Tower, Cathay Pacific City,
Lantau, HK
Publisher: Kerry McGlynn
Managing Editor: Mark Tindall
Editor: Joyce Wong
Enquiries: 2747-5293
GalaCXy ID: CCD#SCT
Email: ccd#[email protected]
Swire confirms
CX commitment
Exchange programme
gives Air China insights
Four Cathay Pacific staff spent a
few months with Air China earlier
this year to learn more about the
airline’s business functions and
operations.
The annual programme ran
from 23 February to 22 May with
Cargo Sales Manager Stanley
Cheung, ICM Manager Dennis
Leung, Manager Revenue
– Europe/S Pacific/ME & India
Patrick Yu and Personnel
Manager Overseas Olivia Wong
taking part.
Stanley says the experience
gave him more insight into how
“commercial” Air China can be.
“Unlike CX Cargo, which is a
department of the company,
Air China Cargo is a standalone
business entity with complete
business functions.
“I was attached to Marketing
& Sales, Network & Revenue,
Finance and Cargo Services
which are all new to me and
widened my horizons,” he says.
Olivia says her time was
cut short to six weeks but she
was still able to spent time in
various departments including
Human Resources, Revenue and
Marketing.
“I didn’t really know what
to expect,” she says. “I think
my time there taught me to
be open minded and never
underestimate the competition.”
Dennis says it was a good
opportunity to understand how
Shareholding realignment will not change focus
CITIC Pacific, taking its shareholding in CX to approximately 29.99%,
while Swire Pacific’s stake in the
airline will increase from almost
40% to approximately 41.97%.
The new structure will inevitably
see more cooperation between the
two carriers on different levels.
“Since our strategic partnership
with Air China began in 2006 we
have already seen developments
such a reciprocal sales representation and more code-share arrangements,” says Chief Executive Tony
Tyler.
“Now we will see an even deeper
The shareholding realignment
announced last month that will
see Air China and Swire Pacific
each take up a bigger stake in
Cathay Pacific made headlines
around the world.
The news was splashed across
business pages while commentators speculated on what it might
mean for the longer-term future
of Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong
aviation.
In messages to staff, Chairman
Chris Pratt was unequivocal in confirming Swire Pacific’s long-term
commitment to CX and stressing
that the new shareholding would
not mean any changes to the strategic direction and current operational and financial management
of the airline.
“Swire Pacific fully intends to
remain the single largest shareholder in the airline – as we have
been for the past 60 years – and
we remain wholeheartedly committed to the long-term development of the aviation industry in
Hong Kong and on the Mainland,”
Chris stated.
Under the changes, which come
into effect later in September, Air
China will buy a 12.5% stake from
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cooperation that will draw on the
knowledge and experience available in both hubs to bring more
benefits for both carriers.”
In the media frenzy that followed the announcement, some
commentators speculated that
a full takeover of CX by Air China
was inevitable while others saw
that Swire was reluctant to lose
control of Cathay.
In its leader on 19 August, the
South China Morning Post said
that “Cathay Pacific is a symbol of
Hong Kong. There are few companies as highly respected or brands
as closely associated with our city
… there would be a good deal of
disquiet in Hong Kong [if Swire did
lose control].
In an opinion piece in the SCMP,
political commentator Kevin Rafferty said that CX was “in many
ways quintessentially Hong Kong,
the medium-sized airline with an
international heart, aggressively
Cantonese but with a global polish, proudly part of China and
with the constant ambition to be
the best – just as Hong Kong sees
itself, rooted in China but with a
vision of doing business with the
whole world.”
COMMITTED: Chris Pratt said Swire
will stay the biggest shareholder.
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The team goes mobile!
The popular “Meet the Team” site at
Cathaypacific.com is now available
for people on the move.
iPhone users who’ve
downloaded the “CX Mobile”
application will have
automatically received an alert
telling them they now have
access to “Meet the Team”,
allowing them to view all the
pictures of staff, read their
profiles and even download
their favourite image as their
phone’s wallpaper.
“Meet the Team” is only
available for iPhones at the
moment, but the CX Mobile
application is also available
to users of BlackBerry and
Windows Mobile smart
phones (including the latest
Nokia and Sony Ericsson
devices).
More than 60,000
downloads have been
made to date, and CX has put
itself ahead of the pack in terms
of offering mobile services to users of smart phones – most
carriers currently offer mobile applications for iPhones only.
Full details can be found at Cathaypacific.com (Manage Your Trip
> Mobile Services).
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NEW IDEAS: (from left) Olivia Wong,
Patrick Yu, Dennis Leung and Stanley Cheung in Beijing.
Air China operates on a dayto-day basis and how different
decisions were made from a flight
operations perspective.
“The main functions of Air
China’s Flight Operations
department is similar to that in
CX but the structure is not the
same,” he says.
“I gained invaluable experience
on how a Mainland airline
conducts its business.”
Two exchange programmes
with Air China are being held
annually with the next one
starting on 19 October.
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Staff dig deep for typhoon victims
Typhoon Morakot, which swept by
Hong Kong and made landfall in Taiwan on 7 August, was no ordinary
summer storm.
The typhoon caused unprecedented damage in Taiwan, particularly in the south of the island,
with the worst flooding in more
than 50 years leaving hundreds
dead or missing and countless more
left homeless.
Staff in the CX and Dragonair
teams in Taiwan leapt into action
once the extent of the devastation
was known, launching a relief fund to
help those affected.
Taiwan staff dug deep into their
pockets and in just a couple of weeks
raised almost NT1 million (approximately HK$235,000) while staff from
other ports, including Hong Kong, added close to NT100,000.
The company agreed to match staff
donations and did some further rounding up, leading to a final total of NT2.2
million.
The money was donated to the Bud-
dhist Tzu Chi Foundation, which has a
long record of providing effective and
compassionate care, with General Manager Taiwan & Korea Adrian Harley making the presentation at the foundation’s
office.
Adrian thanked staff around the network, and particularly those in Taiwan,
for their generosity.
The passage of the typhoon had a
big impact on CX operations with all
CX and KA flights into and out of Taipei
cancelled on 7 August and services to
Kaohsiung in the south cancelled over
two days.
It took a huge effort from the KHH
team to get things operational again
– read the full story on page 7.
HELPING HAND: Adrian Harley presents
the cheque to the Tzu Chi Foundation.
3
Obituary –
Capt Jack Smith (retired)
The key to keeping
HKIA competitive
Opportunities and challenges from PRD integration – Tyler
Friends and colleagues of Captain Jack Smith (retired),
one of the driving forces behind the Sunnyside Club,
were deeply saddened to hear of his passing last
month.
Jack, who is survived by his wife Helen and children,
passed away on 18 August following a long battle
against cancer.
As a pilot, Jack was known as “a Captain who cared”
– for the airline, his fellow pilots and cabin crew. He
helped to get the Sunnyside Club up and running in
1988, later taking over as Chairman, and he never
stopped caring for the youngsters the charity helped
to support.
“To work with Jack in the Sunnyside Club was an
inspiring experience,” says committee member Daisy
Chan.
“The memory that I cherish the most is going on the
annual junk trips with him where Jack always wore his
elephant-print T-shirt and played with the kids on the
beach. I will never forget his big smile and the love he
showed.”
The Sunnyside Club has given great support
to various schools over the years and “this highly
respectable gentleman” is remembered with real
affection by April Lau, Principal of the HKCS Pui Oi
School.
“Over the years we witnessed his single-minded
devotion to putting smiles on children’s faces. We
should all be thankful that we were given the chance to
have known Captain Jack,” says April.
Nora Wong, General Secretary of the Hong Chi
Association, recalls the assistance Jack provided over
the years, securing funds for everything from therapy
aids to safety equipment.
“Uncle Jack created many job training opportunities
for our trainees … he was a man of great man of
honour with admiration and endless love for those he
helped.”
Obituary – Captain Phil Blown
On 5 August, Captain
Phillip (Phil) Blown
passed away while
resident in a nursing
home in Richmond,
New South Wales,
Australia. He was 96.
Captain Blown was
a veteran pilot with
Cathay Pacific during
the heady days of the
1950s and enjoyed a
long and distinguished
aviation career.
On 23 July 1954, Capt Blown was Captain of a DC4
flight from Bangkok bound for Hong Kong which was
shot down by Chinese fighters over the South China
Sea near Hainan Island.
Of the 18 crew and passengers, nine survived thanks
to the intense efforts of the flight deck crew and the
sturdy construction of the aircraft.
The story of the “Hainan incident” is detailed in
Gavin Young’s Beyond Lion Rock: the Story of Cathay
Pacific Airways.
4
profitable range of services into China.
The economies of Hong Kong and the
Pearl River Delta region are becoming
more intertwined and closer cooperation
between the two areas will have an impact
in many areas – including aviation.
CX World spoke to Chief Executive Tony
Tyler to ask how the Hong Kong hub can
maintain its competitiveness in the light of
increased integration.
It’s projected that HKIA will be at full capacity by 2018. Could cooperation with
other airports in the PRD take some of
the strain off our home hub?
It should not be seen as a strain – it is a
business opportunity that we shouldn’t
be looking to give away to other people!
