A magazine for staff and friends of Cathay Pacific Airways Asia Miles on a roll Online, mobile focus for frequent flyers news Meet the team behind a key CX project Having fun in the sun Keeping busy on Queensland tour travel Terminal on the rise features FOP’s star snappers capture the moment Photographic appeal who, what, where Page 5 Page 8-9 Page 14 Page 16 PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER New era for HK lounges Refurbishment plans for the The Wing unveiled as latest lounge opens its doors October 2010, Issue 175 The opening of The Cabin at Hong Kong International Airport marks a step change in the airline’s lounge development in its home hub. The 1,339-square-metre space has not only introduced a range of new features, including innovative seating and new food and beverage concepts, but also enables the airline to begin a revamp of its signature lounge in Hong Kong, The Wing. As The Cabin opened its doors to specially invited passengers on 30 September, before the official opening on 11 October, Head of Product Alex McGowan revealed that a plan is already in place to begin refurbishing The Wing. “We will begin work later this month – a phased refurbishment that will begin with Level 6. The complete programme, including Level 7 Business and First Class, is expected to take around 20 months,” says Alex. “This will put further pressure on lounge space at peak times, making our investment in The Cabin all the more timely and important.” Cathay Pacific passengers now have access to four lounges at HKIA and Alex says there is an ever-increasing demand for lounge space. “Our premium passengers really value the sanctuary of our lounges. Given that both front- end passenger numbers and top- tier Marco Polo Club membership are growing, we need more lounge seating,” says Alex. “We planned the facilities in The Cabin as part of a portfolio of lounges, and we consider The Cabin to be ‘twinned’ with The Wing in a complementary way as they are only a short walk apart.” As a result, The Cabin doesn’t feature showers or the signature Cabanas, but “the refurbishment of The Wing will see a significant increase in the number of showers in First and Business Class,” says Alex. “This will ensure passengers departing from this part of the airport will be well catered for.” Also absent from The Cabin is the famous Noodle Bar, but again Alex says that this is part of the overall plan. “When we refurbish The Wing we plan to expand both the Noodle Bar and The Haven, so in planning our food and beverage approach for The Cabin we wanted to add new features that complement those already available,” he says. • See page 3 UPLIFTING MOMENT: Cathay Pacific Chief Operating Of- ficer John Slosar (below, centre) joined special guests, CX staff leaders and the “I Can Fly” members for a special graduation ceremony in Hong Kong on 18 September. A total of 100 students graduated this year and excited members threw their caps in the air to celebrate completing the six-month long aviation-oriented programme. • See page 10
Transcript
A magazine for staff and friends of Cathay Pacifi c Airways
Asia Mileson a rollOnline, mobile focus for frequent � yers
news
Meet the team behind a key CX project
Having fun in the sunKeeping busy on Queensland tour
travel
Terminal on the rise
features
FOP’s star snappers capture the moment
Photographic appeal
who, what, where
Page 5 Page 8-9 Page 14 Page 16
PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER
New era for HK loungesRefurbishment plans for the The Wing unveiled as latest lounge opens its doors
October 2010, Issue 175
The opening of The Cabin at Hong Kong International Airport marks a step change in the airline’s lounge development in its home hub.
The 1,339-square-metre space has not only introduced a range of new features, including innovative seating and new food and beverage concepts, but also enables the airline to begin a revamp of its signature lounge in Hong Kong, The Wing.
As The Cabin opened its doors to specially invited passengers on 30 September, before the o� cial opening on 11 October, Head of Product Alex McGowan revealed that a plan is already in place to begin refurbishing The Wing.
“We will begin work later this month – a phased refurbishment that will begin with Level 6. The complete programme, including Level 7 Business and First Class,
is expected to take around 20 months,” says Alex.
“This will put further pressure on lounge space at peak times, making our investment in The Cabin all the more timely and important.”
Cathay Paci� c passengers now have access to four lounges at HKIA and Alex says there is an ever-increasing demand for lounge space.
“Our premium passengers really value the sanctuary of our lounges. Given that both front-end passenger numbers and top-tier Marco Polo Club membership are growing, we need more lounge seating,” says Alex.
“We planned the facilities in The Cabin as part of a portfolio of lounges, and we consider The Cabin to be ‘twinned’ with The Wing in a complementary way as
they are only a short walk apart.”As a result, The Cabin doesn’t
feature showers or the signature Cabanas, but “the refurbishment of The Wing will see a signi� cant increase in the number of showers in First and Business Class,” says Alex.
“This will ensure passengers departing from this part of the airport will be well catered for.”
Also absent from The Cabin is the famous Noodle Bar, but again Alex says that this is part of the overall plan.
“When we refurbish The Wing we plan to expand both the Noodle Bar and The Haven, so in planning our food and beverage approach for The Cabin we wanted to add new features that complement those already available,” he says.
• See page 3
Meet the team behind a key CX project
Terminal on the rise
Page 5
A magazine for staff and friends of Cathay Pacifi c AirwaysA magazine for staff and friends of Cathay Pacifi c AirwaysOctober 2010, Issue 175
UPLIFTING MOMENT: Cathay Paci� c Chief Operating Of-� cer John Slosar (below, centre) joined special guests, CX sta� leaders and the “I Can Fly” members for a special graduation ceremony in Hong Kong on 18 September.
A total of 100 students graduated this year and excited members threw their caps in the air to celebrate completing the six-month long aviation-oriented programme.
• See page 10
2
Outlook good for company emailRollout of new communication system begins December in Hong KongWith the GroupWise system near-ing the end of its current life, In-formation Management is work-ing at full tilt on preparing for the introduction of a new email system across the airline.
The team is now � nalising details of a comprehensive training and communications programme be-fore the phased introduction of the Microsoft Outlook system begins in December.
For the past year the New Ways of Working (NWoW) team has been working to prepare for replacing the existing email platforms at CX and Dragonair – GroupWise and Lotus Notes respectively – with a single system enabling more seam-
less communication across both the carriers.
“It’s getting more and more di� -cult to � nd support for GroupWise in the market so the time is right to introduce a new platform,” says Mark Shortal, IM Head, Corporate & Back O� ce Operations.
“In addition to enhancing com-munications, both internally and externally, the new system will also bring other bene� ts such as more e� ective archiving, improved cor-
porate data security and improve-ments in terms of regulatory com-pliance.”
The Outlook system will incor-porate fax elements and support various mobile operating systems including BlackBerry.
“It will also include email archiving with centralised storage that can be accessed through web mail,” says Mark, adding that the O� ce Com-municator will enable instant mes-saging among sta� systemwide.
IMT is now ready to introduce the programme to business units in Hong Kong, and will soon start en-gagement with outports.
“We’re now in the process of selecting people for a pilot pro-
There’s been plenty of news lately about what’s happening at Cathay Paci� c. And I’m pleased to say it’s mostly been good news! The mis-erable days of early 2009 are now well behind us, and sentiments are much more positive. Our share price has re� ected these, too – re-cently it rose to its highest in more than a year.
The most important event of recent weeks was the formal sign-ing of agreements with Airbus and Boeing for another 36 aircraft – the most aircraft we have ever ordered in one go and a huge investment in the future for the Cathay Paci� c Group. Hot on the heels of that came the opening of The Cabin, our latest lounge at Hong Kong In-ternational Airport. With business tra� c climbing back to previous highs and our airline continuing to grow, it’s crucial that we o� er a quality product to our premium passengers. The Cabin is just one of a number of upcoming develop-ments that we believe will take our product to a new level.
Our network is growing too. In addition to adding two new pas-senger destinations this year we have also just announced new code-share arrangements with various airline partners that will boost our network coverage and provide a wider choice of seamless travel opportunities – another very positive development for our pas-sengers.
Add to that all the other things that are happening – from the Ca-thay Paci� c Cargo Terminal, where rapid progress is being made, to the huge e� ort being put into our Passenger Services Systems project – and it’s clear that we are laying important new foundations for the long-term success of our business.
Of course, we can’t expect ev-erything to go our way, and it was disappointing to hear recently that delivery of our new 747-8Fs will be further delayed. We were expecting to receive our � rst -8F from Boeing in January next year, with a steady stream of deliveries throughout 2011. Now, however, we’ve been told that the aircraft won’t start arriving until the summer, which means a reassessment of how we will serve the market during the � rst half of 2011.
gramme who will go through train-ing prior to participating in a trial beginning December,” says Mark.
Training programmes will be launched on Learners World from late December and will enable sta� throughout the company to become acquainted with the new system.
“This is a huge project that in-volves a complex and extensive change,” says Mark. “It will undoubt-edly bring bene� ts for sta� and the company alike, though people will have to adjust to the transition and a new way of doing things.”
IMT anticipates that the network-wide rollout will be completed by May 2011.
The CX Volunteers were thanked for all their hard work over the past year at a lunchtime appreciation party on 30 September.
More than 100 sta� showed up for the event which began with a video of the wide range of volun-
teer events Cathay Paci� c has taken part in including the “I Can Fly” pro-gramme, the various English on Air activities, fundraising e� orts and beach cleanups.
