A magazine for staff and friends of Cathay Pacific Airways Constructive engagement Big task ahead for new terminal CEO news Mike Corey’s tour of a lifetime winds down Summer in Whistler There’s more to the BC resort than skiing travel Worldwide wonders features Heidi’s toned up for the bodybuilding Olympics Peak of perfection who, what, where Page 8-9 Page 16 PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER Pressure mounts on industry Cathay Pacific in “better position” as anxiety over world’s economies grows Emissions scheme debate rolls on October 2011, Issue 187 Page 14 Page 5 The aviation industry entered another period of nervousness as stock markets plummeted and economies around the world came under growing pressure. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) issued a warning that both passenger and freight demand are slowing significantly, with the industry body’s Director General and CEO Tony Tyler warning that “the industry is shifting gears downwards”. The IATA figures for August showed pas- senger demand growth slowing compared to July while the decline in the world’s airfreight markets accelerated with a 3.8% contraction for August. “With business and consumer confidence continuing to slump globally there is not a lot of optimism for improved conditions any time soon,” Tony said. CX Chief Executive John Slosar said the airline would be keeping a very close eye on what happens to its business in October and November – “traditionally the biggest revenue weeks for our airline”. He said that Cathay Pacific needs to be pre- pared for any significant downturn, which will hit aviation “hard and fast”. However, he stressed that CX is in a better position than most due to its strong balance sheet and factors such as its position in Asia, and that the focus will remain on the many positive things happening across different ar- eas of the business. On the cargo side the airline is responding to the airfreight slump by seeking out new markets, launching new freighter services to two Western China cities – Chongqing and Chengdu – that are rapidly developing as hi- tech manufacturing centres. The passenger business is still buoyed by high numbers and yield growth in the pre- mium cabins, “though some banks are already talking about reassessing travel schemes, so we’ll be looking carefully at developments,” says General Manager Revenue Management James Tong. Demand in the back of the aircraft received a boost from the recent public holidays but revenue is still lagging capacity growth and yield is under continued pressure. • CE update, cargo picture – see page 3 MAKING AN IMPACT: The latest phase of the People and Service campaign started with a bang in early October with a series of print ads, train station billboards, television commercials and a revamped website telling personal stories from the hearts of CX staff. See page 10. Participants at the recent Greener Skies conference, including Chief Operating Officer Ivan Chu (left), engaged in a lively debate on the controversial European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. On 6 October, an advisor to the EU Court of Justice failed to uphold a challenge to the scheme from the Air Transport Association of America – a decision described as disappointing by the aviation industry. See page 2.
Transcript
A magazine for staff and friends of Cathay Pacifi c Airways
ConstructiveengagementBig task ahead for new terminal CEO
news
Mike Corey’s tour of a lifetime winds down
Summer in Whistler There’s more to the BC resort than skiing
travel
Worldwide wonders
features
Heidi’s toned up for the bodybuilding Olympics
Peak of perfection
who, what, where
Page 8-9 Page 16
PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER
Pressure mounts on industryCathay Pacifi c in “better position” as anxiety over world’s economies grows
Emissions scheme debate rolls on
October 2011, Issue 187
Summer in Whistler There’s more to the BC resort than skiing
travel
Mike Corey’s tour of a lifetime winds down
Worldwide wonders
features
Page 14Page 5
The aviation industry entered another period of nervousness as stock markets plummeted and economies around the world came under growing pressure.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) issued a warning that both passenger and freight demand are slowing signifi cantly, with the industry body’s Director General and CEO Tony Tyler warning that “the industry is shifting gears downwards”.
The IATA fi gures for August showed pas-senger demand growth slowing compared to July while the decline in the world’s airfreight markets accelerated with a 3.8% contraction for August.
“With business and consumer confi dence continuing to slump globally there is not a lot of optimism for improved conditions any time soon,” Tony said.
CX Chief Executive John Slosar said the airline would be keeping a very close eye on what happens to its business in October and November – “traditionally the biggest revenue weeks for our airline”.
He said that Cathay Pacifi c needs to be pre-pared for any signifi cant downturn, which will
hit aviation “hard and fast”.However, he stressed that CX is in a better
position than most due to its strong balance sheet and factors such as its position in Asia, and that the focus will remain on the many positive things happening across diff erent ar-eas of the business.
On the cargo side the airline is responding to the airfreight slump by seeking out new markets, launching new freighter services to two Western China cities – Chongqing and Chengdu – that are rapidly developing as hi-tech manufacturing centres.
The passenger business is still buoyed by high numbers and yield growth in the pre-mium cabins, “though some banks are already talking about reassessing travel schemes, so we’ll be looking carefully at developments,” says General Manager Revenue Management James Tong.
Demand in the back of the aircraft received a boost from the recent public holidays but revenue is still lagging capacity growth and yield is under continued pressure.
• CE update, cargo picture – see page 3
MAKING AN IMPACT: The latest phase of the People and Service campaign started with a bang in early October with a series of print ads, train station billboards, television commercials and a revamped website telling personal stories from the hearts of CX staff. See page 10.
Participants at the recent Greener Skies conference, including Chief Operating O� cer Ivan Chu (left), engaged in a lively debate on the controversial European
Union Emissions Trading Scheme. On 6 October, an advisor to the EU Court of Justice failed to uphold a challenge to the scheme from
the Air Transport Association of America – a decision described as disappointing by the aviation industry. See page 2.
2
Industry setback on carbon schemeEuropean ETS subject of lively debate at Greener Skies conference The aviation industry suff ered a set-back in its fi ght against the Europe-an Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) on 6 October. An advisor to the European Union Court of Jus-tice failed to uphold the challenge brought by the Air Transport Asso-ciation of America on the imposition of the scheme on non-EU carriers in a preliminary opinion.