If people want to travel to and from Hong
Kong they want to do it through HKIA,
not to be forced into taking the second
best option. It is incumbent on Cathay
Pacific and the Airport Authority to make
sure there is enough capacity and a good
enough service to ensure passengers can
come and go, and that cargo can flow efficiently through the airport.
Capacity constraints at HKIA are a problem and in the short- to medium-term we
need to increase the runway frequency
rate. In the longer term, however, there
is no doubt that a third runway will be
needed. True, business has taken a dive
recently, so it’s perhaps not as urgent as it
was, but it is still important that it’s done.
These things take a long time so it’s very
important that the planning and preparation work is pushed ahead.
A number of other rival hubs in the region are already adding more capacity but
they may find their runways underutilised.
Build a third runway in Hong Kong and it
will be used. A lot of airlines want to fly
here and we certainly want to grow and
develop our business.
What impact will closer cooperation between Hong Kong and the PRD have on
the region’s aviation industry?
There’s no doubt that the PRD is increasingly going to become part of the catchment area served by Hong Kong International Airport. We’re seeing that already in
the way our sales are growing in the PRD.
I see the region as a great source of traffic for our home hub and specifically for
the Cathay Pacific and Dragonair networks.
Increasingly the PRD will be seen as a destination as well – that’s one of the reasons
we are starting flights to Guangzhou.
We made it clear it clear in our strategy
review that we should develop our business in the PRD so the increasing integration of the two economies should definitely be seen as an opportunity.
And a challenge too, given the growth
of Guangzhou and Shenzhen airports?
At the moment each of the three big PRD
airports – and their home carriers – are very
different. Hong Kong is a big international
hub, Shenzhen has a more comprehensive
domestic network while Guangzhou is also
limited in terms of international services.
Hong Kong and the Cathay Pacific Group
need to continue building HKIA as an international hub and gateway to China, at the
same time serving the local market with a
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downtown Shenzhen – and that is part of
the plan. The link will give us better access
to the Shenzhen market, especially for international travel.
However, I don’t think we will see a lot
of passengers transferring between the
two airports – it’s been shown around the
world that people prefer single-hub transfers. One thing is clear: a rail link cannot
be a substitute for a third runway.
You mentioned the efficient flow of cargo through HKIA – can more be done in
this area?
Our business will increasingly depend on
transshipment freight and the customs
regulations in Hong Kong are not as helpful as they could be.
At the moment, when you tranship
freight through HKIA have to import it and
then export, whereas some other airports
have created free trade zones enabling
freight to be move seamlessly from one
aircraft to another without a lot of paperwork. This is something we’ve asked the
government to have a look at.
Would the Hong Kong hub benefit from
the proposed rail link between HKIA
and Shenzhen International Airport?
For Cathay Pacific and HKIA it will certainly
be a good thing as long as there’s a stop in
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Doors finally close on Classic Fleet Office
anyway! It is sad to see the
It all came to an end for the
team disband.”
Boeing 747-200F Classic
The last Classic revenue
fleet on 31 August when
flight took place on 27 July
the last aircraft, B-HVZ, flew
(see August CX World) and a
out of Hong Kong bound
skeleton team – Geoff, Chief
for its final resting place at
Flight Engineer Mike Conduit
Victorville in the Californian
and Captain Craig Baynes
desert.
– was kept on to fly the last few
Before the flight the
aircraft out of Hong Kong.
remaining members of the
Classic pilots have been
Classic team gathered for
redeployed across all fleets
a commemorative photo
in CX, both passenger and
to mark the closing of the
freighter, while all flight
Fleet Office – an emotional
moment for all concerned. FINAL CALL: (from left) Craig Baynes, Josephine Wong, Geoff Denham and engineers have flown their
last flight.
“I am sad to see everyone Mike Conduit together for the last time.
“Those of us who had the
on the fleet go – the pilots,
opportunity to experience a
flight engineers, simulator
glamorous and the cargo schedules were
crew with flight engineers will appreciate
instructors and our secretary, Josephine
tough, so the Classic crew developed
that they are a special breed.
[Wong],” says Chief Pilot (747) Geoff
great camaraderie amongst themselves.
“I will miss their technical expertise,
Denham.
“The work was demanding and largely
their pragmatism and their wry sense of
“This Fleet had a real ‘can do’ attitude.
unheralded but the crew got the job done
The destinations weren’t the most
humour,” says Geoff.
without complaint – well not too much,
Countdown to East Asian Games begins!
Briefs
n Faster immigration
for MPOs
Hong Kong celebrated the 100-day countdown
to the East Asian Games with a torch relay along
the city streets on 29 August.
Cathay Pacific is one of eight Diamond sponsors of the sporting event and among the 65
torchbearers was HKIA Service Leader Helen Liu
who says she was “on top of the world” when
she was chosen.
The event saw participants running along
a special route covering Tsim Sha Tsui, Victoria Harbour and Wan Chai with Helen jogging
along Salisbury Road in TST (right).
“I was surprised to be selected. It’s such an
honour and very meaningful for me,” says Helen
who is also a member of Hong Kong women’s
basketball team.
“We’ve been training very hard since August
and hope to do Hong Kong proud,” she says.
The East Asian Games will be held from 5-13
December with more than 3,000 elite athletes
from nine countries and regions competing in
22 different sports.
All members of the Marco Polo
Club can now enjoy quicker and
more convenient immigration
clearance at Hong Kong International Airport.
MPOs can have their travel
document and fingerprint data
scanned in advance, enabling
them to enjoy much quicker passage through immigration using
the Frequent Visitor e-Channels.
The service is now available
to all Silver tier and above MPOs
who are 18 and over and in possession of the appropriate travel
documents. They can enrol free
of charge at the Immigration
Department’s Enrolment Office in
the Arrival Hall at HKIA.
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students participated in
this year’s English On Air
programme.
for Fiji code share
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leisure destination and CX should
be able to draw from key markets
around its network to connect onto
FJ’s flights out of Hong Kong.
The Auckland team played a key
role in setting up the new codeshare service and Ian Herald, Marn
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Professionals’
association learns
more about airline
A group from the Hong Kong Professionals and
Senior Executives Association visited Cathay City
on 16 July.
The group of 12 learned about the history of
the company at the CXperience museum, toured
the state-of-the-art Integrated Operations Centre
and received a briefing on the airline from Director
Corporate Affairs Quince Chong.
The visit concluded with a lunch at Catalina’s hosted
by Quince, pictured here with some of the members
of the HKPSEA including chairman Samuel Yung
(centre).
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route) and Boeing 737-800s.
It flies to a total of 25 destinations
covering the islands of the South
Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Los
Angeles and Vancouver.
In addition to helping put the FJ
code share together, the New Zealand team is also busy preparing for
its annual capacity increase in line
with the peak travel season.
HKG-AKL returns to a double-daily service from November through
February with the 747-400 being
deployed on the route in expectation of high demand.
keting Services Manager in AKL,
says that Hong Kong will act as an
ideal hub for attracting visitors from
around the CX network.
“We expect the new code share
will be supported in particular by
our sales offices in UK/Europe, Asia
and India as many tourists who
come to the South Pacific circulate
around Australia, New Zealand and
the South Pacific islands,” says Ian.
Air Pacific – “a great little airline,”
according to Ian – operates a young
fleet of Boeing 747s, 767s (which
will be used on the Hong Kong
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n Safety reporting goes
electronic
Leisure destination to draw travellers through Hong Kong hub
CX will add its second new destination in less than two months when
a new code-share service with Air
Pacific (FJ) begins on 3 December,
connecting the Hong Kong hub
directly with the Southwest Pacific
island nation for the first time.
Hot on the heels of the launch of
its own four-times-weekly service
to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on 26
October, the CX code will be going
on to FJ’s new twice-weekly service
between Hong Kong and Nadi, departing Thursday and Saturday.
Fiji is an increasingly popular
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Electronic versions of two ground
safety forms used by ground staff
worldwide – the Ground Safety
Report form and the Injury Report
form – can now be found on the
Corporate Safety Department
website on IntraCX.
The Ground Safety Report can
be used for reporting events at
Cathay City, at Hong Kong airport,
at all outports, in crew hotels and
on crew transport worldwide,
while the Injury Report form is
used to report injuries that occur
on the ground.
Cabin crew should continue
to use the existing e-CSR system
and the existing Cabin Crew Work
Injury Form (WIF).
n New at CXcitement
New items for sale at the CXcitement Shop include two aircraft
models – a 1:400 scale Douglas
DC4 Skymaster model retailing
at HK$130 (HK$104 for staff ) and
a Vickers OA-10 Catalina Model
(HK$130/HK$104).
Also new is the simple and
functional Adventura Onyx
Black Ball Pen (HK$240 – no staff
discount) and the Golf Ball Marker
(HK$120/HK$96) engraved with
the Dragonair logo.
5
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Letters to the Editor
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Upgrade
concerns
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Following up on a letter in the
June CX World regarding the low
fares on offer which do not accrue miles, I can understand why
you would not get credits on
such fares, as you cannot have it
both ways.
What I would like to know is
why only K-class bookings and
above can use points for upgrades.
This also ties in with another
letter to July CX World expressing concerns on Economy Class
passengers being upgraded to fill
the front cabins.
At least if we allowed more passengers the option of using their
points to upgrade, it would help
fill the front end as well as retain
their loyalty.