The importance of the volunteer programme was underscored by
the presence of CEO Tony Tyler and Director Corporate A� airs Quince Chong, both of whom thanked the sta� and highlighted the impor-tance of the role the CX Volunteers play in the company’s many com-munity activities.
Certi� cates of Appreciation were presented to � ve sta� with the high-est number of volunteer service hours – Raymond Ng (APD), Danny Chow (CCP), Melchi Sin (ISD), Ame-lia Fung (CPLP) and Michael Pratt (APD).
Company shows appreciation to tireless volunteers
Passengers carried 2,423,444 9.7%
Passenger load factor 84.4% 0.3pt
ASKs (000) 10,059,414 7.1%
Freight carried 149,009 13.1%
Cargo load factor 72.7% 0.7pt
ATKs (000) 2,151,294 16.1%* Figures for Aug 2010
3
Agreements signed for 36 new aircraft by 2019August’s landmark announcement on Cathay Paci� c’s � eet intentions became a reality last month as the airline inked two separate purchase agreements.
The � rst con� rmed it will buy 30 new Airbus A350-900 aircraft, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, while the second � rmed up an order for six more Boeing 777-300ERs.
Chairman Chris Pratt and Chief Execu-tive Tony Tyler met with Airbus Chief Op-erating O� cer, Customers, John Leahy to � nalise the deal for the A350s – Cathay Paci� c’s largest-ever single aircraft pur-chase – at a signing ceremony in Hong Kong on 16 September.
After the ceremony, Tony said he was “delighted” that CX had � nalised the
milestone deal, saying the purchase of the new-generation aircraft was “an im-portant step in our plan to grow our � eet to ensure that we stay at the forefront of the industry”.
John Leahy talked about the A350’s “compelling advantages”, including lower fuel-burn, reduced operating costs and a wider, more comfortable cabin.
The signing ceremony for the new 777-300ERs on 21 September was a more low-key a� air but con� rmed CX’s commitment to making the aircraft the backbone of its long-haul and ultra-long-haul � eet, with a total of 36 now ordered.
In total, the airline’s investment in the new aircraft amounts to close to HK$75 billion at book value.
SIGNED OFF: Chris Pratt (right) and John Leahy fi nalise the deal for Cathay Pacifi c’s purchase of 30 A350s.
Lounges hit new levelCathay Solus chair just one of a host of innovative features in The CabinThere are many things that stand out in The Cabin, the latest CX lounge at HKIA, but perhaps the most striking is the Cathay Solus chair.
This exclusive creation – � rst glimpsed by passengers in the re-ception but also featured in the IT Zone and the Relaxing Zone – is a chair like no other, speci� cally de-signed around the needs of individ-ual passengers.
“The � rst thing people want when they come into a lounge is to � nd a space of their own, and the Solus en-ables them to � nd a seat and spread out without disturbing others or be-ing disturbed,” says Head of Product Alex McGowan.
“With its generous space, table, power socket, coat hook and trans-parent privacy screen, the Solus pro-vides the ideal environment for pas-sengers. It is designed to provide a private space to eat, drink, work on a laptop, make a phone call, read a paper or simply relax.”
The chair, with its distinctive con-toured white shell and red leather seating, was jointly created by Ca-thay Paci� c and Foster + Partners
– the UK-based architectural � rm responsible for the overall lounge design – and was handcrafted by Poltrona Frau in Italy.
The Product team went through multiple rounds of trials with Marco Polo Club members – and the CX Rome team – to re� ne the function-ality and ergonomics.
“Our passengers really seem to appreciate the innovative and styl-ish design,” says Alex.
But The Cabin is about much more than a chair. The long, elegant space features � oor-to-ceiling windows along its entire length, giving exten-sive views over the airport apron.
Divided into � ve zones, all linked by a strip of plush red carpet, the lounge o� ers areas to simply relax or eat and drink, while the IT Zone connects passengers to the world through iMacs, PCs and 20 Wi-Fi-en-abled iPads pre-loaded with apps.
For the hungry and thirsty, The Deli serves freshly prepared food to suit the international tastes of pre-mium passengers, the Health Bar has Chinese herbal teas and juices, smoothies and alcoholic drinks, and an extensive hot bu� et provides
SITTING PRETTY: The Product team together with staff from The Cabin showcase the Cathay Solus chairs.
Strong start for CARE Team recruitment Hundreds of sta� from around the network signed up to join the Cathay Paci� c Group’s CARE Team during the � rst month of enrolment.
The 670 volunteers come from 72 departments and subsidiaries with more than 200 cabin crew, 200 outport sta� and around 60 volunteers from Dragonair sign-ing up.
“We are very happy with this response,” says Crisis Response Manager Carrie Shiu, adding that the training classes for 2010 are already � lled.
“The new training schedule for 2011 will be announced in No-vember and sta� who missed out on the 2010 classes will be able to sign up for next year,” she adds.
A second round of enrolment will also begin next year once the training for the � rst batch is almost complete.
Produced by CX’s Corporate Communication Department
Boeing has con� rmed a delay to its 747-8F programme, which will push back the planned deliveries of the aircraft to Cathay Paci� c next year.
The � rst � ve of the six 747-8Fs that were scheduled for delivery from the � rst half of 2011, starting in January, will now be delayed to the third quarter of the year.
Director Cargo Nick Rhodes said the airline was “naturally disappointed” by the delay but pleased it now has clari� cation on the revised delivery schedule.
“We will continue to adjust and manage our cargo capacity accordingly,” said Nick.
Delay for -8Fs confi rmed
Asian and Western choices.In terms of design, The Cabin
builds on the palette of other CX lounges but brings it up to date.
“There is natural granite which echoes The Wing, white marble with lineage in The Pier and outport lounges, and sustainable bamboo
– stained the same tone as our origi-nal ‘Walnut Wall’. This is a palette we will continue to work with as we progress with our other lounge plans at HKIA,” says Alex.
The Cathay Solus chair will cer-tainly be part of future lounges, “though it is currently intended
to feature less prominently than it does in The Cabin”.
Another new feature, the strik-ing Fabbian wall behind the recep-tion desk, with two rows of sparking glass tiles lit from top and bottom, will also be employed in future lounge updates.
4
S7 makes it twelve!Russia’s leading domestic carrier to join alliance in Novemberoneworld gets its 12th full member on 15 November when Russian car-rier S7 comes onboard to o� er the alliance’s full range of services and bene� ts.
The announcement was made last month and S7 is now going through the � nal stages of aligning its systems and internal processes and procedures.
The addition of S7 – which will add 55 destinations and nine coun-tries to the oneworld map – marks another key development in what is shaping up to be a breakthrough year for the alliance.
Two members elects, King� sher Airlines and Air Berlin, were an-nounced in the summer and some important developments among existing members – including a proposed transatlantic joint busi-ness between American, BA and Iberia, and the merger of the latter two airlines – are well on track.
Members on the o� cial Cathay Paci� c Facebook fan page had a chance to vote for their favourite CX aircraft image when it was decided the pro� le picture needed refresh-ing.
Asked to choose among three air-craft images, most went for the � rst option with fans saying they liked the slightly unusual angle.
This simple engagement exercise attracted more than 50,000 impres-sions, 245 “likes” and 118 comments within the � rst few days of voting as well as a raft of comments which showed how passionate the fans feel about the CX brand.
“By allowing them to participate in the decision-making process, we helped create discussion among fans and between fans and CX,” says Assistant Online Marketing Manager Ada Chan.
Another online engagement ex-ercise is the weekly Fun Fact Friday quiz which originated from a similar idea on the CX US Facebook page. The quiz started on the international page on 28 July and the India team is also developing a local version.
“So far we’ve seen a wide variety of participants who either already know a lot about CX, or are very will-ing to share their experience with us,” says Online Marketing O� cer Priscilla Chok
“Hopefully through these small-scale activities we can build a stron-ger online community for CX and allow the fans to understand more about our business and our brand,” she adds.
Obituary – Evy Lai
Colleagues were saddened to hear of the death of In� ight Ser-vice Manager Evy Lai, who passed away on 25 September.
Evy joined Cathay Paci� c on 2 September 1985 and was pro-moted to ISM in 2005.
“Evy was a cheerful and easy-going character, hard working, positive and responsible, who performed very well as a service leader,” says Cabin Crew Line Manager – ISM & SP Kevin Ip.
Cathay City visit for special Taiwan guests A delegation from the Taiwan A� airs O� ce of the State Council toured Cathay City on 21 Sep-tember, led by Vice Minister Zheng Li Zhong.
The group met with Directory Service Deliv-ery Ivan Chu who gave them a brie� ng on the airline before a tour of the facilities including the CXperience museum (right).
The tour ended with a tea gathering at Catalina’s and a souvenir presentation by Direc-tor Corporate Development James Barrington.
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oneworld Managing Partner John McCulloch said the alliance is “delighted” to welcome S7 on board.
“S7 will expand oneworld’s net-work substantially in a key region of growing travel demand, with a carrier that matches our demand-ing quality requirements,” he said.