“This gives a clear indication that we are now heading towards an emerging patchwork of complex, bureaucratic and punitive regional schemes aimed at regulating emis-sions, but which will ultimately have no real impact on improving the en-vironment and will hit passengers,” says Head of Environmental Aff airs Mark Watson.
A fi nal ruling is likely by the end of 2011 or the beginning of 2012.
Nonetheless, Mark says “CX is fully ready for the coming of the EU ETS and has already taken the steps needed to enable it to fully comply with the scheme in the
event compliance becomes neces-sary. Our industry will continue to press governments that our emis-sions are best regulated at a global
Global accolade for corporate affairs headDirector Corporate Aff airs Quince Chong has been named one of the world’s most important in-house communicators in The Holmes Report alongside global multinational corporations such as Facebook, McDonald’s and Google.
The Infl uence 100 project was created to refl ect the rising importance of the role of senior public relations professional within major corporations— and other institutions that face intense public and media scrutiny.
The top 100 infl uencers came from a wide range of industries ranging from technology to food and beverage as well as government institutions such as the White House and the EU, with half being based in the US.
“CX was one of only two airlines named and, alongside HSBC, the only Hong Kong-based company on the list,” Quince says. “The recognition is a great hon-our for CX and could only be achieved through the hard work and support of the team in the Corporate Communication Department,” she adds.
level through ICAO,” he adds. The ETS was the key topic of dis-
cussion at the annual Aviation and Environment “Greener Skies” confer-ence in Hong Kong on 27 Septem-ber, with delegates joining in on both sides of the debate.
Chief Operating Offi cer Ivan Chu kicked off the event by welcoming the delegates and saying the gath-ering came at a “signifi cant time” for the aviation industry.
“Despite monumental eff orts and tangible progress towards making sustainable aviation a reality, the challenge to address our environ-
Traffi c/capacity (CX + KA)*Fuel price - Rolling 6 Months
Apr/11 Oct/11
USD per Barrel
Sing Jet Kerosene150
140
130
120
110
100
90
UK Facebook gets tasty
FOODIE HEAVEN: The UK team has taken CX catering online.
Fans of the CX UK Facebook page have the chance to share their cooking know-how, pick up culinary tips, download some delicious recipes developed by the chefs at CPCS and even win a luxury trip to Hong Kong.
The “Taste of Cathay Paci� c” campaign will run until 2 Nov-ember with a new recipe being featured every week alongside a relevant question for fans to respond to.
Each week, a di� erent return trip to a selected Asian destina-tion, including Tokyo, Taipei and Cebu, is being given away before the grand prize draw of two Busi-ness Class tickets to Hong Kong with three nights at The Peninsula hotel.
Marketing Manager UK & Ire-land Carmen Tse says that in� ight catering has always been a selling point for CX.
“We wanted to create a com-munity where our users can engage with each other as well as inspire them to travel and experi-ence new cultures,” she says.
At the time of writing, the contest was in its third week and Carmen says the question related to deep-frying methods, along-side the sweet and sour pork recipe, had attracted the highest response rate so far.
“More than 450 tips were sub-mitted which is great as it means more and more people are � nd-ing out about the competition and are entering,” Carmen says.
“Some responses have been very interesting – the above ques-tion had a few fans mentioning deep-fried Mars bars, and I must admit we’re a little intrigued!” she adds.
TOP TEAMWORK: Quince credits the CCD teams from Cathay Pacifi c and Dragonair for the recognition from The Holmes Report.
mental impact is even greater in the face of our continued growth as the demand for our services increases,” Ivan said.
“The environment – once seen as marginal or optional to our business activities – is now fi rmly established as a mainstream issue,” he added.
IATA Director General and CEO Tony Tyler used his keynote address to urge the European Union to aban-don its “misguided plans” to include aviation in the EU ETS, as well as re-iterating the industry’s commitment to reducing CO2 emissions.
“We are the only global industry
sions, but which will ultimately have no real impact on improving the en-vironment and will hit passengers,” says Head of Environmental Aff airs Mark Watson.
A fi nal ruling is likely by the end of 2011 or the beginning of 2012.
Nonetheless, Mark says “CX is fully ready for the coming of the EU ETS and has already taken the steps needed to enable it to fully comply with the scheme in the
event compliance becomes neces-sary. Our industry will continue to press governments that our emis-
FOODIE HEAVEN: The UK team
that has set targets to reduce its car-bon footprint,” Tony said.
“Airlines, airports, air navigation service providers and manufactur-ers are committed to improving fuel effi ciency by 1.5% annually to 2020; capping net carbon emissions from 2020 with carbon-neutral growth and cutting net emissions in half by 2050, compared to 2005,” he added.
In the afternoon, attention turned to the development and logistics of biofuels with Manager Purchasing – Fuel Gavin Fernandez appearing on a panel to discuss when they would be commercially available.
MAKING A POINT: Among the speakers at Greener Skies were CX’s Ivan Chu, Mark Watson and Gavin Fernandez.
ICE Brent
Air Hong Kong grows with BCFs now a permanent fixture
Produced by CX’s Corporate Communication Department
Cargo feels the pinch of weakened marketsBright spots with new route launches in Mainland China, IndiaAn extremely strong 2010 for cargo was always going to be difficult to beat, but a downturn in the two key markets of Hong Kong and Mainland China has turned 2011 into a chal-lenging year.
“Both these markets have been weaker than hoped from April and particularly disappointing for the first half of September. Traditionally this is when the peak season starts to build momentum,” says General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing James Woodrow.
The sovereign debt crisis in Eu-rope and the loss of consumer confi-dence in North America has severely affected demand for air freight from Asia leading to buyers in Europe and USA being careful to keep invent-ories under control.
“Any improvement for the rest of the year is dependent on improved macro-economic news and a con-sequent improvement in consumer confidence,” James says.