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Deborah Christini
AKL
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Jenny Ho, Manager Commercial
CPLP, replies: Understandably the
option of using
Asia Miles to upgrade to a higher
class is appealing to passengers who need
to fly frequently
and especially on
long-haul flights.
However
it
has always been
the strategy of both
Revenue Management
and CPLP to reward passengers who purchase
higher fares by giving them more
options and flexibility.
Therefore using Asia Miles for
upgrading is exclusively available
to K-class fares and above.
Concerned
about timetable change
Can I ask why the “Flight Information at a Glance” section has been
dropped from the System Timetable publication?
I found this section very useful
when I needed destination information in a hurry.
Name withheld
Max Lui, Marketing Manager,
replies: The omission of the
“Flight Information at a Glance”
section from the System Timetable is part of our efforts to reduce
the production cost, bulkiness
and environmental impact of the
publication.
The reduction in the number of
issues from three to two per year
is another means to achieve these
goals.
Items are considered for omission based on customer perspective.
In this case,
much of the information on the
deleted pages
can still be found
within the main
section of the publication.
We are in the
process of reintroducing this section
but only for the online
printable version and
hopefully also on our
iPhone/Blackberry/mobile applications.
For purchases via Cathaypacific.com, we currently accept Visa,
Mastercard, JCB, Amex and Diners Club credit cards and it is up
to the Finance Department to decide whether we will accept more
cards in the future.
What was your
reaction to Air
China taking up a
larger stake in
Cathay Pacific?
It was quite a logical
thing to happen. I was
interested to read what
Swire and Citic Pacific
had to say afterwards.
Jamie Carter, ENG
More flexible
Sale time for FOCs?
outport staff
Staff at Head Office enjoy various
offers from time to time such as
the staff sales of inflight items.
Would it be possible to have
similar promotions and sales for
outport staff?
I also noticed if we want to
purchase company items at
Cathaypacific.com we have to
use a credit card authorised for
use in Hong Kong. Is it possible
to help address this issue?
Dewey Lian
KA
Jessica Wan, Assistant Manager Inflight Sales – Logistics,
replies: It is possible to organise staff sales online and we
have done so in the past. But
the reason most of the staff
sales are held at Cathay City is
because the majority of the
products are defective and
it’s better to give staff a
chance to examine the products before purchase to minimise
refund requests.
Online staff sales also involve
more administration and followup work, and we just don’t have
the extra manpower to handle it.
Nevertheless, we will take note
of this request and will try to organise more online staff sales to
benefit outport staff.
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Send us your feedback
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We welcome feedback from anyone in the CX network on any issue affecting the airline
or the industry. Please email your letters to CCD#SCT. Not all letters will be published but
those that are will be edited for length and to comply with the CX World style.
The sender of the star letter each month will win 3,000 Asia Miles. The Feedback page
is sponsored by Asia’s leading travel reward programme.
I will be interested to see
how it impacts on how
we make decisions in the
long run with more Air
China members on the
board.
Graham Barkus, PNL
Is it possible to make our travel
benefits more flexible by having
our annual FOC broken into up to
four segments, zoning still applicable, instead of having it issued
as one ticket?
There are times outport staff
do not plan to take a four-legged
trip in a year and would prefer
a simple roundtrip journey instead.
Given this alternative staff
would have the option to use the
benefits to the fullest and not be
constrained when planning their
itineraries.
I am not concerned. I
doubt it will have any
real affect on staff.
Lynn Arcinas, ISD
We had to change
eventually and I think
we will see Air China
take over in the long
run.
Phil Walker, FOP
Jamine Esperat-Figueroa
MNL
I am not worried. In fact,
as China is the place
everyone is looking too,
I hope we will be in a
stronger position with
this relationship.
Josephine Sin, ISD
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Bob Nipperess, Employee Services Manager, replies: With the
recently launched staff travel automation project, the subject of
tickets and sectors is one area we
will be tackling.
The present arrangements
have been in place for many years
and your feedback will be useful
as the teams work through the
various aspects of the project.
The introduction of the PSS
system provides us with a great
opportunity to make significant
changes to our current arrangements for staff travel, which will
benefit everyone.
It was expected. We have
to face the reality that
sooner or later Hong
Kong businesses will be
taken over by China.
Susan Chu, CRD
The online poll
Last month we asked you “Do you think
we can expect to see any rebound in
premium business in the last quarter?”
You answered:
I think the worst is
over and things will
bounce back pretty
quickly soon.
I believe things will
improve but the
upswing will not be
very steep.
Sadly, I don’t we’ve
seen the end of the
recession – there
won’t be much
change this year.
10 20 30 40 50 60
%
Check out the CX World website and
Daily News on IntraCX for next month’s
poll question.
6
0
Kaohsiung weathers storm
The week of 3 August was a wild
and windy one in Kaohsiung as
Typhoon Morakot descended on
Taiwan, throwing operations into
turmoil and stranding thousands of
passengers.
The typhoon reached its peak
intensity on 7 August with winds
of up to 155 km/hour and made
landfall in central Taiwan later that
day. It wasn’t until 9 August that it
weakened to a severe tropical storm
before making landfall in China.
KHH Airport Services Manager
Thunder Lei says the typhoon made
its presence felt in Kaohsiung on 6
August. “On 7 and 8 August there
were no Dragonair services at all.
So the day after we found ourselves
handling eight departures and nine
arrivals,” he says.
“Thousands of passengers were
affected with many of them being
held for three days until we could
resume operations.”
Thunder says the worse part of
the disruption was having no idea
when services could resume.
“We didn’t have an ETD for any
services and then on 9 August there
were five A330 services at the same
time. The team had to handle all
passenger queries and new bookings for three days,” he says.
Despite the difficulty of even travelling to work, every staff member
showed up for duty with some staying overnight at the airport.
“We had 21 staff, including six interns, working on passenger services and eight on cargo services. They
worked from 5am to midnight daily
and some had to sleep at the airport
as they were not able to get home,”
Thunder says.
“It was a really difficult situation
with huge volumes of passengers
demanding information, a closed
airport for two days, then many
departure at once, including five
flights all checking-in at the same
time. Everyone really coped well
and worked very hard.”
Manager Kaohsiung Joseph Sheu
says: “Although we tried to tell passengers not to come out to the
airport many still did. Airport staff
were busy helping them rebook and
change schedules.
“I would like to thank the KHH
staff for their dedication with many
of them working over 18 hours on
9 August and leaving well after midnight.”
KA PEOPLE
Sweet smell
of success
Gearing up for new Guangzhou service
The new twice-daily service to Guangzhou will
help the Cathay Pacific Group develop the PRD
as the KA and CX’s home market, according to
Manager Guangzhou Kinto Chan.
The service, which launched on 14 September,
will be operated by A320 and A321 aircraft. To
complement it, the new Guangzhou team will
have 19 people in the Sales & Operational teams
as well as more than 80 staff manning the China
Call Centre.
“One of our biggest jobs is to make the PRD
our home market, so creating a seamless travel
experience between the PRD and Hong Kong as
well as promoting our already strong KA and CX
brands is essential,” Kinto says.
“This will mean increasing our presence in the
market to get more business. Our Sales & Marketing teams will be busier than ever!”
Even though there are other cross-border
transport options, direct flights are the fastest
and most convenient, says Kinto.
“A typical bus journey to HKIA from Guangzhou takes four hours including border checks
and customs.
“CAN airport is only 30 minutes away from
downtown and we can check bags through for
passengers to their final destination, thus saving time and hassle,” he says.
As a major manufacturing base, foreign companies in Guangdong Province have set up offices to develop their business, leading to more
cargo business as well as a strong corporate
travel market.
“The goods manufactured here in Guangdong keep our Cargo team busy while the travelling executives are our target passengers, as
are the families who visit the large Cantonese diaspora in Australia, Europe and North America,” Kinto
says.
“We have also seen an increasing number of students travelling overseas which we can tap into.”
Other than business travellers, including delegates attending the popular twice-yearly Canton
Fair, leisure visitors are also being targeted with a
range of “green” attractions.
“The city government has done a lot to improve
the environment and the main boulevards in the
city centre have been ‘greened up’ with trees,” Kinto
says.
“One hour’s drive away is a diverse landscape
ranging from limestone grottos to tall rocky mountains and muddy estuaries which gave birth to
many excellent mountain retreats, hot springs and
beaches.”
READY TO GO: The official opening of the CAN office (above) and the
team who will be selling and servicing out of Guangzhou.
Fond farewell for Kenny and Maggie
Staff gathered in the dining room in Dragonair House on 7 August to say
goodbye to CEO Kenny Tang and General Manager International Affairs
Maggie Yeung.
More than 50 staff joined in the fun including
General Manager Operations Peter Sanderson
and General Manager Inflight Services Christine
Liu.
Kenny thanked staff for their support during
his three-year tenure and recalled major events
that had happened during his time as CEO,
especially the integration with Cathay Pacific
and expanding KA’s regional network.
Kenny said he would also miss his office with its
lovely view of Hong Kong airport!
Kenny and Maggie also received handmade
cards and souvenirs of their time at KA.
A visit to France in 2006 led to a
sweet-smelling hobby for Flight
Attendant Benni Lam.
“I joined Dragonair in 2006 and
had the chance to visit some big
perfume factories there and saw
how tailormade perfumes are
created.