British Airways has been sup-porting S7 through its 18-month alliance implementation project, as its oneworld sponsor airline.
Extensive employee training and communications programmes are
NEW PARTNERS: Tony Tyler met with S7’s Vladislav Filev in Moscow in the run-up to the Russian carrier becoming a full member of one
Survey points way ahead for internal communication
now underway at S7 to ensure it can provide oneworld customer services and bene� ts across the al-liance from its joining date.
On a recent trip to Russia for CX’s
Moscow inaugural, Chief Executive Tony Tyler met up with Vladislav Fi-lev, head of the S7 group, to � nd out more about the Russian carrier and discuss its entry into oneworld.
EVOLUTION: CX World has changed its look several times.
CX Facebookfans make voices heard
More than 950 sta� took part in the Internal Communications Survey with some interesting ideas being raised about how communications can be improved to reach out to colleagues around the network.
The survey was run on IntraCX from 19 July-6 August and asked an extensive range of questions about every corporate internal communi-cation tool, from CX World to Daily News and the Friday Telex.
In general, 45% said internal communication tools were “very e� ective”, while 42% said they were “adequate”. Daily News was consid-ered the most e� ective communi-cation tool by 76% of respondents.
Comments and suggestions in-cluded using email or even SMS to update sta� on important com-pany messages rather than only on IntraCX. This was especially re-quested by non-o� ce sta� .
More platforms for informal feed-back such as meetings, internal chatrooms and online fo-rums were also re-quested.
For CX World, 70% said it was “moderately e� ective” as a communi-cation tool, with company news, news in brief and the travel feature being the most popular sections.
Again, comments highlighted the new technology available now with suggestions that the on-line version should be made more prominent and even to make it readable on an iPad or Kindle.
Finally, respondents said the overall look of Daily News was “just right” (82%) with 70% saying the number of items was “right”, though 71% said they skim the headlines.
Suggestions were made for an ar-
chive of Daily News items to be cre-ated, and more photos and video links to be included on IntraCX.
“I was pleased to see the high number of sta� who participated in the survey and the fact that, overall,
sta� think we are doing an e� ective job in communicating with them,”
says General Manager Corpo-rate Communication CK Yeung.
“There were some very innovative ideas
raised and suggestions for improvement. We are
currently looking at ways of revamping our internal
communication tools and these ideas have certainly pro-
vided us with some guidance on the direction sta� would like
us to take,” he adds. As an added incentive a lucky
draw was held with the grand prize of a dinner for two people at Feast at EAST, being won by Yun Hung-huen (CGO), while a further 10 sta� won a pair of one-day entry tick-ets to visit the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.
5
New kits are fi rst class all the wayMale passengers in First Class are now receiving an exclusively designed bag from luxury Italian brand Ermenegildo Zegna, while the new amenity kit for women is the work of Vietnam-based brand Ippa-Nima.
Both appeared onboard from the beginning of October.
The stylish Zegna bag is � lled with Sandalwood Anti-Age Face
Cream, Sandalwood Facial Mist and mint
lip balm by anoth-er Italian pres-tigious brand,
Acca Kappa.
■ Infl ight sales promotions
Discover the Shop is o� ering various promotions from October to December, including a lucky draw entry for every buying two or more L’Occitane products in a single purchase.
Prizes include tickets to Paris and hotel accommodation.
Meanwhile, passengers buying the new Alfred Dunhill reversible belt may get lucky and win return tickets on CX or the chance to spend HK$50,000 in The Home of Alfred Dunhill in Hong Kong.
■ Taipei 101Another � ight is being added on the Taipei route with e� ect from the winter schedule, meaning that CX will o� er a total of 101 � ights a week to Taiwan’s capital.
Details of the new � ight are as follows:
CX466 HKGTPE 1340/1515CX467 TPEHKG 1510/1655
■ Flu campaign beginsCathay Paci� c is once again sponsoring a seasonal � u vaccine programme for sta� and eligible dependants in Hong Kong.
In partnership with Qual-ity HealthCare Medical Services (QHMS), the Ra� es Medical Group and Dr Vio & Partners, vaccines are being o� erered at HK$20 per person, compared to the market price of HK$160-250.
Vaccinations are on o� er until supplies are exhausted from listed designated clinics in Hong Kong – more details at the QHMS web-site or on the Corporate Medical Department site on IntraCX.
■ Fuel surcharge up Following approval from the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Depart-ment, CX has raised its passenger fuel surcharge for the month of October.
The new rates are HK$100 for short-haul services and HK$506 for long-haul – rises of 3.1% and 5.2% respectively on the previous month.
Briefs
More than
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receiving an exclusively designed bag from luxury Italian brand Ermenegildo Zegna, while the new amenity kit for women is the work of Vietnam-based brand Ippa-Nima.
Both appeared onboard from the beginning of October.
The stylish Zegna bag is � lled with Sandalwood Anti-Age Face
Cream, Sandalwood Facial Mist and mint
lip balm by anoth-er Italian pres-tigious brand,
Acca Kappa.
Online and mobile the focus for new applications for members
Asia Miles on the moveThe past few months have been good for Cathay Paci� c Loyalty Programmes (CPLP) with the team launching several new applications in quick succession and picking up two awards over a two-week pe-riod.
For the sixth year in a row, Asia Miles scooped the Best Frequent Flyer Programme award from Busi-ness Traveller Asia-Paci� c on 10 Sep-tember, while the Asia Miles iShop was presented with the Web Mar-keting Association’s Outstanding Achievement in Web Development (Shopping Standard of Excellence category) on 17 September.
Asia Miles iShop has been a suc-cess story for CPLP since it launched in May 2009.
In September, new functions were added to allow members to view their transaction history, bookmark favourite merchants and get gift suggestions.
The current list of 1,500 merchants are from nine countries, with Ger-many, Spain and Ireland set to come on board in the next few months.
General Manager CPLP & CIS Paul
Loo says: “Since the Asia Miles iShop launched, more than 5,700 mem-bers have taken part and we had just over 1,000 transactions in Au-gust alone. But the most signi� cant number is the half-a-million miles earned in August.
“Clearly members are getting on board and realising if they are making online purchases anyway, then they might as well go through iShop and earn Asia Miles at the same time,” he adds.
Also in September, the team added Google Maps to Hong Kong dining part-ner pages and a second mo-bile game – Travel City – was launched.
“The trend worldwide is clearly towards mobile and on-line applications and facilities, and we are � nding more ways to use these tools to engage mem-bers,” Paul says.
“When you go on public transport these days you see people playing on their phones all the time – so why not an Asia Miles game?” he adds.
new Marco Polo Club members were signed up by cabin crew in August
Discover the Shop is o� ering various promotions from October
research showed that we had a sig-ni� cant passenger feed to Portland and Seattle – neither of which could be served through our existing ar-rangement with American Airlines.”
The fact that three new code-share arrangements came so close together is not a coincidence, says Liza.
“A system freeze has just been put in place for PSS, so we had to � nalise as many new partner arrangements as possible while we still had the op-portunity,” says Liza.
Inside the handmade Ippa-Nima bag, female passengers will � nd Man-darin Facial Hydrating Cream, Rosehip Lip Moisturiser, Bitter Orange Astrin-gent Toner and Resurrection Aroma-tique Hand Balm by Australian-based brand Aesop.
In order to keep the brands featured in Cathay Paci� c amenity kits fresh, especially for frequent travellers, the products are reviewed on an annual basis with passenger preferences, trends and products lines all being considered.
Assistant Manager Product Carol Sun says: “The product brands should be compatible with CX’s brand propo-sition – reliable, inspirational, and per-sonal. For First Class, we look for sophis-ticated brands of exceptional quality.
“Our research suggests females pas-
sengers have a greater level of interest in the skincare products o� ered. They like products which are not readily available in mass distribution channels and there is an aspirational value at-tached.
“Men, on the other hand, are more practical and look for brands that are can provide them with easily identi� -able bene� ts in� ight,” she adds.
The team works with the brand part-ners to select items which work best in-� ight. New product lines are looked at and passenger comments, which high-light lip care and face moisturiser as es-sential, are key factors when deciding.
“Skincare products that can help with skin hydration are the best – they help passengers look refreshed and re-vitalised no matter how long they have been � ying,” Carol says.
FIRST CLASS LUXURY: Carol showcases the new amenity kits.
Next up, expect more mobile and
online interaction from the CPLP team.
“We are launching Asia Miles membership cards for smartphones, allowing members to have their membership number handy even if
then they might as well go
bile game – Travel City – was
“The trend worldwide is clearly towards mobile and on-line applications and facilities, and we are � nding more ways to use these tools to engage mem-
“When you go on public transport these days you see people playing
Next up, expect more mobile and
online interaction from the CPLP team.
“We are launching Asia Miles membership cards for smartphones,
WINNING STREAK: Paul Loo (second from left) and Kenny To, Steve Rackstraw and Jenny Ho from the CPLP team pictured with the Business Traveller award. The team is working on making Asia Miles cards available on smartphones (left).
they don’t physically have their card with them,” Paul says.