“Overall it is not as bad as 2008. However, there is still currently more supply than demand on the major
long-haul routes ex-Asia to Europe and Transpacific,” he adds.
The better news for CX is that rev-enues from the remaining ports re-main encouraging.
“In general, exports from Europe and the Americas into Asia have been good on the back of strong de-mand in Mainland China for luxury goods, fashion, machine tools, phar-
maceuticals and automobile-related traffic. Intra-Asia traffic has also gen-erally been stronger than the long-haul routes,” James says.
New route launches in India and Mainland China are also showing promise.
“The Bangalore service which launched on 1 August and volumes into and out of Bangalore are ex-
ceeding our forecasts,” James says. “Likewise the twice-weekly
Chongqing charters are also going well and likely to increase in Novem-ber,” he adds.
A scheduled Chengdu freighter route is set to launch on 12 October to take advantage of the city’s role as an important manufacturing base for the hi-tech industry.
“The government’s ‘go west’ policy is really bearing fruit and we expect to carry shipments for major inter-national brands such as Apple, Dell, Intel and Texas Instruments.
“Business to and from both Chongqing and Chegndu will grow strongly over the months and years to come,” James says.
James says expectations for the fourth quarter are dependent on the stabilisation of the European and US economies.
“If both economies are seen to be back on a path to growth then con-sumer confidence will start to return. But if things remain gridlocked then we can expect a quiet and subdued last quarter,” James says.
SLOWDOWN: The cargo sector is hoping for a rebound in the fourth quarter after a challenging 2011.
3
Update from the Chief ExecutiveOnce again it seems that we are living in uncertain times.
The rebound from the 2008/9 financial crisis has disappeared in a puff of smoke and we now face a daily onslaught of negative reports from around the world – panic in the stock markets, Europe on the brink of a debt crisis, fears of a double-dip recession in the US and increasing concerns over China’s economic fundamentals. It makes for scary reading!
So where does this leave Cathay Pacific? Our cargo business has been down since the second quarter and there’s still no sign of the usual seasonal peak.
On the passenger side we’ve seen a slide in yield in the Economy cabins but premium
business has been very strong. However, we’re now seeing the first signs of belt-tightening in major corporations, with some banks already looking to pare back travel schemes.
Given the volatile nature of our business we all know that when a downturn comes it hits aviation hard – and fast.
We need to be ready for that, but I believe we are in a better position than most because our balance sheet is strong and other factors, from the recent drop in fuel prices to currency movements and our position in Asia, are working in our favour.
With so much uncertainty in the air it’s important that we keep our eye on the prize, focusing on the many positive things happening that will make Cathay Pacific a winner in the long term.
Right now we are giving our cargo business a boost by tapping into new markets such as Chongqing and Chengdu and bringing super- efficient Boeing 747-8Fs into the fleet.
We’re doing a whole raft of things on the passen-ger side, from our new Business Class to Premium Economy and lounge upgrades – and we’re on target to become a world leader in inflight con-nectivity next year. Not to mention our new cargo terminal and a whole bunch of new aircraft!
So while we may be in for a bumpy ride in the coming months, we should keep a positive mindset and keep a clear focus on the many good things that are happening.
John Slosar
Briefs
CX has 8,600 cabin crew representing
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nationalities.
All-cargo subsidiary Air Hong Kong has been rapidly expanding this year, adding three 747-400 Boeing Converted Freighters (BCFs) to its fleet, and a fourth being contem-plated.
“There was a growing demand from DHL and the A300-600Fs we are using, which carry 50 tonnes, were not enough,” says newly ap-pointed Chief Operating Officer Anna Thompson.
“We needed a bigger freighter to meet the additional demand, so a few years ago we wet-leased a BCF for the Singapore route ,” she adds.
However the wet-leasing arrange-ment became a dry lease in May for Singapore with another two BCFs being used on the Narita route from July and Shanghai from September.
“The AHK fleet is now eight A300-600Fs and three BCFs which can carry 100 tonnes,” says Anna.
Anna says the reason for the growth is quite simply the expand-ing express market.
“Internet shopping is one of the reasons we have seen the definition of ‘express’ shifting from packages and documents to pretty much any-thing,” Anna says.
“I was amazed to see how busy it is out at HKIA from 1am to 3am when the freighters are being unload-ed and loaded,” she adds.
The BCF expansion also means that AHK has increased its pilot numbers by about 30%.
“Some transferred over from our Airbus fleet while others were direct hires. It was a great opportunity for some of the Airbus pilots to get to fly a differ-ent aircraft type,” Anna says.
GROWTH SPURT: Anna takes over AHK at a
busy time for the airline.
n Alliance targets Mainland passengersThe oneworld alliance promotion targeting Mainland China resi-dents will run again from 17 October to 31 January 2012, building on the success of the initial campaign.
During this period, Mainland-based residents who enrol as Asia Miles members will receive a welcome bonus of 1,000 Asia Miles after completing an eli-gible flight with any oneworld airline or affiliate, including Dragonair.
Members can also earn Dou-ble Asia Miles when they fly on two or more oneworld airlines during the promotion period.
n New-look logo for 2012 Sevens event
Chief Executive John Slosar joined Hong Kong Rugby Foot-ball Union Chairman Trevor Gregory and the Group Head of Sponsorship of HSBC Holdings
Giles Morgan on 16 Sep-tember to unveil the new
event logo for the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2012.
The rugby spectacular will be held from 23-25 March at the Hong Kong Stadium.
4
Nine HKIA sta� came to the rescue on 18 September when bad weather in Hong Kong caused a number of inbound � ights to be diverted to Macau, Guangzhou, Kaohsiung and Taipei.
As CX does not have a team in Macau, the team, which included a Manager-On-Duty (MOD), Supervisors and Customer Services O� cers, were sent there to help out.