“In France it’s quite popular
for women to use a personalised
scent,” she says.
When she returned to Hong
Kong, Benni decided to try her
hand at creating some “signature”
scents.
“In Asia, wearing a personalised
perfume is not as well known but
I think Hong Kong women treasure the thought of having a special scent.
“So I ordered some oils from
the US and started experimenting,” Benni says.
The experiment was so successful that Benni began developing custom-made perfumes
and home fragrances for other
people.
“My creations are oil based and
have no alcohol which means the
aroma lasts longer,” she says.
“I start by asking people which
scents they like whether it’s flowery, fruity or woody, and how
light or strong they prefer their
perfume to be.
“Then I create a special scent
for them,” Benni says, adding that
her favourite perfume is a simple
baby powder.
Benni took part in a crew
grooming promotion on 3 August where different skincare
and cosmetic companies were invited to set up booths in the crew
lounge. She was delighted with
the enthusiastic response from
the crew.
Despite her success, Benni says
the perfume making will remain
a hobby.
“I like working as a cabin crew –
it gives me the flexibility to work
as well as indulge in my personal
interests. And I still love to travel,”
she smiles.
7
Getting to know HK
Campaign to boost PRD awareness gets encouraging response from
Though the internal information campaign on the
Pearl River Delta (PRD) has ended, staff still have a
chance to visit the area with a series of packages
designed to show the vast diversity of the region.
Run by Eternal East Tours, the theme package on
offer include visits to hotsprings, a family fun day
out at Chimelong Xiangjiang Safari Park or a visit
to Tea Stream Valley.
The packages are available until October 31
and Cathay Pacific and Dragonair staff will receive
HK$100 off every package when they show their
staff ID card.
Activities for the month-long programme
included an exhibition at both Cathay City and
Dragonair House, staff forums and a PRD quiz.
Passenger Sales Manager PRD Linda Tse says the
response from staff was encouraging.
“Staff were willing to spare the time to read the
information on the exhibition panels – we received
feedback that the future infrastructure plans
section was particularly interesting,” Linda says.
“We received close to 300 entries for the quiz
which, given the number of questions asked, is a
good response rate.
“The staff forum by Dr Thomas Chan (see
interview right) on 19 August was also well attended
and gave a good insight into the development of
the PRD. There was also an interesting interactive
Q&A session afterwards,” she says.
Inflight meals
from best in
the business
For the past few months, First and Business
Class passengers have been enjoying
dishes specially designed by the Hong
Kong Chefs Association’s National Culinary
Team.
The wide selection of Western-style
appetisers, entrees and desserts were all
created by the team who won gold and
silver medals at the 22nd IKA International
Culinary Olympics last October.
The menu will be available inflight until
October and the second phase of the
programme was launched with a press
event in August.
In order to select dishes suitable for
serving inflight, the team at Cathay
Pacific Catering Services had to work very
carefully with the HKCA to ensure the taste
and quality were not compromised.
CPCS Executive Chef Jörg Kubisz says:
“The HKCA presented 150 dishes after we
gave them general guidelines. We have
to consider ease of presentation – an
elaborate dish with 10 components is
lovely in a restaurant but the cabin crew
would find it too hard to replicate. At the
same time, we wanted to keep the look
authentic.”
After the initial day-long tasting session,
Jörg says dishes were shortlisted and then
it was CPCS’s turn to be put to the test.
“We replicated the dishes and invited
the HKCA team back in to sample and
critique them. We had already built in
certain adjustments and slightly amended
the recipes to suit the production process.”
Jörg says his favourite dishes were
“robust with strong character”.
“I like the braised dishes which require
slow cooking as they are ideal for our
cooking processes,” he adds.
PRD pleasures ... things to see and do o
Dragonair CEO James Tong
I highly recommend sampling the
chicken dishes in Guangzhou. If
you are visiting the city, just go to
any decent restaurant and order a
dish of chicken (any style), and you
will notice that they are fresh and
delicious.
Group/Leisure Sales Manager
Jacky Lam
Having worked in Guangzhou for
the past 10 years, I have found some
good shopping places which all
have a specific focus:
General Manager Sales PRD &
Hong Kong Chitty Cheung
While golf is becoming more
popular in Hong Kong, a good
course is hard to find due to
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• Furniture: Chu Kong New Town
• Pets and flowers: Fangcun Huadi Bird
Fish & Insect Market
• Toys and stationery: Wan Lin Square,
Yi-De Road
• Dried seafood and Chinese herbs: YiDe Road
• Tea: Fangcun Tea City
• Computer and IT equipment: Tianhe
Computer City
• Leather and watches wholesale:
Sanyuanli
• Apparel and trendy stuff : Tianhe City
Square or Beijing Road
space constraints so many people
opt to play outside of Hong Kong.
Roughly speaking there about 60
golf courses in Guangdong Province
so if you wanted to play golf there
every weekend it would take over a
year to try out every one!
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Inventive new team pro
TASTE TEST: Jörg Kubisz (right) and CX
Catering’s Brendan Duffy prepare the
dishes for the media event.
8
Developing innovative ideas to attract a new younger generation
was the reason the Blue Ocean
team was created at CPLP and
CIS.
General Manager CPLP &
CIS Paul Loo says when he
took up the position about
12 months ago he wanted
to ensure the Marco Polo
Club and Asia Miles target
not just current frequent flyers but also the next generation.
“We have got a group
of young talents in
CPLP, CIS, and CRD who understand
the needs of our target market,
which led to the formation of Team
Blue Ocean,” he says.
Team leader, CRM Project Manager, Elaine Lee says the name came
from the book Blue Ocean Strategy
which describes how to create new
market space, or blue ocean, rather
than competing in existing industries, known as red oceans.
Elaine meets with the other six
members – Database Marketing Coordinator Linda Lau, Database Marketing Officer Ralph Cheng, Assistant to General Manager CPLP & CIS
K’s backyard
Expert highlights
the way ahead
The rapidly developing infrastructure in the Pearl
River Delta is on track to make the region one of
the wealthiest in the world, according to China expert Dr Thomas Chan.
Dr Chan, who sits on the Central Policy Unit panel on Pan-Pearl River Delta for the Hong Kong SAR
Government, was at Cathay City on 19 August to
speak at the Staff Forum on how development in
the PRD will impact Hong Kong.
He said the railway transport system in the region will be expanding significantly over the next
two decades with the RMB370 billion Inter-city Rail
Transport Network Project scheduled for completion in 2030.
This network will connect all the towns and cities in the PRD with a one-hour commuting time
within the metropolitan areas in the region.
In an interview following the forum, Dr Chan
expanded on the impact this sophisticated infrastructure will have on the PRD saying the railway
network may lead to a fundamental change in the
aviation business in China.
“It is likely the sea-air model used by Hong Kong
International Airport to connect passengers to the
PRD will eventually be superseded by railway-air
connections.
“Unless we have convenient railway links to the
region, we may see travellers choosing to bypass
HKIA,” he warned.
At the same time, Dr Chan said Hong Kong
should be cautious when planning to increase
connections with the PRD.
“For instance, the effectiveness of the HK-Shenzhen Railway Link is in doubt given Shenzhen Airport is growing as a competitor to HKIA,” he said.
“By the same token, it is a fanciful idea to use
neighbouring airports as a type of third runway.
We should boost our competitiveness through enhancing our own capacity.”
Given that the number of inbound and outbound PRD
passengers
already surpasses that of
Hong Kong,
Dr Chan concluded
CX
should continue to develop the region as part
of its home
EXPERT ADVICE: Dr Thomas Chan. market.
m staff at Cathay Pacific and Dragonair
on your next Delta trip
Assistant Corporate Communication
Manager – Public Affairs Thomas Lau
For dining I like the Beiyuan Jiujia – an
old and famous restaurant with garden
views serving authentic Cantonese
cuisine. And the Chenguang restaurant
at the Star Hotel serves lovely congee.
The four-star Victory Hotel has been
converted from the old Shanghai
Bank Building. A stone’s throw away
from the Shang Xia Jiu Pedestrian Street
it provides a more economical choice
from the White Swan Hotel in the same
district.
Passenger Sales Manager PRD Linda Tse
Every summer many Hong Kong visitors
go to Hokkaido to see the flowers but
the Sunflower Garden in Panyu has just
as many beautiful blooms.
There are blossoms flowering here
throughout the year, and visitors will
be able to see sunflowers as large as a
human head and stroll through gigantic
fields of lavender.
Tourists can also sample the famous
sunflower chicken (fattened up with
sunflower seeds), indulge in lavender ice
cream and watch a fun pig race.
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oves its worth by floating a sea of ideas
Sarita Chan, Communications Officer Vienna
Kwan, Data Exploitation Analyst Wing Yin-siu,
and Administrative Officer Yee Ki-kwok – regularly to discuss ideas.
“Our meetings start with an initial brainstorming session on a specific topic related to
CPLP, CRM or CRD. We aren’t bound by guidelines so all innovative, out-of-the-box ideas,
implementable or not, can be heard and discussed,” Elaine says.
“Then the ideas are shortlisted, debated
and discussed before being reviewed and
finally a presentation is done at the CIS/CRD/
CPLP monthly meeting.”