“And the non-air redemption web-site will be revamped to provide more ‘push’ aspects such as tracking mem-bers’ previous redemption items and recommending similar items when they appear,” he adds.
Code-share agreements bolster worldwide networkCX has been busy bee� ng up its net-work through the addition of new code-share arrangements with car-riers in Japan and North America.
In the space of just a couple of weeks, the airline announced an en-hanced code-share with oneworld partner Japan Airlines, and new ar-rangements with US carrier Alaska Airlines and Canada’s WestJet.
The JAL code-share, e� ective from 31 October, will see CX � ights be-tween Hong Kong and six airports in Japan carrying the “JL” code.
And JAL’s � ights between Narita and Hong Kong and Haneda and Hong Kong will carry the “CX” code.
A further announcement on ex-tending the CX/JL code-share on do-mestic routes and behind/beyond the two carriers’ gateways in Hong Kong and in Japan was expected as CX World went to press.
The launch of code-share services with Alaska and WestJet has added another eight destinations to CX’s North American network.
The “CX” code has gone on Alaska
� ights between Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver and the cities of Seattle and Portland, while in Canada CX passengers can now travel seamlessly on WestJet � ights from Toronto and Vancouver to Cal-gary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa and Winnipeg.
“We’ve wanted to expand in Can-ada for some time and the arrange-ment with WestJet provided us with the opportunity,” says Manager Alli-ance & Revenue Planning Liza Ng.
“For the Alaska code-share, our
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Letters to the Editor
management services provider, and we will do our very best to ensure the aircraft is not allowed to rust away.
As to whether Niki should be open for public viewing, we do not recommend this, mainly due to safety concerns. In addition, there would be cost implications in terms of insurance and guards.
On balance, we would prefer this wonderful aircraft simply re-mains on display for all who visit Cathay City to enjoy.
Russell Davie, General Manager Operations, adds: Unfortunately, the suggestion for Niki to be � own would be problematic for several reasons.
The costs of maintaining Niki in � ight-worthy condition would be high and there is no air-con-ditioning on board which, in the Hong Kong climate, would make for an unpleasant � ight.
And there are air space restric-tions in Hong Kong which mean
Niki takes to the skies?Since 2006, the Douglas DC-3, “Niki”, has been parked in front of Cathay City.
The aircraft � ew to Hong Kong for the airline’s 60th anniversary and has been outside the build-ing ever since.
As an aviation-minded person, it is painful to see this wonderful aircraft being parked and rusting away, when it is actually possible to get it in the air.
Scenic � ights, reward � ights for our Marco Polo Club members or even � ights to/from Macau are some of the many possibilities.
Cheuk Tang, ISD
John Arnold, Manager Property & Services, replies: Niki is regu-larly maintained and cleaned by Jones Lang LaSalle, our facilities
Send us your feedbackWe welcome feedback from anyone in the CX network on any issue a� ecting 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.
a Buddy Pass system for friends and family as many major carri-ers do?
Brian Young, ISD
Bob Nipperess, Employee Ser-vices Manager, replies: Our abil-ity to enter into ID travel agree-ments is dependent on being able to exchange tickets with the other carriers.
In the case of the low-cost car-riers mentioned, they are gener-ally ticketless and therefore they cannot accept our paper tickets nor can we accept their ticketless documents.
We are hopeful that when the CX sta� travel scheme switches to e-tickets next year we will be able
to revisit the question of agree-ments with “ticketless” carriers.
For the second question, carriers have varying schemes with di� erent nominee op-tions which re� ect the norms of the country in which the carrier is based.
In the Cathay Paci� c sta� travel scheme we already pro-vide opportunities for more cat-egories of travellers than most other carriers o� er. For example, we include parents-in-law as a nomination category which few other carriers do.
We believe that our compan-ion scheme already provides a “buddy” option as the travel nominee does not need not be a relative.
Low-cost partnersWhy don’t we have interline agreements with low-cost car-riers, for example Southwest and Airtran, Jetstar and Virgin Blue? These carriers provide a large number of � ights in North America and Australia.
And in the June issue of CX World, Bob Nipperess respond-ed to a query about group dis-counts for friends.
Can I ask why we don’t have
Low-cost
Star letter
The online pollLast month we asked: “Would you like company messages to be texted to your mobile phone/PDA?” You answered:
0 20 40 60 80
Yes, great way to make sure I receive important news in a timely fashion
Only if the news is important
No, it’s too intrusive
%
Check out the CX World website and Daily News on IntraCX for next month’s poll question.
Service withheart
“I really do think that the new market-ing campaign based around your cabin staff has helped to bring the level of already good service on your planes to another level of excellence over the last six months or so.
As a cus-tomer you can really see and feel the pride your cabin team has in your service levels and in being a part of the Cathay Pacifi c brand.
As a frequent fl yer I really do value the lengths your team goes to recognise me in a very sincere and special way.
A good example of this was on my fl ight back to Hong Kong from Tokyo on CX505 where your staff made me feel special in a very personal way at check-in, at the boarding gate and then again in the cabin.
It is truly differentiated relative to many other carriers that I have fl own recently – and reluctantly!
I am sure this is creating a wonderful platform of growth for Cathay Pacifi c and you can count on my ongoing loy-alty.”
A passenger praised the level of excellence and rec-ognition from Cathay Pacifi c staff to customers.
A passenger checking-in at Kowloon Station praised the assistance and patience of Supervisor Eric Yui.
“On 29 August, my wife and I checked in at Kowloon Station and we had a lot of questions about luggage and personal belongings.
Although we asked many questions Eric patiently answered them all in a friendly, conscientious manner.
He plainly is a person who does his job wholeheartedly.
His helpful suggestions also ensured that our luggage didn’t exceed the maxi-mum weight and we left reassured that the luggage was in good hands.
Eric showed that helping others sin-cerely can make a big difference and is the reason why Cathay Pacifi c is our fi rst choice when travelling.”
we can’t just � y whenever and wherever we want.
Coupon confusion I recently listed myself in Business Class for a trip to Australia. Upon check-in I was told that there were no Business seats available, but Economy was open.
So why is it that I still have to surrender my Business Class tick-et, and then go through the rig-morale of applying for a refund?
Would it not be easier for all in-volved to be able to hand over an Economy Class ticket if you have one?
Dan Clothier, FOP
Bob Nipperess, Employee Ser-vices Manager, replies: We ac-knowledge the existing arrange-ments are not very user friendly
or convenient.This is because the current
sta� travel system has limita-tions which a� ect our ability to accept alternative coupons to those used in the listing/registra-tion process after registration.
If you ask to swap the coupon at the time of registration we can do so. However, we cannot accept swaps of coupons after registra-tion because it would require re-entering the replacement cou-pon details into the system, and this would be at the busiest time when they are trying to board sta� ahead of � ight closure.
Hopefully this arrangement will be consigned to history when the new sta� travel system is introduced in late 2011.
Who’s calling?Sometimes there are missed calls on my mobile that shows an un-familiar extension number.
While it is possible to search on IntraCX if the number is reg-istered under a colleague’s name, we often end up with no results if the telephone number is from one of the common usage areas, such as the airport service desk or a meeting room.
Would it be possible to add thase kind of numbers to the telephone directory and make them searchable on IntraCX?
Name withheld
Daniel Chan, Portfolio Manag-er (Corporate and Back O� ce Operations), replies: The Cor-porate Directory system provides sta� contact information, while information such as Conference Room numbers, is kept in a sepa-rate system called Phone Book.
As there is no linkage between the two systems, it is not possible to search for non-sta� informa-tion in the Corporate Directory.
However, we appreciate your suggestion and will consider it for future Corporate Directory/ Phone Book upgrades.
six months or so.
being a part of the Cathay Pacifi c brand.
7
KA PEOPLE
The entry area outside Dragonair House was a sea of colourful um-brellas on 13 September as aspiring � ight attendants lined up in the hot sun for a chance to join the Drago-nair cabin crew team.
Such was the keenness of the ap-plicants, the � rst started lining up at 4.30am for a ticket and by 11.30am the 1,200 quota had been � lled.
KA Manager Training & Recruit-ment Sabrina Chum says: “At least 1,275 people showed up for about 50 positions and we conducted 1,079 initial interviews.
“We were looking for a proactive and positive attitude, a good per-sonality and strong communication skills. We also want team players who are open minded and willing to take challenges,” she adds.
In the leadup to the recruitment day, local Hong Kong media were invited to a training session with the current class of inductees.
Representatives from the In� ight Services Division, trainers and the recruits talked about cabin crew responsibilities, the challenges and
Good listener
As a � ight attendant you are serv-ing di� erent customers every day, as well as working with a di� erent team of colleagues, so good com-munication skills are essential.
You need to take into account that passengers come from a huge variety of cultures.
Many of our passengers are Chinese, but even they come from di� erent backgrounds – from the Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan – so they have di� erent ways of communicating and di� erent expectations.
This was the most valuable lesson I learned during my time as a � ight attendant – to be comfort-able in talking to people from dif-ferent backgrounds and countries.
I also learned about good ser-vice and to be professional in my approach at all times.