A ground engineer also joined them to do a maintenance check to ensure the aircraft was serviceable to � y back to Hong Kong.
The team hit the ground running, going straight onto the aircraft to help cabin crew answer passenger questions and requests.
Many passengers were naturally concerned about onward connections and MOD David Wong made in� ight announcements to keep them updated on arrangements. Other team members answered questions about changing return � ight bookings and home transport arrangements.
The teams were tested again on 29 September by the sudden descent of Typhoon Nesat into Hong Kong which led to considerable disruption at Hong Kong International Airport in the lead up to the National Day peak.
From the moment the No. 8 typhoon signal was raised in the early hours, the HKIA team worked closely with CX management, the Integrated Operations Centre (IOC) and outports as 19 CX � ights were diverted, mainly due to ATC holding issues.
“HKIA sta� handled hundreds of misconnected passengers for CX at the airline service and transfer desks until 6am the following morning,” said Manager Service Delivery Joseph Chan.
Finance and purchasing come under review
We’re ready to take your calls Service Centre wants to hear from youCall us, don’t email, is the simple message the IMT Service Centre would like to get across to Cathay Pacifi c staff .
The Service Centre opened in December last year with 40 staff working in shifts around the clock to answer technical and computer-related problems throughout the network.
Despite this, staff are still preferring to send emails, but Service Centre Manager John Tominey would like to see more people pick up the phone.
“With emails it’s diffi cult for us to prioritise problems as the information is tucked away inside the message,” John says.
“This means that some quite urgent requests end up being hidden away in the list which slows down our response times. But by calling we can tell straight away what the priority is,” he adds.
And, because there is no direct interaction, most emails can generate up to seven other emails “with 2-3 minutes spent per message”.
This may not sound like much until you factor in that in August alone the service centre received 18,667 emails compared to 9,570 phone calls.
“We would prefer these numbers were the other way around,” John says.
John also stresses that staff will receive a faster, more effi cient service when they call the centre.
“The Service Centre team answer 99% of calls within 15 seconds and 58% of the time we can resolve the problem straight away. This should be an incentive to call and give us the opportunity to fi x the issue over the phone immediately, rather than waiting for hours for an email to be processed,” John says.
In order to cut back on the emails the Service Centre staff have to deal with, John says a toll-free number for outports in the US and Canada is being trialled.
“This will hopefully cut back on the emails from these outports who naturally tell us that it’s expensive to call.”
Teams rise to the challenge
TO THE RESCUE: Staff were on hand to help when fl ights were diverted to Macau.
A joint review of the airline’s fi nance and purchasing functions is now under way to determine how they can be more eff ective in meeting the needs of a growing airline op-erating in an increasingly complex business environment.
The review, dubbed “Project Horizon”, grew out of a preliminary study conducted in 2010, supported by McKinsey, which looked at everything done in the Financial Services Department.
“A decision was made to expand the scope to include Airline Purchasing and go into more detail, and that’s how Project Horizon was born,” says Group Programme Manager Tim Roberts.
Tim is currently leading a team of 13 CX people assembled to run the project who will be supported by a team of 15 from con-sultants Ernst & Young.
“What we’re doing is to look at all of fi -nance and purchasing processes and systems
and make an assessment of what the future should look like based on leading practices employed in other airlines and companies in other industries,” says Tim.
The experience of Ernst & Young, auditors to most of the top 20 airlines in the world, will be put to good use in assessing what changes need to be made in order to im-prove the eff ectiveness and effi ciency of the fi nance and purchasing functions.
Project Horizon will look at everything from the operation of accounting processes in CX to the replacement of systems.
“It’s early days at the moment but a lot of work has been done to assess how things currently work, and the risks, and to begin building a picture of the future and the ben-efi ts,” says Tim.
“Finance and purchasing activities touch all areas of CX so it’s important that we make the right assessment of how these functions can better serve the airline.”
5
New CPSL CEO spearheads move to get systems and manpower in place
Terminal on the rise
NEW HEAD: Algernon Yau leads the CPSL team. The pictures below show the progress made in one year since September 2010.
Teams gearing up for Dash 8 freighter arrivalKey departments including Flight Ops, Cargo and Engineering are ramping up for the imminent arrival of the Boeing 747-8 Freighter.
Delivery of the first three of the long-awaited aircraft – bigger and much more efficient than the cur-rent 744 freighters employed at CX – is slated for the end of October and early November, though the exact timings were still to be determined
as CX World went to press.Five of the aircraft are now out on
the airfield at Boeing’s Everett plant in Seattle, with a number of changes having been incorporated following FAA certification and a comprehen-sive flight test programme.
“The first couple of aircraft need-ed the most changes because they came off the line some months ago,” says John Dugaro, Engineering
Manager – Seattle. Engineers have been going
through Seattle to be trained for the new type, while FOP had a team of pilots and simulator instructors that did the initial training with Boeing about six months ago.
“Our own training commenced on 1 August and it has been full on seven days a week since,” says Mark Hoey, Chief Pilot (B744).
“We have a simulator on order and we start acceptance work in Montreal this November. The sim should arrive in Hong Kong in the second quarter of 2012 and once on line will be a valuable addition to the fleet,” says Mark.
Captain Hoey was involved in the test flight programme and says the Boeing engineers have “done a su-perb job of making it fly like the 747-
the AA, CAD, Customs and Police to obtain their comments on our operating procedures and readi-ness.
What’s the schedule for getting the terminal up and running?We are now doing the UAT [user acceptance testing] for the termi-nal’s operating system and from the first quarter of 2012 we’ll start doing the testing and commis-sioning for the MHS. Once that’s been cleared we can do a full op-erational trial. We aim to get the operating permit for the terminal from the AA by December next year, but before that we need to get permits from a range of gov-ernment departments.