Ideas which began with Team Blue Ocean
and are in the process of being implemented
include the use of mobile channels for member recognition, an Aviation Day Tour as a
Club event targeting families with children,
and contributing to the Asia Miles iPhone
application and Asiamiles.com mobile site
revamp.
“The meetings are useful for generating innovative and fun ideas, but we also know they
need to be reviewed and that sometimes the
idea would not work within the CX culture or
is too costly,” Elaine says.
“But I don’t want the group to be discouraged by the thought their idea is not implementable. I want them to be as innovative as
possible so we have a pool of ideas we can
shortlist,” she says.
Paul says Team Blue Ocean is completely
free to work on its ideas without interference
and he feels the departments have benefited
greatly by the many ideas which have been
generated.
“When I listen to the presentations by the
members of Team Blue Ocean, I feel very comfortable and confident that Marco Polo Club
and Asia Miles will continue to be very attractive to the next generation of frequent flyers,”
says Paul.
“At the same time, we are developing a
team of young talents who will become the
future leaders in the field of Loyalty Programmes and Customer Relations Management,” Paul says.
9
WHAT I DO
Great Cities aired
at ideas seminar
Emil Tam, Network
Performance Manager
What is the main part of your
job?
Deputy Chairman Philip Chen delivered a speech on
his “Great Cities” theory at the Hong Kong Convention
and Exhibition Centre on 22 August for a seminar
organised by the Hong Kong Ideas Centre.
Citing a wealth of examples of great cities
throughout history, Philip put forward a strong case
for a close relationship between hub connectivity and
economic prosperity.
The talk was followed by comments from the
three panellists – Chinese University Professor
of Geography Professor Yeung Yue-man, former
government economist Kwok Kwok-chuen and Hong
Kong Institute of Education Department of Social
Sciences Associate Professor Dr Simon Shen – and an
interesting discussion with the participants.
I manage the customer service
standards and performance of all
the Cathay Pacific and Dragonair
outports, as well as the corporate
on-time performance programme
which is overseen by Director
Service Delivery Ivan Chu.
I am also responsible for
managing resources such as
aircraft ground time and airport
manpower standards, as well as
the bilaterals such as check-in
arrangements for code shares and
interline agreements.
MEETING OF MINDS: (from left) Kwok Kwok-chuen,
Yeung Yue-man, HKIC Chairman Lawrence Fung,
Philip Chen, seminar moderator Professor Andrew
Chan and Dr Simon Shen.
What is a typical day for you?
Much of my job has to do with
numbers and data analysis. A
typical day for me is to go through
all the delay statistics and the
significant flight disruptions from
the previous days, and identify if
there are any lessons to be learned
or opportunities for improvement.
I then work with the ports
concerned to jointly review what
can be done to address the issues.
I also talk with Airport Services
Managers and Country Managers
about the optimal manpower level
for the airport – a subject which
always leads to fruitful debates!
What do you like best about
your job?
My job has a good mix of numerical
and non-quantitative elements
– for example, I interact with ports
and departments for their buy-in.
That enables me to stay abreast
of how our airports are doing
from the standpoint of customer
perception and operational
reliability.
What is the most challenging
part of your job and how do
you tackle it?
In AHQ, our main customers are the
outport Airport Services Managers
and we don’t get to meet them face
to face as often as I would like.
So it is important to keep
them informed about our latest
developments and all the policy
and performance updates.
Maintaining frequent and close
communication is key.
I would like to visit the outports
more to support the
local airport team
whenever they
want AHQ’s help.
Sometimes email is not
the best solution for
communication.
10
Feedback begins after
strong survey response
OAS findings to drive change to make CX a better business
The first presentation of findings
from the 2009 Organisational Alignment Survey (OAS) will take place at
the quarterly general management
meeting at the end of September.
Soon after, GMs and department
heads will receive reports for their areas of responsibility enabling them to
start giving feedback to their teams.
More than 80% of ground staff
across the network responded to this
year’s survey, and the OAS findings
will be used to help the airline identify
core themes and opportunities for im-
provement across the organisation.
“The 2009 results will help us understand how well we are doing on
the things that really matter – are
where we need to focus more time,
energy and resources to drive the
kind of change we need to help make
CX a better business.”
The 2009 results will help us understand how well
we are doing on the things that really matter
Chief Operating Officer John Slosar
we moving in the right direction, the
wrong direction, or not at all,” says
Chief Operating Officer John Slosar.
“It will also help us identify areas
Picking up on some of the feedback from the first survey in 2007, the
reporting format this year will be simpler and easier to understand.
The results – which will include a
comparison between 2009 and 2007
– will set priorities for action, with
staff at each level in the company encouraged to play a role in improving
how the organisation works.
“The current economic environment has created new challenges,
making it even more important for
our management teams to understand what’s working, what’s not and
what things we can do to generate
the greatest value and benefit for all
our ground teams,” says John.
10 more weeks for
10th anniversary fares
Passengers can enjoy a 10% discount on oneworld alliance
fares worldwide for a further 10 weeks from 26 August, to
further celebrate the alliance’s 10th anniversary this year.
The 10% reduction was initially offered from 1 February
– the actual birthday – until April. It was the first time for
any global alliance to offer this kind of special promotion
across its full range of consumer fares.
The renewal of the special offer marks the 10th anniversary
of the first new recruits, Finnair and Iberia , being added to
the alliance. The offer is valid from 26 August to 3 November
and applies to all oneworld’s alliance fares.
oneworld Vice President Commercial Nicolas Ferri says:
“oneworld is in business to offer more services, products
and value than any airline can provide on its own, and our
alliance fares are a classic example of this - fares covering
more destinations in more countries than any individual
airline can offer, with more flights to choose from, all on
some of the world’s best airlines.”
The alliance’s portfolio of 12 fares includes the roundthe-world fare oneworld Explorer and four multi-continent
Circle fares - Circle Pacific, Circle Trip Explorer, Circle Asia
and Southwest Pacific and Circle Atlantic.
LIVERY LATEST: The second CX aircraft to get the special oneworld livery, an A330-300, is
now in the air after arriving back from Xiamen at the end of August. The third aircraft to get
the livery, created to highlight the commitment of member airlines in the alliance’s 10th
anniversary in 2009, will be a Boeing 777-300ER being delivered from Seattle in October.
Photograph by Senior First Officer Colin Parker
Winning move as CX and KA flight training bought together
■ Third A340 parked
trainer will mean that safety training
for both airlines will also be done
under the same roof by the end of
the year.
The change is being made
possible by the subleasing of the
vacated Dragonair facility to Oxford
Aviation Academy (OAA), one of
the world’s leading pilot training
organisations.
OAA currently operates three sims
out of the CX FTC but expressed a
wish to expand in Hong Kong.
It will move its A320 and A330
sims into the KA facility and also
bring in one more from the UK due
to the creation of an extra bay. The
company’s Boeing 737 simulator
will remain at Cathay City.
“This is a win-win move for both
the CX Group and OAA, with one of
the big benefits from our point of
Sections of the Flight Training Centre
walls will be coming down this
month as a move to bring Cathay
Pacific and Dragonair flight training
under one roof begins.
On 21 September an A330
simulator will be removed from the
KA FTC and be installed later that
day in the facility at Cathay City – the
first time for a sim to be added at the
CX FTC since the 777-300ER arrived
in August 2007.
KA’s A320 sim will follow a few
weeks later, moving to its new home
in the CX FTC on 7 November.
“The consolidation of the two
FTCs will definitely give us more
synergies in terms of training,” says
Manager Simulator Training Chris
O’Dea.
The addition of a new A330 door
trainer and emergency evacuation
Briefs
The third of four A340-300s being
parked by Cathay Pacific left Hong
Kong for Victorville on 9 September. The next will leave in the first
week of October.
The airline announced in August that it is parking the A340s
and two Boeing 747-400 passenger aircraft in response to the current business downturn. The first
747 will depart this month with
the second going in January.
■
MOVING IN: Oxford Aviation Academy will sublease the vacated KA FTC.
view being that it will be a minimalcost exercise and generate revenue
for the Cathay Pacific Group,” says
Chris.
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Anything outside of the service recovery guidelines is referred to CRD,
“which is not ideal because the matter is not resolved on the spot,” says
Jessica.
Under the strategy-led initiative,
frontline staff will be empowered
and supported to resolve failures
while, post trip, MPO members will
receive more timely follow-up recovery and recognition.
“This will require a shift in service
culture with empowerment guidelines in place to enable speedy recovery action,” says Jess.
With more recovery being done
on the spot, the CRD team’s focus
will evolve to support line departments in service recovery, identify
service failures and build passenger
loyalty.
“Currently we take a reactive approach, tracking complaints handled
by CRD in Hong Kong and outports,
item that, by the second quarter of
next year, will put measures in place
to empower and support frontline
staff to resolve failures on the spot.
“Statistics show that our
service soft skills are
very strong, and that
our brand and product are excellent,”
she says.
“But when it
doesn’t work consistently we don’t
create value. Because
service failures are unavoidable in this business,
it will really make us stand out
from competitors if we can recover
quickly.”
The airline already has service
recovery and compensation guidelines in place to deal with scenarios
such as denied boarding or inflight
entertainment failures.