Now that I’m involved in recruit-ing and training � ight attendants, this is the message that I really want to get across to the young people who join the Dragonair cabin crew community.
My role is to look for the right people – young men and women who are � exible, open-minded, willing to accept new ideas, easy to get along with, who understand what customer service is, and are willing to develop themselves.
I joined Dragonair in its � rst year of operation. The training was very intensive, but everything was new to me so I found it fascinating.
In those days Dragonair had one aircraft – after each � ight we’d all go out to eat together and share our experiences.
Cabin crew recruitment in full fl ow
an unfamiliar check-in system to tackle,” Henry says.
“We also conducted profes-sional training and brie� ngs for the ground sta� who don’t have the same level of experience in han-dling international � ights.
“But team morale is high and I am proud of the way they came together to overcome the di� cul-ties,” Henry adds.
Manager Revenue China, Tai-wan, Africa, Groups Patrick Yu says: “We’ve seen load factors growing since the launch on 15 September, though the short lead time did im-pact sales at the start.
“However loads on the route picked up over the National Day holiday peak, which was an en-couraging sign,” he adds.
With only one daily � ight to Hon-gqiao and 16 to Pudong, Henry says the same airport team is being rotated between the two facilities to allow the workload to be bal-
Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang gave Dragonair’s new service to Shang-hai’s Hongqiao Airport the seal of approval on 30 September, when he took KA858 to the city.
He was in Shanghai to help cel-ebrate the agreement between the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the Hong Kong SAR Government to add Hongqiao as a destination for scheduled air services between Hong Kong and Mainland China.
Dragonair launched its service on 15 September with a cake- and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the airport hosted by CEO James Tong and attended by key airport au-thority o� cials.
Airport Services Manager Henry Zhou says the airport team had only one month to prepare, which was a challenge in itself.
“There were concerns with the resourcing at the outset as well as
the training programme. The trainees themselves admitted
being a cabin crew was not as easy as they originally thought.
“There are so many things to learn. Besides serving meals to pas-sengers, there are a lot of small de-tails that need to be looked after,” says trainee San Tsui.
“We also need to have excellent memories, because there are so many di� erent items on board, from meal trays to blankets, pillows or
anced among the sta� . “The strangest thing is that the
o� ce space we have been given at
Hongqiao is exactly the same one that we used eight years ago. It’s like coming home!” he says.
HONGQIAO TAKEOFF: Henry Tang (centre) was joined by Hong Kong Sec-retary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng and Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng for a celebration to mark the new air services.
Solid start for Hongqiao route
even diapers, and we have to memorise where they are on the aircraft,” she adds.
Tommy Tang recalls that several classmates were upset when they learned they had to try out the evacua-tion slide. “We all had to go down it and it is three storeys high,” he says.
Tommy says at the interview he memo-rised all the interviewers’ names which he thinks helped him get the job.
“I was able to thank them all one by one by name before I left!” he says.
FRESH FACES: Media reports on the cabin crew training (right) and applicants lining up outside Dragonair House.
Dragonair took the Best Regional Airline honour at the 21st Annual TTG Travel Awards held on 7 October.
The recognition comes on top of the “World’s Best Regional Airline” honour from Skytrax which was presented to the airline in May.
STOP PRESS!
Sabrina Chum, Manager Cabin Crew Training and Recruitment
In March, Dragonair launched a campaign asking sta� from around the network to submit interesting stories about their work experience at the airline.
Over the next few months, CX World will be featuring several sta� from “The Heart of Drago-nair – KA People Stories” cam-paign.
The region’s best!
even diapers, and we have to memorise where they are on the aircraft,” she adds.
Tommy Tang recalls that several classmates were upset when they
10
‘I Can Fly’ 2010 programme ends with a fi nal fl ourishSpecial graduation ceremony held for 100 Hong Kong youngstersPaper graduation caps were tossed in the air as members of Cathay Pa-cifi c’s fourth “I Can Fly” celebrated completing the six-month long pro-gramme at a ceremony at Cityplaza in Hong Kong on 18 September.
The event was hosted by Chief Operating Offi cer John Slosar who was joined by Secretary for Labour and Welfare Mat-thew Cheung and Director-General of Civil
Aviation Norman Lo. During the programme, the 100
“I Can Fly” members visited aviation facilities in Hong Kong, attended a training camp and ground school training, and were responsible for designing and delivering a social service project.
The fi nal part was an overseas visit to either the FTA fl ight training
One of the most common topics in CX World’s Feedback page concerns annual FOCs – free-of-charge tickets – and their availability.
To provide some background, seat availability (the sale or release for non-revenue use) is controlled by the Revenue Management De-partment through inventory control measures and a system called PROS, which stands for Pricing & Revenue Optimization Software.
To help staff gain a better un-derstanding of the issues, CX World asked Employee Services Manager
WHAT I DO
school in Adelaide, the Boeing fac-tory in Seattle, the Airbus assembly line in Toulouse or the Civil Aviation University of China in Tianjin.
First Offi cer Bill Gemmell says his favourite part was the classroom learning session during the camp.
“It was a chance to teach them about aerodynamics and meterol-
ogy which is the main crux of why we were there,”
Bill says. “I think it’s im-
Bob Nipperess and the team in Rev-enue to provide answers to the most frequently asked FOC questions.
Why can we not see the actual seats available on a � ight instead of the tra� c lights? Other airlines show their sta� this information. The traffi c light system was devel-oped to provide staff with a quick and easy way to check the status of a particular fl ight. Actual seat counts (up to a pre-defi ned limit) are avail-able for reference.
How accurate are the tra� c lights?The traffi c lights are accurate and indicative of the booked loads on a particular fl ight at a particular mo-ment in time. It is important to un-derstand that it does not represent the loads we expect at departure, which may be signifi cantly diff erent.
Why can’t my Priority 11 FOC ticket be con� rmed if all classes are show-ing “green” tra� c lights?The traffi c light system refl ects the current booked loads whilst avail-ability (and the ability to confi rm your FOC) is based on factors such as forecasted loads, origin and des-tination and fare levels.
As a guiding principle, our prior-
ity is to reserve a suffi cient number of seats to meet the forecasted de-mand for fare-paying passengers.
Only when demand from fare-paying passengers is satisfi ed, or we don’t expect demand to be suffi -cient to fi ll up the fl ight, will seats be available for FOC confi rmation. How are waitlisted bookings cleared? Waitlisted bookings are reviewed once a pre-defi ned set of criteria are met. I held con� rmed FOC bookings but on the day of travel I was downgrad-ed. Why is this?Even though you are confi rmed, the fl ight situation on the day of travel may necessitate the need to down-grade you to accommodate revenue passengers. If I have a Priority 11 FOC Business Class booking, can Cathay Paci� c take a fare-paying passenger there-by forcing me down to Economy?If the passenger is also holding a confi rmed Business Class reserva-tion, they will be accommodated ahead of you and this may mean you being downgraded to Economy.
However, if your booking is con-fi rmed, we will accommodate you
in your booked class (or if necessary upgrade you) before accepting a revenue “go-show” customer – that is, someone without a confi rmed booking or a customer who wishes to pay for an upgrade on the fl ight.
I held a waitlisted booking and it re-mained uncon� rmed up to the day of departure. However, all tra� c light indicators were “green.” Was something wrong with the system?The traffi c light system is only in-dicative of the current booked loads whilst availability is based on factors such as fare level and fore-casted departure loads.
Although we strive to keep our forecasts accurate and seat spoilage to a minimum, there are instances where our forecasts deviate from our expectations due to some ex-ceptional circumstance.
It is not our intention to unneces-sarily withhold FOC bookings but rather to reserve suffi cient seats to meet the demand for fare-paying passengers.
PROVIDING CLARITY: Bob Nipperess
TIME TO SOAR: John Slosar, Matthew Cheung and Norman Lo (centre) were joined by “I Can Fly” staff leaders for the fi nal part of the graduation ceremony (above). A happy member had her T-shirt autographed (right).
portant for the kids to have a chance to meet us and help them develop their interest in fl ying. I would have loved to have taken part in a pro-gramme like this when I was young-er,” he adds.
ICM Offi cer Kitty Hui says this was the fi rst time she has been a staff leader for “I Can Fly”.
“I liked having a leadership role in the programme and helping in the organisation. I loved playing group games with the kids!” she says.
Earlier in the ceremony, three members shared their experiences and memories of the friends they had made.
A video presentation was received with cheers as members recalled fa-vourite moments that had made the programme so enjoyable.
TIME TO SOAR: John Slosar, Matthew Cheung and Norman Lo (centre) were joined by “I Can Fly” staff leaders for
What is the main part of your job? I work in the Occupational Health Unit of CMD and my main respon-sibilities are identifying medical issues which could impact on our employees, the workplace or our passengers, and developing Company Medical Standards and Policy and Procedures to protect employee and passenger health and safety.
I provide recommendations/advice to managers regarding the medical impact of various problems on the workplace or employees, including � tness for duty, job modi� cation, accommo-dation or extended absences.