Has recruitment for the CPSL team begun?We currently have around 50 people working in CPSL in vari-ous areas such as engineering, IT, finance, operations and secu-rity. We also have a Programme Manager, Peter Lee, who’s been involved from the start and has made a big contribution to get-ting us where we are now.
We will gradually build up re-
sources, and after the trials we’ll need to employ the frontline team – probably around 400 people for the Phase 1 cutover. CPSL will have a workforce of 1,600 by the end of 2013.
Will you be looking to bring on board customer airlines?Initially the terminal will look after CX and KA only. The priority will be to get the operation stabilised, though of course we’ll look at third-party business further down the line as we aim to make the best use of the capacity.
What do you foresee as the big challenges?This is a very big project and there are many complications, such as how to bring the different stand-alone elements – the building, the MHS, the operating system and the people – together. Ensuring a smooth transition from Hactl with a well-considered business continuity plan is critical for both CX and CPSL, and employing the right kind of quality people will also be a challenge – the supply of labour is currently an issue in Hong Kong.
The next key milestone in the huge Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal proj-ect will be reached in November when the topping-out ceremony for the main building takes place.
Just a year ago, little more than the foundations had been laid on the site at HKIA, but now the main building shell is complete and the installation of the materials han-dling system (MHS) that will carry freight throughout the terminal is underway.
In August, Algernon Yau took up the position of CEO of Cathay Pa-cific Services Ltd (CPSL), the wholly owned subsidiary that will operate the new terminal.
CX World spoke to Algernon to find out more about the main tasks ahead in the build-up to the termi-nal opening in early 2013.
You’re new to the terminal proj-ect. What are your first priori-ties?The first thing is to understand the need from Cathay Pacific, then to familiarise myself with the cargo business, the franchise agreement and the project in general. I need to know why we need it, what ben-efits it will bring and CPSL’s pro-
jected financial performance, and also familiarise myself with the design concept, the construction and the MHS.
What stage is the terminal pro-ject at now?The construction of the terminal shell is about to be completed with the formal topping out in No-vember.
The site has been handed over for the installation of the MHS by phases in different levels of the terminal and it’s progressing well.
What’s currently keeping you busy?I’m talking a lot with the Airport Authority and beginning to build a relationship with the trade to let them know what we’re doing and explain our operation. We’ll be using advanced systems to run a “just in time” cargo terminal – a new concept in Hong Kong – that will reduce the cut-off time and al-low us to accept last-minute ship-ments as well as expediting transit cargo handling in the CX hub.
I will also need to build a direct link with the CX Cargo Services team. I attend the CGO general
meeting every Tuesday to keep in touch with the business and report on the progress of the terminal.
I am reviewing the people strat-egy, the organisational structure and resources allocation, and at the same maintaining a dialogue with the various authorities – from the Transport & Housing Bureau to
400 which we all know and love.” The Cargo team is busy planning
the schedule for the new deliveries and Rossana Lau, General Manager Cargo Planning, says for the first two weeks each of the three aircraft will operate regional sectors, including Australia, for crew training purposes.
“After that, the -8Fs will be de-ployed to key ports in North Ameri-ca,” she says.
Service withheart
“I travelled from Malta back to Hong Kong via Rome and, due to a misunderstanding with the Air Malta staff, my luggage was unfortunately unloaded in Rome instead of being checked through to Hong Kong.
This mistake was brought to my attention by Giorgio Naimo who was working at the CX transit desk.
He immediately contacted the appropriate luggage han-dling staff at the airport and, through a series of telephone conversations, found my lug-gage, checked it and loaded it onto the fl ight to Hong Kong.
He only had 60 minutes to do all this and he remained calm, effi cient and reassuring throughout the entire process.
I must compliment Cathay Pacifi c on having such excel-lent staff.”
A passenger wrote to express her apprecia-tion after her luggage was misplaced on the way back to Hong Kong via Rome.
Vancouver Reserva-tion Sales Agent Sandra Lee was de-scribed as an “angel” after helping a pas-senger rebook fl ights after he was grounded by bad weather.
“I was on a visit to Washing-ton DC when my fl ight from Reagan Washington National Airport to New York JFK was delayed and subsequently cancelled due to bad weather in New York.
As a result, I could not catch my connecting fl ight to Hong Kong.
After a series of calls, I was connected to Vancouver Res-ervation Sales Agent Sandra Lee who became my angel for the day.
She patiently listened to my problem and request and even-tually secured a re-booking on the next fl ight for me to return to Hong Kong.
I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation of her professionalism.
It certainly refl ected the outstanding service that is offered by Hong Kong’s home carrier.”
Letters to the Editor
Bob Nipperess, Employee Services Manager, replies: Revenue passengers travel at Priority 4, while subload passengers travel at Priorities 26 and 27.
Since we have always boarded passengers using the priority system, over sales of Econo-my Class passengers will always be accommo-dated (even if it means upgrades) ahead of ID passengers.
Upgrades for commercial customers hap-pen for two reasons – either the passenger purchased an upgrade or they have the ap-propriate Marco Polo Club status to warrant an upgrade.
The fi rst point is relevant because this up-grading activity can happen anytime up to departure which is why, on occasion, there is a seating reassignment during boarding.
In reply to your fi nal points, as mentioned
earlier, revenue passengers aren’t moved without a good commercial reason, as mentioned above, and free upgrades are not generally off ered.
As an ID traveller we ask employees and their nominees to accept that satisfying the needs of our full revenue customers will always be the fi rst priority, and only after that activity is complete can we accept our ID customers.
COO responds on sharing sessionsI’d like to thank Leo Lee of ENG for his letter in the September CX World and the points he raised about senior management sharing.
I appreciate his interest in what I had to say at my own sharing session in July and I welcome his honest feedback.
Regarding the language used for these sessions, I appreciate that while our airline’s offi cial language is English, many staff will feel more comfortable lis-tening to briefi ngs in Cantonese.