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calls every month
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■ Online booking lucky draw
From 25 August to 31 October,
passengers purchasing a roundtrip or one-way ticket online
for any Cathay Pacific flight
originating in Hong Kong will be
automatically entered into a lucky
draw.
The top three prizes are YCL
roundtrip tickets to Sydney,
Tokyo and Bangkok, with a host
of other CX-related prizes for the
runners-up.
Frontline staff to be empowered for more proactive service recovery
One challenge the airline faces
when something goes wrong during
a passenger’s journey is the amount
of time it can take to address the
situation.
While it’s sometimes possible for frontline managers to do some service
recovery on the spot,
it can often take days
or even weeks to deal
with passenger complaints through the Customer Relations Department (CRD).
“Loyalty means repeat business so we must focus on customer
happiness and building customer
trust,” says Jessica Chan, Head of Customer Relations.
“Proactively resolving service failures on the spot or within the trip will
certainly help to build that trust.”
Jessica is leading a strategy action
■
140,000
Following the changes the CX FTC
will house a total of 10 simulators
with an 11th – for the new 747-8F
freighter – arriving late next year.
■
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The Guangzhou-based
China Call Centre handles
an average of
Brickbats to bouquets
■
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■ Find dining partners on
OpenRice
but in future service failures and recovery will be captured and tracked
from all customer touch points and
fed back to CRD,” says Jessica.
“Together with the other customer-focused strategic initiatives we
believe this will put the focus back
on our customers and that their experience with us will be consistently
good.”
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Hong Kong-based Asia Miles
partner restaurants are now being featured on OpenRice.com,
a popular restaurant and food
commentary website.
Members can search for restaurants based on district, cuisine,
restaurant type and price range
via a dedicated Asia Miles page
which can also be downloaded
into a Blackberry or other PDA
device. Special dining offers are
featured every month.
Go to www.openrice.com/restaurant/channel/asiamiles.htm
for more information.
■
Visits provide a chance to share IT knowledge, best practices
The IMT Department organised
several visits this year to learn how
other major companies use IT in
their business practices and share
knowledge and tips with industry
colleagues.
The first visit was in February
when 24 IMT staff visited the IT section of China Light and Power (CLP).
The group was taken around CLP’s
Technology Centre for Innovation,
Data Centre and Electric Bill Printing
& Dispatching Operations Centre.
The group learned about CLP’s
initiatives to achieve their GREEN IT
strategy which is designed to help
protect the environment through
smarter use of IT.
In April, 20 staff visited the Vogue
Laundry facility in Tuen Mun to see
Asia’s largest single-site laundry
plant (pictured above).
The two teams shared experi-
ences on the application of RFID
(Radio-frequency
identification)
technology.
The final visit in July – to HSBC’s
Tseung Kwan O Data Centre – saw
the team learning more about innovative technology solutions such as
“printing anywhere”, which allows
computer printouts to be retrieved
from any printer in any office location simply by scanning the staff ID
card on the reader.
Assistant Manager Business Solutions Karen Wu says: “We gained
useful insights into how IT is used
to deliver business value in other
companies.
“This may help us to improve,
particularly in the areas of project
management, innovation, IT project governance and ‘green IT’ – all of
which are hot topics of discussion in
the IT industry.”
■ Flu advice for staff
The Corporate Medical Department has issued advice to staff
in the light of continued H1N1
and other influenza infections
throughout Hong Kong.
CMD has reminded all staff
working in CX that if sick with flulike symptoms they should wear
a mask when around others and
practice good personal hygiene
and coughing etiquette. It is also
advised to stay home until symptoms have subsided for at least 24
hours or more before reporting to
work.
Updated guidelines for employees and managers can be found on
the CMD website.
11
NEWS FOCUS
12
BANGLADESH
Cathay Pacific was named Best Offline Carrier in Bangladesh for the
second year in a row in the Monitor-Galileo Airline of the Year 2008
awards ceremony presented in August.
The awards recognise service excellence in all aspects including
inflight entertainment, cabin condition, frequent flyer programme
and cargo. They are voted on by Bangladeshi frequent flyers via a
poll conducted by travel publication Bangladesh Monitor.
Manager Bangladesh & Nepal Louis Li accepted the award from
the Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism GM Quader (right).
Louis thanked the team saying: “This award would not be
possible without the joint efforts of our passenger and cargo sales,
operations, and back office teams.”
AUSTRALIA
Aussie teams gather to bid Brian a fond farewell
Brian Davis, former Sydney Airport Services Manager, was
farewelled in style at two functions in July.
The first was a cocktail party held on 17 July and attended by
over 70 Cathay Pacific staff from the Australian Regional Office,
and the SYD Airport, Cargo and Engineering teams.
Airport staff from other Australian and New Zealand ports
were joined by General Manager Airports Peter Langslow,
Manager Customer Services & Product Russ Fortson from
Hong Kong, Country Manager New Zealand & Pacific Islands
David Figgins and Airport Services Manager Auckland Peter
Bartley.
JS&S and senior Cathay Pacific managers also
had a chance to farewell Brian at a lunch hosted by
Chairman of John Swire & Sons Bill Rothery.
BYE BYE BRIAN: Bill Rothery (back row,
third from left) at the farewell lunch for
Brian Davis (holding model plane).
FRANCE
Festive time in Paris
The Paris team has been busy over the past few months sponsoring several
high-profile events.
In July, CX Paris partnered with the Paris Cinema Festival (right) offering
special fares for passengers from Asia as well as sending out invitations to
Gold and Diamond Marco Polo Club members to attend premieres over the
13-day event.
From 16 April to18 May, CX joined with Tourism Australia for the
tourism board’s annual online campaign (below) which also linked back to
Cathaypacific.com. The campaign generated more than 50,000 clicks and
the Paris team was
delighted to see online
sales to Australia
growing by 233% in
May and 256% in June.
A-resting time for Engineering team
The Taipei Engineering team has been making good use of aircraft down time by
implementing an ongoing cabin seat refurbishment programme as part of Engineering’s
defect-free drive.
Aircraft which are being parked at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport overnight
on weekends are having defective armrests
replaced, with more than 300 seats being
processed within hours. After being
refurbished, the armrests are then installed
on the aircraft being parked at Taipei the
following week.
So far two B777-300s have received
refurbished armrests with at least five more
passenger aircraft scheduled to receive the
same treatment.
TAIWAN
As teams across the network eagerly await the first seemingly mythical “green shoots of recovery”, most for now
are happy enough just to see any sign that the worst has
come to an end.
In the United States there are indeed indications the recession is bottoming out, but that’s not helping CX much
at the moment.
Front-end demand is still way down, as many businesses continue to keep strict travel policies in place, and
American people in general are being very cautious in
their personal discretionary spending.
“Add to that an environment where all airlines are offering promotional fares and you have a very difficult operating climate,” says Senior Vice-President Americas Scott
Mowrer.
Efforts by local sales teams to diversify the customer
base have resulted in some new traffic, including in Business Class. But there are significant hurdles to overcome,
including a harsh political climate that comes down hard
on companies which are seen to be spending extravagantly.
Passenger numbers were generally high over the summer peak, especially in Economy Class, but the team was
not able to get yields up to acceptable levels – “although
that wasn’t for a lack of trying,” says Scott.
“Every airline is throwing out deals to lure those passengers who continue to travel, so it’s very, very competitive right now. However, from a glass half-full perspective,
the lower fares are helping us introduce our services to
some new customers so hopefully that will pay dividends
when fares bounce back.”
The US team decided that tough times demanded new
ideas so they have been using
social media such as Twitter
to promote the brand and
squeeze out some new business.
On a more traditional front,
there have been strategic
double and triple mile offers,
more effort put into various
Marco Polo Club initiatives,
and some capacity-controlled,
lower-priced Business Class
fares to attract people’s attention and dollars.
And this autumn will see
an extensive partnership with
The Atlantic magazine which,
in addition to traditional adverts, will have CX branding
for its “Doing Business in China” web broadcasts, hosted
by renowned journalist James
Fallows.
“This is a great channel for
us to reach potential business
travellers,” says Scott.
Despite one or two positive
signs Scott is still reluctant to
make any guess at how business will shape up in the last
quarter.
“For now we remain focused on filling the planes
without giving away the store,
at the same time striving to
maximise every opportunity
presented,” he says.
Sales blitz hits
the road
SRI LANKA
New ideas
keep glass
half full in US
Accolades from frequent flyers
The Colombo team joined up with Traveller
Global for the travel agent’s 20th anniversary
with a roadshow in July in Kurunegala.
The team, accompanied by tom-tom
beaters, gave out caps, T-shirts and notepads
to passersby who were also invited to take
part in a lucky draw to win a ticket to visit
Bangkok.
Regional radio stations drummed up
interest with consumers by providing live
updates throughout the event.
PORT PEOPLE
Seafarers ahoy!
Still hungry for business
PHILIPPINES
For a few days in August, the Manila Town Office looked like the
set of a gameshow as lucky travel agents were presented with their
prizes of electronic goods after participating in a promotional
sales drive (right).
The sales initiative helped boost sales amongst seafarer traffic
ex-Philippines and the lucky draw was open to all marine agents
who issued tickets to any CX destination from 21-31 July.