Together with our team of Occupational Health Special-ists I develop and implement health promotion and education programmes for our employees. I also work closely with the medi-cal plan administrator to clarify any questions or complaints from employees regarding the plan.
What is your background? I studied medicine at the Uni-versity of Stellenbosch in South Africa and worked as a general practitioner until we moved to Hong Kong in 2001.
My husband is a pilot and that sparked my interest in aviation medicine. I started working at Cathay after completing a Di-ploma in Aviation Medicine and Certi� cate in Occupational Health through Otago University.
What do you like best about your job? There are always new and interest-ing cases or issues that arise and it keeps my work challenging.
What is the most challeng-ing part? We are a small unit and deal with many di� erent issues on a daily basis. I have to use my time wisely and prioritise jobs to ensure all tasks are completed. Luckily I have a great team to support me in this.
There are also constant advanc-es in the � eld of medicine and it is important to keep up to date with medical developments and industry best practice.
Dr Valni Haughton, Company Medical Offi cer
More information on how to book seats and other details of sta� travel policies and how the sta� travel system works can be found on Travel Desk.
11
Staff snappers take world viewWinners of the Cathay Pacific Snap and Share photo competition revealed The Cathay Pacific Snap and Share staff photo competition attracted a wide range of photos from around the network showing diverse cityscapes, cultural activities and favourite moments.
The competition, which was organised by the Online Marketing Team to get interesting pictures to help illustrate the CX City Guides on Ca-thaypacific.com, ran for a month from 10 August and attracted 1,188 submissions from 245 staff. Divided into three categories – Hong Kong, China and Rest of the World – staff were given free rein to submit mul-tiple entries as long as the location was on the CX network.
“I was impressed at both the quality and quantity of the pictures we received,” says Online Marketing Manager Ali Bullock, who also selected the winners in each category. “We certainly have some very talented photographers at CX!”
With a whole world to choose from, staff got very creative submitting a wide variety of pictures from bird lovers taking their pets out in Kun-ming to fireworks exploding over Vancouver, while the most unusual shot had to be the giant Miffy doll in Amsterdam.
WINNER: “Tsing Ma Bridge from Ma Wan” by Analyst Programmer Alan Chan. “The lit-up Tsing Ma bridge in Ma Wan shows a calmer, different side of bustling Hong Kong. There’s a good affect of the lights reflecting off the water against a dark sky.”
HONG KONG
Second: (left) “Central” by Analyst Programmer Billy Lau. Third: (above) “Victoria Harbour” by Cus-tomer Services Officer Max Lam.
WINNER: “JinShanling Great Wall” by Flight Purser Johnny Wong. “This is a classic shot of the Great Wall that highlights its timeless beauty. Viewers know instantly what the picture represents.”
MAINLAND CHINA
WINNER: “Skyline of Sydney” by Second Officer Lok Lee. “A fantastic view of the famous skyline just as the sun is going down. There’s a beautiful contrast between the darkening sky and the lit-up buildings.”
REST OF THE WORLD
Second: (left) “London Big Ben” by Vancouver Basing Ad-ministrator Simpson Cheung. Third: (right) “Beach in Perth” by Production Design Officer Ruby Chan.
Second: (left) “Another Day, Another Meal, Yunnan” by ICM Offi-cer Coach Karen Yung. Third: (above) “Zhou Juan” by Purchasing Executive Tina Tam.
12
PAK
ISTA
NSR
I LA
NKA
Needy kids receive a helping hand The Flying Wheelchair group in Japan donates wheelchairs to disabled children in developing countries after they have been repaired by students at a Japanese technical high school.
Cathay Paci� c helped deliver the wheelchairs to the Franciscan Centre for special children in Karachi after being approached by Aisha Steel Mills Executive Director Yoshikazulla Uda.
Agents relish the chance to enjoy amazing ThailandSeven travel agents from Colombo took part in a � ve-day familiarisation tour of Thailand which included a Flight of the Gibbon Adventure Tour and a shopping trip in Bangkok.
The Flight of Gibbon trip saw the agents soaring through the rainforest attached only to a cable while, back on the ground, the group visited Chanthaburi, Koh Chang and Pattaya and the key tourist areas around Bangkok.
“The tour was a memorable experience for our agent partners. They have been doing a great job selling Thailand to our passengers so we wanted to extend the opportunity to experience the wonders of Thailand for themselves,” says Passenger Sales & Marketing Manager Ruhan Abbas.
IND
IA
Special achievement celebratedDelhi Aircraft Engineer C Manigandan was delight-ed to receive CX authorisation for him to certify A330/340s after a lengthy process of nine months of training and exams.
To celebrate, he generously took the entire Delhi Engineering team out for dinner in September. Incredibly, it was also the � rst time the team have managed to � nd the time for a gathering this year as they have all been busy with shift work and training.
Team raring to go for launch of Haneda fl ightsWith the relaunch of CX � ights to Tokyo’s Haneda airport rapidly approaching, the airport team is working hard to become familiarised with the new facilities and ensure the launch is as smooth as possible.
The new international terminal is scheduled to open on 13 October, only a couple of weeks before the 31 October � ight commencement.
“We need to be very familiar with the new terminal and understand the experience our customers will have when we start services,” says General Manager Japan Simon Large.
“This includes understanding the layout and how the passenger � ows will work, trying to ensure that our check-in desks are convenient and visible, that our ground han-dling agent is fully trained and prepared and tested for the � rst � ight, and also that our own team is familiarised with the set-up,” he adds.
A group of experienced sta� from Narita will be taken over to work at Haneda, “so we are very con� dent in their capabil-ity,” says Simon.
Simon believes the biggest advantage for travel-lers will be Haneda’s utilisation of the latest technol-ogy, from CUSS machines to inline security, coupled with the domestic connections and the proximity to downtown Tokyo. “You can be eating in your favourite restaurant probably within an hour of landing,” says Simon.
Print ads started appearing on 20 September in major Hong Kong newspapers, highlighting the twice-daily ser-vice as well as an Asia Miles promotion. Over in Japan, the team has had more than just Haneda to talk about.
“We are very excited to be returning to Haneda after a break of 32 years, and CX and KA are also adding � ights to other points in Japan as well as Tokyo, including Osaka, Fukuoka, Sapporo and Sendai, so the team has a lot to do to make the � ights a success,” Simon says.
Since the con� rmation of the Haneda � ights, there has been a lot of local activity to raise awareness and generate sales for the service.
This includes a double Asia Miles campaign, a special CX Holidays package with Intercontinental Hotel Hong Kong, a press conference and an online promotional campaign via CXpecials, Twitter and the local CX site.
“Ads are appearing in key newspapers as well as in cen-tral metro and rail stations in Tokyo, and special stickers can also be spotted onboard certain train routes,” Simon says.
“In addition, passengers travelling to the UK who book online will receive shopping vouchers for Harrods, the lux-ury London department store.”
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in desks are convenient and visible, that our ground han-dling agent is fully trained and prepared and tested for the � rst � ight, and also that our own team is familiarised
biggest advantage for travel-lers will be Haneda’s utilisation of the latest technol-
GETTING THE WORD OUT: Local press received an update on the latest CX news in Japan (above) while ads ap-peared in Hong Kong newspapers (top).
50th anniversary celebrated in styleThe CX Korea team celebrated the port’s 50th anniversary with a VIP lunch function on 10 September and a spotlight appearance at the Festive Hong Kong function organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board that began the following day.
More than 38 guests including key travel agents, MPO members and media representatives joined General Manager Marketing & Product James Ginns and Country Manager Korea Clarence Chung
for the lunch held at luxury restaurant Pierre Ganierre, whose chef created a special menu for the event.
The airline also reached out to the public at the Festive Hong Kong event, held at the Yongsan I’Park Mall, with a CX vintage uniform show which was staged four times. Walk-in customers at the large CX booth took part in a lucky draw and signed up for CXpecials subscriptions.
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Getting to know youNew Country Manager France Kinto Chan had his first outing in his new posting at a reception at the New Zealand Embassy on 16 September.
Held at the home of Ambassador Sarah Dennis, the event was to mark the one-year countdown to the start of the Rugby World Cup which will be held in New Zealand next year.
Pictured from left are Trade Development Manager Tourism New Zealand Ainsley Ericksen, CX France Marketing & Communi-cations Manager Nicolas Masse and Kinto.
The new Country Manager was also kept busy at Top Resa, the annual French travel fair, which was held in Paris from 21-24 September.
Extra special fl ight for LebaranThe Lebaran holiday period is always a busy time for the Indonesian team but this year, for the � rst time in 36 years, an extra � ight was mounted from Medan, an o� ine port in Sumatra.
The service was initiated by Country Manager Indonesia Rob Bradshaw after he saw the high demand for � ights to China over the break.
After a tough process to get the paperwork done and operational logis-tics � nalised, CX8741 to Hong Kong had a smooth takeo� on 8 September. From there, passengers had an easy connection to Dragonair � ights to Beijing and Shanghai.
The China market is a growing one for Medan and the CX/Dragonair connections make the airlines the ideal choice for travellers.