We will look into the practicalities of delivering such sessions in a dual-language format in the fu-ture.
As for the issue of more sharing from the top, while CX is generally quite an open and transpar-ent organisation, I agree with Leo that there is more we can do to engage our directors and senior managers in updating the team on what’s happen-ing in various areas.
Priority travelqueriesI have some questions regarding the travelling priority when using ID tickets.
Firstly, when the fl ight is overbooked in Economy Class but there are plenty of empty seats in Business Class, do upgraded Economy Class passengers have priority over staff travel-lers with Business Class ID tickets?
Secondly, when the whole fl ight is not full, what standards do ground staff use to decide whether Economy Class passengers should be upgraded ahead of staff travellers holding a Business Class ID ticket?
My family member was holding a Business Class ID ticket and was downgraded to Econo-my Class without being told the reason by the ground staff .
After checking, I discovered that six Econ-omy Class passengers had been upgraded to Business Class on that fl ight while there were still plenty of seats in Economy Class.
As the number of Economy Class pas-sengers will almost always be more than Business Class, does that mean ground staff can simply just fi ll up Busi-ness Class as they wish and downgrade staff travellers with Business Class ID tickets?
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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.
Food, glorious foodIn a recent Hong Kong newspaper report, there was an article on airline food which highlighted the top three carriers which served the best air-line food in each class.
Unfortunately CX didn’t rate a mention. Is the company doing anything to improve the quality of the infl ight food?
Name withheld
Charles Grossrieder, Manager Catering Services, replies: In 2011, we have been focusing on adding back value where it counts.
For example, increasing the amount of caviar off ered in First Class, higher quality proteins and products in both First and Business Class, and add-ing back premium ice-cream as dessert in Economy Class on all medium- and long-haul routes.
We also featured promotions with the Miramar Group (pictured) in addition to our regular seasonal special wine off erings. And we have one more food promotion with Swire Hotels planned for later this year.
The Product Department also launched an ex-tensive passenger feedback review focused on in-fl ight food and beverage.
The results are now being evaluated in order to further address and adjust our off erings to suit pas-senger needs.
6
Star letter
I can assure you we’ll take a careful look at how we can get more of my senior colleagues to participate, and we have begun look-ing into internal social media initiatives that would help to improve dialogue within the company.
Ivan ChuChief Operating Offi cer
Seats assigned to jump seat staff? A number of my friends and I recently experienced some changes at the Hong Kong standby counter on diff erent occasions.
Some of our colleagues couldn’t get on board because the Economy Class seat had been given to the jump seat passenger, and I was informed by check-in staff that the seat for the jump seat passenger had already been preassigned.
If it had only happened to me I would think it was a mistake, but my friends also experi-enced the same thing.
Is this a new policy – that the person assigned a jump seat gets a confi rmed seat?
Name withheld
Bob Nipperess, Employee Services Manager, replies: The policy for acceptance of jump seat passengers has not changed so your query is puzzling.
Full details of the jump seat acceptance procedures are available in the Staff Travel Policy on Travel Desk – this sets out both the acceptance and seating criteria.
If you could let me have more details of the incidents you refer to, we’d be happy to follow up with the team at Hong Kong airport.
Extension for FOC Can the FOC travel benefi ts for children be extended until they are 23? This is the age limit set by most, if not all, of our interline airline partners?
Also, many airlines in several airports in the US and Germany have a large screen at the
Letters to the Editor
7
gate which displays fl ight status as well as the list of passengers who are waitlisted or stand-ing by according to their priority.
That way the gate doesn’t get crowded, especially when boarding. Would this be fea-sible for the standby counter in Hong Kong or other large CX airports?
Name withheld
Bob Nipperess, Employee Services Manag-er, replies: Our arrangements for FOC travel are already more generous than most carriers and we cannot see a need to change them at this time.
True, some carriers do off er FOC travel after the age of 18 years. However, to access FOC travel, most carriers require longer length-of-service requirements than does Cathay Pacifi c.
In respect of your other suggestion about airport acceptance processes, with the intro-duction of PSS we have an excellent opportu-nity to off er diff erent approaches to registra-tion and acceptance for ID passengers.
Please be assured we will pursue these op-tions with the object of streamlining and sim-plifying the present processes.
Galley reaching bursting pointDuring lunch hours, The Galley doesn’t seem able to cope with the overfl ow of staff .
It’s taking a long time to queue for the ca-shier, queue to pick up the food and then fi -nally also queue to fi nd a table.
Are there any plans to expand The Galley area?
Name withheld
John Arnold, Manager Property & Services, replies: Owing to space constraints I regret that there are no plans to expand The Galley.
I do appreciate that long queues form at peak times and it would help if staff could stagger their lunch breaks to ease crowding at peak times.
Queenie thrives in challenging times
KA PEOPLE
Queenie Huang has come a long way from the day she joined Dragonair in Xiamen as a driver.
Through persistence and hard work she has been promoted over the years to her current position of Customer Services Supervisor.
Queenie celebrated her 20th anniversary with KA in July this year. “Every day my work is full of challenges, and learning from these mo-ments enriches my life,” Queenie says.
She will never forget an encounter with a passenger in 2006. A Taiwanese army veteran had become loud and abusive after being abandoned by his relatives. But, with the help of her team, Queenie helped the passenger to calm down and board his � ight.
“He held my hands tightly with his big calloused hands and kept saying thank you. I was shocked and touched, and it strengthened my resolve to serve everyone better,” she says.
An experience a few years ago also left a lasting impres-sion. Queenie and her team had to deal with eight � ights that were diverted to Xiamen due to a typhoon in Hong Kong. They valiantly rose to the occasion and, after 18 hours, managed to process every case and were complimented by passengers.