Also in Manila, five service champions – Mechanic Omar
Longakit, Ticketing Officer Miriam Fortes, Loyalty Marketing
Executive Lynette Sugay, Airport Services Supervisor Ruben Cruz
Medina and Baggage Services Supervisor Mq Benipayo – were
honoured during a lunch in late August. The staff had all received
written commendations from customers over the past few months
which was acknowledged with a gift and certificate.
Country Manager Aaron Chan and the
Passenger Sales and Cargo Sales teams
held a top agent award party on 18
July to recognise leading travel agent
partners.
Representatives from 15 passenger
agents and 10 cargo agencies
attended the event.
Entertainment was provided by a
jazz band though the highlight of the
evening was a performance by the CX
team.
THAILAND
Award night for
top agents
Ports bid adieu and hello to new managers
In Indonesia, Country Manager
Vincent Li and Martin Xu and Rick Zeng
were saying goodbye in style. The
theme there was a “Touch of Pink” with
decorations and costumes to match.
The Jakarta team, top travel agents and
Marco Polo Club members showed up in
force to farewell the trio and meet new
Country Manager Rob Bradshaw.
The three offices in Malaysia – Kuala
Lumpur, Penang and Kota Kinabalu – all
organised small receptions to farewell
Katherine Lo and
introduce new Country
Manager Patricia Hwang
to members of the travel
industry.
Finally over in India,
the CX Mumbai town
office hosted a farewell
party for Laura Hayward
and Rick Symington and
welcomed Alasdair Boyd
and Louis Li.
The evening began with the
traditional garlanding of the four,
followed by speeches and the
presentation of gifts to Laura and Rick.
The fun evening included a skit
containing hilarious anecdotes of Laura
and Rick’s time in India before Alasdair
and Louis were taught a “traditional
dance” to help welcome them to the
team.
■
INDIA
WELCOME AND FAREWELL EVENTS
Offices around the world have been
busy over the past couple of months
welcoming new managers and saying a
fond farewell to departing staff.
In Cebu, a “Hats and High Tea” event
was held to farewell Vickie Yue and
present Camilla Taylor as the new Port
Manager to staff, local media and the
travel industry.
Vickie was presented with a photo
album and collage of her time in Cebu
while Camilla received a locally made
designer purse.
In the United Arab Emirates, the team
in Dubai farewelled Country Manager
Clement Tam and Reservations staff
Himani Ahuja and Yuan Ci Ci while
new Country Manager Clement Au was
presented to the team.
With General Manager Middle East,
India, Africa & Pakistan Tom Wright in
town for the event, the team held a
summer party with colourful Hawaiian
wear setting the tone for the evening.
PHILIPPINES
MALAYSIA
UAE
INDONESIA
After serving more than 35
years with Cathay Pacific,
the UK’s Business Development Manager, James
Hancock, has a bank of
memories from his time in
the airline industry.
When James started
with CX at the tender
age of 20 there were only
eight staff in the UK office.
There are now more than
70.
His fondest memory is
from 28 years ago when
a CX plane first landed at
London Gatwick and “all
MORE TO DO: James still
of a sudden we were a big
relishes new challenges
player in the Hong KongUK market,” he says. “We
went from being a mysterious company no one really knew
about to being one of the leading airlines of the world.”
Throughout his 35 years he has relished working for CX
– “a charismatic company where everyone is treated with
respect.”
In his current role, James is looking at various ways to
broaden the airline’s footprint through business opportunities that may not have been explored before, such as
freighter charter services for music tours and Formula 1
racecars.
“Many people say they are hungry for business, but I am
starving!” says James, whose skills and experience led to
him being invited to facilitate a sales conference at Cathay
City.
Noting that while he’s achieved a lot, he says there is a
lot more he wants to do. When he’s not working he’ll continue to spend time with his family and indulge in his big
passion, rugby.
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WATERBABY:
Zu combines
diving with
educating
children about
the world’s
reefs.
Action girl Zu
Talk about playing with fire and water. Rather than relaxing
at home, Amsterdam’s Airport Supervisor Zu Den Hollander
can often be found exploring the Pacific Ocean or going up
a volcano in the heart of Asia.
Zu has never looked back since she started diving 16
years ago and now combines her favourite hobby with
both reef cleaning and an outreach programme to help
children understand the need to protect underwater life.
“It’s amazing how much rubbish and fish nets you can find
suffocating the reef life. Sometimes I feel like apologising
to the fish for invading their home,” says Zu.
Wherever she goes, Zu loves to involve children in reef
awareness by talking to them about reef conservation and
showing them her underwater pictures.
On dry land, Zu loves to explore volcanoes and
mountains. She says her favourites are Mount Kinabalu in
Borneo, Mount Bromo in Java, Mount Lokon in Sulawesi
and Vesuvius in Italy.
And even when she’s at home this active woman doesn’t
rest. Zu stays in shape with a Zumba dance workout – a
combination of movements based on Latin rhythms, salsa,
mambo, meringue and hip hop.
“It’s energetic and great fun!” she enthuses.
13
One
minute with...
Jimmy Cheng,
Engineering Trainee
1. One year on the job and
how do you feel so far?
A long way until I get to receive
my retirement fund.
2. What’s the most
misunderstood thing about
engineers?
The perception we use hammers and nails. I want you all to
note – we have evolved to using
computers.
3. Do you feel intimidated
as more women enter the
male-dominated engineering
profession?
Not at all – I’m excited about it!
4. If you could change one
part of an aircraft, what
would it be?
The tail number – I would change
it to my initials.
5. Which three words describe you?
Laid back, cool, comical.
6. Read any good books
lately?
Haven’t come across any decent
books, but CX World is always a
good read!
7. Why did you get involved
in the Pedal Kart Grand Prix
this year?
I felt the great teamwork at last
year’s race. Everyone was working
well to achieve the same goal
and that spirit of cooperation is
priceless.
8. How much work has been
done for this year’s event?
A lot but still not enough. We still
need pedallers and to raise more
money for charity.
9. Any personal targets for
the race?
Ensure every participant enjoys
the event as much as I will.
10. Your advice for first time
pedallers?
Imprint this on your mind – “Too
Fast, Too Furious.”
14
Getting to know you
The enthusiasm of cabin crew for the company’s People and Service brand campaign led to the ISD communication team deciding
to do their own internal version.
Cabin Crew Communications Manager Elaine Champion, says:
“There was a fantastic response to the marketing campaign but
they only had limited spaces available for the number of crew who
showed an interest.
“We decided to copy the idea and we also called it ‘Meet the
Team’. Of course we don’t have the same budget so we did a barter
deal with a cosmetics company and used internal resources for the
photography sessions.”
The team received 64 applications and plans to eventually feature
30 crew, four of whom are highlighted here.
Similar to the marketing campaign, the participants talk about
their personal interests and hobbies and bring in fun props to help
illustrate their stories.
“We’ve seen some very interesting things – from a favourite teddy bear, to a specially designed carrot cake and an array of cooking
utensils,” Elaine says.
“One crew was a champion rower in her university days so she
wanted to bring in a rowing machine. Of course that wasn’t possible
so she bought in about 50 medals she had won instead.”
The Meet the Team programme is being featured in the Cabin
Crew Newsletter and the Cabin Crew Team website.
“In October, there will be an exhibition in the crew lounge with all
the photos, and the crew who are featured can come and see them
and bring their families along as well. This will also give the other
staff a chance to meet them,” Elaine says.
Flight Attendant Emily Hui
I always show my best side once I’m in
my CX uniform and am friendly to my
passengers.
This attitude was learnt when I was in
the British Hong Kong Red Cross where
our motto was “help one another”.
My SSFTH stories are plentiful. Once
I was on a flight from JFK-HKG with 25
infants onboard. That was interesting
as I had a dual role of cabin crew and
temporary mother!
Senior Purser Gemma Gonzales
I’ve been working for CX for half of my
life and I have grown up emotionally,
professionally and not to mention
chronologically!
I consider CX as my family and
throughout the years of being part of this
family I always felt happy, satisfied and loyal
to it through thick and thin.
I baked a carrot cake and brought it along
today as I love to bake and carrot cake is
one of my favourites.
Flight Attendant Arleta
Tsang
Flight Purser
Benaifer Lakdawalla
When I was in school there
was a tour to go to Cathay
City. It was my first experience
of Cathay Pacific and I still
remember the warm welcome
from the CX staff.
These days I help to conduct
exactly the same school tours
at Cathay City.
I brought cooking utensils
to this photo shoot as I love
to cook.
My favourite port is Dubai
because there is a kitchenette
in the hotel room so I can cook
for my friends.
It is hard to summarise my
entire 13 years at Cathay
Pacific in a few words.
Serving tea and coffee may
seem like the most boring job but
at CX we strive to achieve far
beyond that.
Coming home exhausted
knowing that I did all I could to
make someone’s day – that is SSFTH
to me.
I am from Bombay, and I have the
travel bug. I love South America. My
first backpacking adventure was
with my husband in Peru in 1999 and
I absolutely loved it.
Taking a moment to thank volunteers
Since the CX Volunteers programme
began in 2007, staff have clocked
up more than 2,000 hours of
community service. On 26 August
the company paid tribute to their
great work and dedication.
A thank-you event was held at the blue sofa area on The Street
and Director Corporate Affairs Quince Chong praised the staff
volunteers for selflessly donating their time to help others.