It was also the � rst time for a wide-bodied aircraft, an A330, to operate out of Medan’s Polonia Airport and the CX team worked with ground han-dling agent Gapura Angkasa to ensure everything went as planned.
SFO Engineering goes mobile!There were smiles all round as the San Francisco Engineering team opened a new o� -airport operation this summer – a move prompted by the opportunity to save a substantial sum of money while still being able to provide the same level of maintenance for CX aircraft arriving into SFO.
Engineering Manager Jim Aspros led the project, which saw the team secure a local o� ce and warehouse space within a mile of the air� eld. They totally mobilised the line maintenance o� ce, buying and � tting out a mobile workshop van and installing 100% wireless access to all the programmes and manuals they need.
Jim says they now have three times more space for a quarter of the price – an achievement celebrated by the 40 or so people who turned up for the pig-cutting ceremony and o� ce party.
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Customer Services Agent Ronald Cheung was proud to be the � rst winner under CX Vancouver’s new Employee of the Quarter Programme.
He was selected by his peers and customers for his atten-tion to detail and innovative ways of working.
Described by friends as “smart, funny and fast”, Ronald is quick to crack jokes at work to lighten up the atmosphere, believing that the more people laugh or smile, the happier they will be.
“Behaviour breeds behaviour. Happy sta� will have hap-py customers,” he says.
A team player at heart, Ronald often tries to make work easier for his colleagues where possible.
“Service Straight From the Heart is applicable to both external and internal customers and I care about my colleagues very much,” he smiles.
On his o� days, Ronald spends as much time as he can with his parents and his two dachshund dogs, and he also enjoys cooking.
Employee tobe proud of
PORT PEOPLE
FROM THE HEART: Ronald takes customer service very seriously.
A wheelie nice guy
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Touch of Moscow in heart of AsiaThe CX team in Cebu celebrated the launch of the airline’s Moscow service with a lively cocktail event.
The Tap Room was transformed into a Russian drinking hall for the night as Manager Cebu Camilla Taylor welcomed guests with the traditional Russian welcome of “Khleb da’ Sol”, a loaf of bread eaten with salt.
Honorary Russian Consul for Cebu Armi Lopez Garcia was guest of honour at the event and she was joined by Marco Polo Club members, media, representatives of the Russian community in Cebu and even Ms Cebu 2010.
The evening’s fare included traditional Russian treats such as gravlax blinis, prawn and caviar hors d’ouvres and reindeer salami washed down with Moscow Mules, Sputniks, and other vodka-based drinks which ensured a fun evening of drinking and games.
Time has � own by for Taipei’s Cargo Sales Executive James Lin, who recently marked 20 years with the airline. During his time in the company he has moved up the lad-der in the Cargo team, got himself hitched and became the proud father of two boys.
The best part of his job – and also the most challenging – is interacting with di� erent people and o� ering them the CX seamless service, he says.
One of his most memorable shipments was helping a local company relocate their factory from Taiwan to Shanghai in 2006.
“We handled around 300 tonnes of cargo for this cus-tomer, with everything coming in di� erent shapes and sizes and many items requiring special handling,” he says.
To help foster a good relationship between CX Car-go and its customers, James has used his love of two-wheeled transport to set up a cycling team comprising sta� and cargo agents.
The group meets at weekends for tours of scenic spots around Taipei or to take on challenging mountain routes.
In March, the team spent 17 hours – three hours shy of the 20 hours completion time – to � n-ish a 300km race covering Eastern Taipei.
“It’s not only a cheap activity – cycling also helps you become healthy,” says James, who lost 8kg in two years through the sport.
CYCLE NUT: James takes to the road.
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1. As CX’s resident darts champion, how did you get started playing? I worked shifts when CX was still at Kai Tak airport. I used to arrive at work a bit earlier to avoid be-ing late and ended up spending the extra hours in the company bar.
2. What is the best thing about playing darts? You can improve your concentra-tion and it is a great opportunity to relax and mingle with friends and colleagues.
3. Least favourite part? Forgetting to bring my own set of darts – I � nd it hard to perform well without them.
4. How do you deal with nerves when competing? Beers and cheers from teammates give me tremendous strength and support.
5. What is the CX darts team like? The CX darts team are all good friends and we support and help each other during training and competitions.
6. What other interests do you have? I enjoy almost every kind of outdoor activity, especially swim-ming. I go swimming three or four times a week.
7. Describe yourself in three words. Punctual, optimistic and value friendship.
8. What was your last trip outside Hong Kong? Playing in a darts tournament in Brisbane in May.
9. Dream holiday and why? A place with beautiful sun and beaches, such as Mauritius or the Maldives.
10. The darts team would be surprised if I……left the team. Because playing has become such an integral part of my life.
Staff capture the magic of the momentTalented amateur photographers from the Flight Operations Department polished up their outdoor photo-taking skills with a semi-nar and practical session on top of the Termi-nal 2 building at HKIA.
The classroom training was conducted by professional photographer Hay Lee who showed participants how to get the most out of their cameras including composition and balance.
ICM Executive – Help Desk Shabbina Khokhar says: “Every year a di� erent type of course or visit is arranged after getting ideas from FOP sta� on what they are interested in.
“Photography is a very popular hobby and while many of us own expensive equipment, we don’t know how to get the most out of us-ing it,” she says.
After the classroom session the group gathered on top of T2, overlooking the air-port runway, to put what they had learned into practice with Director Flight Operations Richard Hall judging the entries to select the “best moment” and “best expression” photos.
New JoinersJo Jo ChuiSouvenir Sales Offi cer, PSDJo Jo says her previous experience working at a � tness centre is helping in her new job and hopes that her passion and energy can in� uence every-one.
“Every day has been a great day for me so far, and CX really feels like home because everyone is so harmonious and helpful,” she smiles.
True to her active nature, Jo Jo enjoys dancing, swimming and suntanning in her spare time.
Wong Wai-tengTechnical Services Engineer, ENGWai-teng’s � rst impression of CX is the freedom given to sta� to carry out their jobs and develop their career.
Previously with budget carrier AirAsia, Wai-teng hopes to share his experience to help CX reduce its operating costs while still maintaining the highest levels of aircraft safety.
“I hope to extend my career path by learning from a professional team that is experienced in both technical and management issues,” he says.
Joanna HungRevenue Specialist II, REVJoanna is a fresh graduate from the Chinese Univer-sity of Hong Kong, with a major in Financial Engi-neering.
She also interned at HSBC in Australia and been part of an exchange programme with the University of California.
“I’’m always looking for opportunities that could provide me with more international exposure and
at the same time enable me to sharpen my analytical, critical and lateral thinking skills,” says Joanna.
Prudence LamTreasury Services Manager, FINPrudence is thrilled to take on a treasury role at CX where she will be responsible for liquidity manage-ment and the hedging of foreign currency, interest rates and fuel price risks.
“As a new joiner at CX I’ve already felt great warmth and support from my teammates,” says Pru-dence.
Outside the o� ce she enjoys sugarcraft, and has recently taken courses to improve her skills. “Please let me know and I’ll be more than happy to make a special cake for you,” she grins.
CX World welcomes all new staff. Here is a selection of the newcomers who recently came on board...
Flight Ops Content Administrator Kamdy Shum, who won the “best moment” prize, says although her shot of the airport terminal (pictured bottom right) is quite dark, “with enough exposure, the blue in the sky com-bined with the crystal-like lights from the terminal departure hall to make the colour much richer.”
Assistant Manager ICM Scheduling Miran-da Mo won the “best expression” prize with her picture of the sunset over the terminal (right, centre).
“I was my � rst time to go out there just to enjoy the sunset and take photos and I dis-covered the feeling is quite di� erent from the usual lively atmosphere,” Miranda says.
“It’s actually a great place to watch the sun-set. When I saw the clouds and the amazing colour, I just wanted to capture the wonderful, peaceful moment in a photo,” she adds.
SHUTTERBUGS: (Top) Richard Hall presents prizes to Miranda Mo (second from left) and Kamdy Shum (far right) while Shabbina Khokhar looks on.
The golfers of the In� ight Services Department were walking on air following their win in this year’s inter-departmental golf event.
In the team event, ISD beat o� strong competi-tion from CPCS and Flight Operations to take the champion’s trophy.
Flight Purser Alfonso Bibi Cordero’s 81 was enough to earn him the Best Gross honour in the individual event, while FOP’s Andy Lo took the Best Net trophy.
A grand total of 48 sta� golfers turned out for the event on a sunny Sunday last month. The venue was the popular YanLi Golf Club in Guangdong Province.
The 2009 winners, ENG, walked away empty-handed this year, though Manager Maintenance Support Gareth Watkins was gracious enough to present the prizes to this year’s winners.
Gareth is pictured left presenting Alfonso with his well-earned prize.
Fairway to heaven for ISD team
Andy Lau, Accounting Offi cer
Oneminute with...
STRIKE A POSE: Tony Tyler tries out his modelling skills after the Walking on Air show in Moscow.
WARM WELCOME: A reception for the fi rst crew to
stay at the Marriott Associa Hotel in Nagoya.