“This underlined my belief that if we unite together to � ght for a common goal, then we can overcome all di� culties,” she says.
Queenie spends her free time trying di� erent kinds of food, reading and going to the spa.
Enhanced structure refl ects expansion Dragonair’s Infl ight Services Department (ISD) has implemented a new manage-ment structure as part of the department’s ongoing organisational changes to better address the airline’s fast expansion and re-cruitment of cabin crew.
“Dragonair is growing fast in terms of crew size and operations. We have a rela-tively young team – over 30% of our crew have less than two years’ working experi-ence. We need to ensure that we have the structure, processes and systems in place and the necessary skill-sets to ensure ser-vice consistency across the board,” says Ce-cilia Leung, General Manager ISD.
ISD now has three major work areas: Cabin Services, Catering Services, and ISD Programme Management & Quality Man-agement. Cabin Services has been further divided into two streams: Service/Opera-tions and Cabin Crew Management.
Cabin Crew Management is responsible for enhancing direct crew communications to further support, involve and engage the remote workforce, as well as managing overall crew resources and bases.
Service/Operations Management is re-sponsible for developing and implement-ing KA’s unique service strategies, training and development of crew, implementing the cabin crew mentorship programme, en-suring cabin safety, and the running of daily Briefi ng Offi ce work.
Cecilia points out that cabin crew en-
■ New TV channel has cabin crew focusDragonair will launch a pilot scheme for a new cabin crew TV channel in mid-October.
Designed to enhance communications with crew, “Dragon TV” will be enter-taining, informative and engaging.
It will initially be acces-sible via a link on Dragonet and there are plans to make it available on mobile devices.
KA BRIEFS
LONG SERVICE: Queenie (right) receives a souvenir from Airport Services Manager Agnes Cao to mark 20 years at KA.
gagement will continue to be at the top of the agenda.
“Thanks to crew feedback, we’ve achieved some positive results so far and will continue to be proactive in keeping crew well informed, maintaining two-way dialogues, and involving our crew in oper-ational improvement initiatives,” she says.
Meanwhile, ISD has 30 key projects cur-rently in the pipeline to improve opera-tional improvement.
These include the new cabin crew men-torship programme, a defect-free cabin project, a cabin/ground collaboration proj-ect, setting up a TV channel, catering op-erational system support project, revamp of service fl ows, enhanced training and de-velopment approaches, infl ight sales chan-nel strategy and cabin crew support team.
MORE ENGAGEMENT: Cecilia Leung.
8
Highlights of a magical adventure
CHINA
“Early morning fi shing with cormorants in Yangshou. A rainy day to fi sh, but the birds loved it!”
In 80 days, Mike Corey spent 205 hours in the air, fl ew 35 times with Cathay Pacifi c and Dragonair, which equates to one fl ight every 2.6 days, and only had one delay due to a typhoon.
“And no lost luggage!” he says. The winner of the Cathay Pacifi c “Travel the World in 80 Days” contest took
full advantage of the prize by visiting 12 countries and territories around the world – China, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Cambodia, Qatar, the US, Japan, Taiwan, Bangladesh, France and Italy – and made a few of his personal travel dreams come true along the way.
Mike gained some passionate fans along the way and says their com-ments and interest is what sustained him.
“The fans are like blood; it’s what keeps you going and it’s paramount to treat them as individuals. I fi nd it humbling that someone cares about what I do, and to know that something I have said has inspired them also means a lot,” he says.
“And sometimes the negative critical comments can be the best ones. You have to listen to all the criticism, take a second to swallow it and take it on board,” Mike adds.
Next up for Mike is developing content for his personal Kick the Grind brand on Facebook and YouTube.
“My goal is to develop documentaries that combines science, nature and travel. I have always been a curious person and always wondered how things work and I would love to share that enthusiasm with the world,” he says.
SOUTH AFRICA“I had a night out with the CX team, walked the line between the Indian and Atlantic Ocean, enjoyed a midwinter sunset on the southern extremes of the Atlantic Ocean and had one of the best moments of my life – cage diving with sharks in Gansbaai.”
THAILAND/CAMBODIA
“This is the Gao Yord, which when translated means ‘9 Spires’. The monk blows magic into the tattoo and seals it with blessed oils. This yant will give me luck and safety for the rest of my life and so far, so good!”
“Freakishly large spiders on the path.”
“In Guilin, I found the exact spot featured on the 20 yuan note and I couldn’t visit China without seeing some cuddly pandas.”
“Butterfl y photo shoot. Wish they would stay still!”
Mike Corey’s 80 days trip with Cathay Pacifi c may be over but the memories, and the fans made, will last a lifetime
One of the goals of the Cathay Paci� c “Travel the World in 80 Days”
contest was to encourage interaction and engagement with fans on the CX Facebook page.
It certainly achieved that goal as Mike continually updated fans on his worldwide trip by posting a stream of
photos albums, videos and quizzes as well as humorously answering fan comments and criticisms along the way.
Some posts, including the photo albums of Hong Kong/China and South Africa, got as many as 14,000 views, with well over 500 “likes” and dozens of both
good and bad comments. Digital Marketing Manager Ali Bullock says he is very pleased with the success of
the campaign. “The Simply Flying blogger called it the best competition of the year and comments on the Facebook page indicated that the contest helped CX appeal to a
younger fan base,” he says.“It also wasn’t a one-hit wonder as the fans followed Mike on his journey and, along the
way, pushed the messages about the worldwide CX network and the fun of travel. “We also saw a massive boost in the number of Facebook fans and, more importantly,
much higher engagement which is what we want to see happening on the page,” Ali adds.
Mak
ing th
e most of 80 days
9
1. At the parking bay, a refueller uses a truck equipped with hoses to connect the hydrant pit to the aircraft fuel inlet/s on the wing.2. The fuel is tested to ensure that it is free of contamination.3. A fl ight crew checks the quality of the fuel.4. The hoses are detached from the aircraft wing.5. The hose is detached from the hydrant pit.6. The refuelling is fi nished and the hose is securely reattached to the truck.