“What you have done reflects the people and service culture we
have in CX and I am very proud of all of you,” she said.
During the party, staff enjoyed a slideshow and exhibition
which highlighted some of the great memories of the community
activities they’d taken part in over the past year.
Special certificates were handed out to Carol Cheung (ENV),
Penny Yang (ISD), Raymond Ng (APD) and Tony Wong (PSD) who
achieved the highest number of social service hours last year.
“The honour was so unexpected,” says Carol, adding her
favourite memory was the Christmas party organised for Tung
Chung children last year.
For Tony, helping others meant helping himself too.
“There are a lot of life lessons to be learnt when you engage in
community activities,” he says.
Staff who are interested in signing up as a CX Volunteer can go
to the CX Volunteers website on IntraCX for more details.
APPRECIATION
SHOWN: Quince
Chong (centre)
presented special certificates
to (from left)
Penny Yang, Carol
Cheung, Tony Wong
and Raymond Ng.
Final flight is a family affair
me free
les staff enjoy so
GO SRI LANKA!: Sa
la
ga
it to Kurune
during a busy vis
The CX168 flight on 12 August was a special one for the Larsen family
as Captain Kim Larsen flew his last flight after 20 years at Cathay Pacific.
Acting as First Officer was his son Robert Larsen (below).
“I joined Cathay Pacific in January 1989 and have flown the 747 Classic,
747-400 and spent the last 11 years on the Airbus,” says Kim, who is now
enjoying his retirement in Perth. “The last flight was all the more special
because my son and my wife were also there to share it with me.”
However the Larsen name is in no danger of disappearing from CX any
time soon.
”I also have
two nephews
flying at CX – First
Officer Richard
Larsen on the
Airbus and First
Officer John
Larsen on the
747-400 – so the
Larsen name will
live on at CX,” Kim
says.
time
GALA DRESS: Mumbai staff wear traditional attire to
mark the country’s Independence Day in August.
HIGH FIVE: Happy memories for Mae, Victor and Fernie
from HKG who joined staff and retirees from CX Taiwan
to climb five peaks in the Hehuanshan National Forest.
the tallest man in
TALL TALES: Crew from CX312 met
Airport.
the world at Beijing International
The Quiz
Enter our latest quiz and win a
one-night stay in a Horizon Club
Lakeview room at the Shangri-La
Hangzhou.
The hotel is located in a tranquil
secluded setting on the north shore
of Hangzhou’s famous West Lake,
overlooking Solitary Hill Island and
the Xiling Bridge.
The 382-room hotel offers health
club and recreational services including bicycle rentals to explore the lake
and the paths winding through the 40-acre property, an indoor swimming
pool, and a fully equipped Fitness Centre with gym and outdoor tennis
courts. A championship golf course is just minutes from the hotel.
Dining options include the international buffet at the Coffee Garden,
authentic Italian dishes at Peppino or Hangzhou cuisine at Shang Palace.
The winner will also have access to the facilities and services in the Horizon
Club Lounge.
Find out more at www.shangri-la.com
The winner of our second prize this month
will receive a three-night stay at Mercure
Suzhou Park Hotel & Suites with breakfasts.
The 194-room hotel is located in the
heart of Suzhou, close to the central
business district.
An international buffet is offered at
the Globe a Cafe or guests can sample
Cantonese, Huaiyang and other authentic
Chinese delicacies in the Soho Chinese restaurant.
Guests can enjoy a round of golf at the nearby 18-hole golf
course or go on a boat excursion along the lakes the city is famous for.
The hotel is also close to famous tourist attractions including the Silk
Museum, Zhuo Zheng gardens and Hanshan Temple.
Find out more at www.mercure.com
To enter, visit the online quiz entry form on the CX World site.
The deadline is noon on Friday, 9 October.
bye
Yeung says good
CHEERIO: Ricky
t.
en
ll ev
colourful farewe
to Xiamen at a
CHICKEN DELIGHT: CX Bahrain staff point out their
dishes in the port’s chicken cooking competition.
Rome team
CI: The CX
e
ARRIVEDER
and welcom
Bradshaw
ob
R
l
.
el
er
w
fare
ry Manag
lls as Count
Chris Danie
LAST OF THE CL
ASSICS: Titus
Diu peeps
out of the nose
of B-HVZ at a
farewell
event for the
freighter.
CHEERS!: The crew of CX888 relax after a long flight.
Tibetan trails
Inflight Service
Manager Lynn Chen
finds adventure and
friendship in the
heart of Shangri-La
After 12 years I was back in China to go backpacking as well as volunteering at a Tibetan
orphanage near Shangri-La.
It was a rewarding experience to chat with
the girls and realise they were much like I was
at their age. I told them fairy stories, shared
first-aid knowledge and, like kids all round
the world, they loved playing games.
After playing teacher for a week
I went back to my travels with
hiking at the top of the list
and I decided to visit Tiger Leaping Gorge – the
deepest river gorge in the
world.
It is tucked between
two snow capped mountains, Yulong and Haba, and
I did a two-day trek starting
at the upper trail and heading
right down into the gorge.
Every month, CX World invites all CX staff to tell
unusual, interesting or just downright quirky
tales of travel moments around the world.
Sponsored by Inflight Sales, the lucky
sender of the main story
receives HK$500 worth
of inflight sales products
of their choice from
the ever-changing
collection of over
260 items on offer
(excluding liquor and
cigarettes).
Go shopping at
www.cathaypacific.
com/dutyfree
16
■ Great stay by the wall
Cathay Pacific Holidays is
offering weekend packages in
Beijing with accommodation in
boutique property Commune by
the Great Wall Kempinski.
Prices start at HK$3,099 and the package
includes Economy Class round-trip tickets
and two nights’ accommodation with
breakfast.
Commune
by the Great
Wall is located
in the Shuiguan
mountains one
hour outside of
Beijing.
The property is a private collection of
unique contemporary houses designed by
12 Asian architects with 42 villas and 190
suites, four restaurants, the Anantara Spa,
Kid’s Club and an outdoor pool.
More information on Travel Desk.
■ Tiger tales
The Cathay Pacific City Guides feature Air
Crew Tips from staff, and Senior Training
Captain Andrew Tait suggests coming face to
face with tigers in Bangkok.
“You can cuddle with tigers at Wat
Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno Forest
Monastery in Kanchanaburi along the River
Kwai on a sunny afternoon (when the tigers
are too relaxed to attack),” Andrew says.
“Often, male adult tigers are around and
monks will escort you along the track, but
don’t worry – both the monks and the tigers
are really friendly and you are safe,” he adds.
To submit your own tip please go to www.
cathaypacific.com/tips.
The best staff tip for the September/October period will win a two-night stay at the
Beijing Sofitel Wanda.
WALKABOUT:
(clockwise from
above) A view of
Yulong mountain;
children from the
orphanage; a waterfall along the way to
Tiger Leaping Gorge; and
taking a well-deserved break.
During the hike, I saw some
amazing rock formations and beautiful waterfalls running through the
narrow trails.
But after six hours walking, the
best sight was a teahouse which offered an amazing view of Yulong mountain.
The fresh air, tranquility and magnificent
views were well worth the difficult hike.
I moved on to the city of Lijiang and despite hearing about how touristy the town
has become, I still found it a charming, elegant
place.
At night, just like Lan Kwai Fong in Hong
Kong, there was one street full of bars where
loud music spilled out onto the street.
During the day, I walked around the narrow cobblestone paths sampling freshly made
snacks and drinking yak yoghurt.
HK$500 for a travel tale!
Travel
bites
■ Resurrecting Ben Hur
There are also several day excursions to explore outside the town. Yulong mountain is
nearby and it is possible to take a gondola for
a closer view of the peak.
Cycling to the surrounding towns can be
another day excursion. The ancient town of
Shuhe is only four kilometres away. It is quieter than Lijiang and here you can ride horses,
go bargain shopping or sip cappuccino made
from Yunan coffee beans.
My short China adventure was very fulfilling
and left me with a desire to go back and explore even more.
Snap happy
This month’s photo shows Cape St Vincent in Portugal and was
taken by Cabin Crew Line Manager – FP & FA Steven Tsang.
“I travelled to Portugal in Easter and visited Sagres Point which
is next to Cape St Vincent, about four hours out of Lisbon,” Steven
says.
“The Cape is on the southwestern-most point of Portugal and
is a landmark for ships travelling to or from the Mediterranean.
Cliffs rise vertically from the sea to a height of 75 metres,” he says.
Steven says the Cape has been sacred since Neolithic times
when the people living in the area considered it a magical place
where the sunset was larger than anywhere else.
“They believed the sun would sink into the ocean here,
marking the edge of the world,” Steven says.
The Cape is linked to the 4th-century martyred Iberian priest
St Vincent whose body was brought ashore here. “A shrine was
erected over his grave,” he says.
The legend of Ben Hur is coming back to
life at The 02 arena in London from 17-20
September.
Designed
to coincide
with the 50th
anniversary
of the film,
Ben Hur Live
features
stunning light, sound, water, wind and
pyrotechnic effects.
The highlight is the famous chariot race
with five quadrigas competing in a neckand-neck race around the arena floor.
Visit www.benhurlive.com.
SHOW US YOUR TIPS!
CX World welcomes staff travel tips from
across the network – email us at CCD#SCT