GAME BOY: Paul Loo test drives the new Asia Miles mobile game – Travel City.
NEW KIDS: San Francisco crew in Hong Kong for induction training show they are all heart.
The Cathay Paci� c Badminton Team did the airline proud in August, walking away with the champion’s trophy in the annual inter-hong tournament.
Players from 13 leading Hong Kong companies battled it out in the 27th Inter Hong Badminton Championship 2010 on 22 August.
The event was organised by defending champions PCCW and it was the communications giant that CX beat in the � nal to lift the title.
The CX players were highly motivated throughout the tourna-ment, fending o� last year’s runner-up, WSC, before coming up against PCCW.
WSC (the HSBC sports club) were placed third this year with the MTR team taking fourth place.
The CX team consisted of Trevor Ng (CSD), Jacky Chun (PSD), Charles Tam (APT), Kevin Chin (ISD), Alan Chung (FOP), Dary Sin (ISD), Rajes BN (ISD), Jecky Irawan (ISD), Danny Fung (FOP), Ann Chang (ISD), Karen Wo (ISD) and Dewey Hung (ISD).
To enter, visit the online quiz entry form on the CX World site. The deadline is noon on Friday, 5 November.
The Quiz
The winner of our � rst prize this month will receive a set of freighter models courtesy of the Cargo Department.
The 1:1000 Twin Pack Freighter Set consists of the famous “Silver Bullet” freighter and a painted B747-400F freighter.
The Silver Bullet freighter was a stripped-down Boeing 747F weighing 200kg less than its painted equivalent.
MIRROR IMAGE: Vancouver’s Ronald Cheung is delight-
ed to receive an album of his time at CX (see page 13).
GOOD WORK!: Mark Pirihi and Kathy Beck in New Zealand receive long-service awards from Country Manager David Figgins.
EXPO OUTING: ISMs Samuel Chan and Ann
Chang joined CSD’s Samuel Lo and KA’s Ronnie
Li for a visit to the Shanghai Expo last month.
The second prize winner will receive a two-piece Vinum - Single Malt Whisky glass set from Riedel Crystal.
Campbell Distillers asked Riedel to come up with a glass that would highlight the special characteristics of single malt whisky. The result, after numerous rounds of tastings, was an elegant thistle-shaped bowl on a truncated stem.
Riedel Crystal started in 1756 in Bohemia and has been a family-owned business for 11 generations. It is regarded as a leading international crystal brand.
In 1958, Professor Claus Josef Riedel discovered that the shape and size of a wine glass can alter an individual’s perception of alcoholic
beverages and became the � rst person to design the shape of the glass speci� cally according to the character of the wine.
Go to www.riedel.com for more information.
The winner of our � rst prize this month will receive a set of freighter models courtesy of the Cargo Department.
The 1:1000 Twin Pack Freighter Set consists of the famous “Silver Bullet” freighter and a painted B747-400F freighter.
The Silver Bullet freighter was a stripped-down Boeing 747F weighing 200kg less than its was a stripped-down Boeing 747F weighing 200kg less than its painted equivalent.
was a stripped-down Boeing 747F weighing 200kg less than its
Campbell Distillers asked Riedel to come up
an elegant thistle-shaped bowl on a truncated
and has been a family-owned business for 11 generations. It is
In 1958, Professor Claus Josef Riedel discovered that the shape and
Shuttlecock heroes!
SALES SUPPORT: Johannesburg’s Tracey Holtzhau-
sen puts CX on display at a supplier workshop.
SHOCK AND AWE: Philippe Lacamp receives a rather saucy gift at his farewell party.
16
I was invited on a familiarisation trip organ-ised by Tourism Queensland for a 10-day trip around the Australian state.
It turned out to be the trip of a lifetime with whale-watching, a hot-air balloon ride, jet-boating and sailing in the beautiful blue wa-ters o� the Queensland coast all included.
It began with a 3am wake-up call for a hot-air balloon ride, but once we were 5,000 feet above the ground the view was de� nitely worth the early start. Hunger pangs were dealt with afterwards by a trip to O’Reilly’s Vineyard for breakfast and a wine tasting.
Queensland also has many exciting theme parks and wildlife sanctuaries and we visited Warner Bros Movie World, Dreamworld, Wet ‘n’ Wild Water World, Australia Zoo and the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.
At the sanctuary I had the opportunity to cuddle a koala, play with a big python which wrapped itself around me, feed and play with kangaroos and watch a sheep being sheared.
The best way to see Brisbane is by doing the Brisbane Story Bridge adventure climb – a two-and-a-half hour ascent to the top of Brisbane’s iconic structure.
From the top, we had uninterrupted 360-de-gree views of Brisbane, the river and the sur-rounding mountains and islands.
Next on the itinerary was a half-day tour of the Tamborine Mountain National Park where we had an amazing view of the forest, water-falls, rivers and the entire Gold Coast skyline. The following morning, we were on the water and had the thrill of zip-ping past yachts and
Delhi Account Manager Rajesh Bhalla had the time of his life enjoying the delights of the sunshine stateDelhi Account Manager Rajesh Bhalla had the time of his life
Queensland shines
SHOW US YOUR TIPS!CX World welcomes sta� travel tips from across the network – email us at CCD#SCT
Travel bites
■ Bite into the Big AppleThe Warwick New York is o� er-ing Cathay Paci� c sta� special
rates from US$150 per night. The
hotel is located close to Broadway and numerous New York City attractions and landmarks in-cluding the Museum of Modern Art, Central Park, Carnegie Hall and Fifth Avenue.
The property has 359 rooms with two restaurants – Murals on 54 and Randolph’s Bar & Lounge.
More information on Travel Desk.
■ Cartoons add colour to Versailles History meets modern Japanese manga with an exhibition by Japanese artist Takashi Mu-rakami at the Chateau de Versailles in Paris until 12 December.
Visitors will be able to view Murakami’s sculptures from a big-bosomed French maid to a Pepsi-guzzling monster set against the marbled walls, gold leaf panelling and celes-tial ceiling frescoes of Versailles.
The sculptures have been placed through-out the Grand Apartment and the Hall of Mirrors.
More information at www.chateauver-sailles.fr
■ Carnival time in Lan Kwai FongFrom 13-14 November, Hong Kong’s lively Lan Kwai Fong district will be busier than ever with its annual street carnival.
Magicians, fortune tellers, street per-formers and handicraft stalls will provide entertainment, while the food section is a must visit.
The area’s top eateries will band together with a series of special menus, master classes, guest chefs and wine tastings.
More informa-tion at www.lank-waifong.com
This month’s contribution comes from Planning Projects Manager Ricky Chong and shows an unusual roadblock in New Zealand.
“I did a 10-day trip around New Zea-land’s South Island earlier in the year. We went from Christchurch to Dunedin, Queenstown and the Fox Glacier then back to Queenstown as a � nal stop. I took this photo on the highway from Queenstown to Fox Glacier,” Ricky says.
“I have never seen such a large � ock of sheep. They were going back to the farmyard in the late evening, around 8pm. They were running quite fast and I needed to chase them in order to take such a close shot,” he adds.
HK$500 for a travel tale!Every month, CX World invites all CX sta� to tell unusual, interesting or just downright quirky tales of travel moments around the world.
Sponsored by In� ight Sales, the lucky sender of the main story receives HK$500 worth of in� ight sales products of their choice from the ever-changing collection of over 260 items on o� er (excluding liquor and cigarettes).
Go shopping at www.cathaypaci� c.com/dutyfree
land’s South Island earlier in the year. We went from Christchurch to Dunedin, Queenstown and the Fox Glacier then back to Queenstown as a � nal stop. I took this photo on the highway from Queenstown to Fox Glacier,” Ricky says.
of sheep. They were going back to the farmyard in the late evening, around 8pm. They were running quite fast and I needed to chase them in order to take such a close shot,” he adds.
sender of the main story receives HK$500 worth of in� ight sales products of their choice from
(excluding liquor and
www.cathaypaci� c.
Snap happy
luxury cruisers at 90 kilometres an hour during a jetboat ride from Marina Wharf.
That was followed by a more leisurely cruise on a sailboat to McLarens Landing – an all-weather venue in a beautiful natural bushland setting where we saw wild wallabies and fed eagles.
A day trip to O’Reilly’s Retreat, situated in the picturesque rainforest covered mountains of the Lamington National Park, gave us a close-up view of the rainforest canopy as well as an opportunity to feed wild birds. We hiked up a mountain and zipped back down to the valley
below attached only to a cable with the tree-tops as a safety net.
At Tangalooma, I had my � rst experience of whale-watching when majestic humpback whales glided by. In the evening, we fed dol-phins and tried out quad bikes on Moreton Island.
After such an exciting time, I was glad the last two days were spent visiting Australia Zoo and a relaxing tour of Noosa – a small resort town on the Gold Coast.
AUSSIE WONDERLAND: Getting an eyeful from the top of the Brisbane Story Bridge (above); soaring over the rainforest canopy at Lamington National Park (right); and an early morning start for a hot-air balloon ride (left).