1
2
3
5
4
6
Refuelling an aircraftRefuelling an aircraft is a much more complicated business than pumping fuel into a car.
In Hong Kong, jet fuel stored in mega-sized tanks at the Aviation Fuel Supply Company (AFSC) is pumped through underground pipes to various hydrant pits at the parking bays.
Refuellers use trucks equipped with hoses to connect a pit to the aircraft fuel inlet on the wing. As fuel is uploaded, the aircraft’s computer system uses sensors and valves to achieve the optimum distribution of fuel in the tanks located inside the wings, the belly, and even the tail on some aircraft.
Refuelling may take up to 90 minutes for a long-haul � ight. A � ight from Hong Kong to Paris, for instance, will need 35,408 US gallons of fuel, whereas a � ight from Paris to Amsterdam will only need a tenth of that. In contrast, a car needs 13 US gallons of fuel for a full tank. (One US gallon equals approximately 3.8 litres.)
The amount of fuel for any given � ight has three components: fuel for the estimated � ight time, fuel to be used in case of a diversion, and the minimum amount of fuel as standby reserve. The minimum reserve fuel di� ers for each aircraft but is required by law and cannot be used up in the normal course of the trip.
The airline’s fuel suppliers di� er from port to port. One airport may have a single local supplier while another will have a full range of international suppliers. When the airport has no underground hydrant system, fuel is delivered to the aircraft by mobile bowser units.
But no matter where or how the aircraft is refuelled, it is the engineers’ job to ensure the high quality of the fuel. They use sampling tanks in the refuelling trucks to check that the fuel is free of water, dirt and other contaminants. There are also procedures and checks in place that ensure fuel is safe at all times right from the re� nery all the way to the aircraft.
• Thanks to Technical Services Manager Airbus Mark Panton, Purchasing Manager – Fuel Mike Richards and AFSC General Manager Daniel YC Tsang for their assistance with this article.
Highlights of a magical adventure JAPAN
“Mt Fuji is an ancient volcano. This is me and my trusty hiking staff with the crater at the summit. On the long walk down I would have paid good money for a sled or a hang-glider for this part.“Down the hatch. Don’t believe the hype, fugu blowfi sh is safe and delicious (right).”
EUROPE
“Setting up Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris for her closeup.”
“Had to drop by the most famous tower in the world.”
Mike Corey’s 80 days trip with Cathay Pacifi c may be over but the memories, and the fans made, will last a lifetime
12
CHIN
AM
ALA
YSIA
Cross-Strait promotion pays offThe CX team had a joint booth with sister airline KA at the 7th Cross-Strait Travel Fair 2011 in Xiamen in September.
With the theme of “Cross-Strait Tourism, Cooperation and Mutual Bene� t” the fair was held to coincide with the 15th China International
Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), and attracted attendees from around Asia including Hong Kong, Ma-cau, Southeast Asia and Japan.
Hong Kong Financial Secre-tary John Tsang (pictured left) dropped by the booth and chat-ted to Manager Southern China Quincy Yip.
Underprivileged kids have a fun day outThe CX Penang team worked with the Penang State Welfare Department to host a group of underprivileged children for a “CX Day Out” event.
Sta� played some games with the children before watching the 3D Smurfs movie
and ending the day with a catered meal onboard a CX
aircraft.
TAIW
AN
Trade partners welcome new country headTrade partners and media were given the chance to farewell Adrian Harley and welcome Vivian Lo as the new General Manager Taiwan & Korea.
The event was held at the Taipei Meridien Hotel and Adrian thanked the 250 guests for their help during his � ve years leading
the Taiwan o� ce. The team also farewelled a team veteran in
August when Kaohsiung Airport Services Man-ager Thunder Lei retired after 38 years.
The dinner, hosted by Vivian (pictured left with Thunder), included department heads and the many colleagues Thunder
has worked with over the years.
Adelaide goes non-stop three times weeklyFrom 24 November, Cathay Pacifi c will convert three of its seven weekly Adelaide to Hong Kong fl ights to non-stop services. All fl ights currently go via Melbourne.
“Cathay Pacifi c has been fl ying to Adelaide since 1992 and we’ve seen growth in demand from travellers in the business, leisure and student markets, particularly to and from China,” says General Manager Southwest Pacifi c Dane Cheng.
The airline will operate an Airbus A330 on the route in a two-class – Business and Economy Class – confi guration until 24 March 2012.
The new CX174/173 service means passengers arrive in Hong Kong at 2.30pm giving them time to connect to 45 destinations worldwide on the same day, including cities around Asia, the Middle East, North America and even a same-day arrival in London.
The CX104/5 service will continue to follow a HKG-ADL-MEL-HKG routing on the other four days.
“This is the fi rst time CX has added fl ights on this route for the Australian summer period and it is also the fi rst time for us to have a non-stop fl ight to or from Adelaide,” says Business Development Manager SA/NT Roz Meertens.
“The expectation is that the new Adelaide fl ight will per-form strongly.”
The team is focusing the promotion on highlighting the ease of connections. “The target market is across many segments and incorporates both leisure and corporate travellers,” Roz says.
Overall, it’s been a challenging year for the Australian market.
“There’s been a large increase in capacity by competitors operating to/from Australia and since the start of the year we’ve seen very aggressive pricing initiatives introduced by our competitors,” Roz says.
“This has had an impact on our back end performance. At the same time, interestingly, the front end has performed well, delivering an increase in both premium revenue and passenger numbers,” she adds.
IND
ON
ESIA
Fresh feel with new offi cesThe teams in Jakarta and Surabaya celebrated new o� ce openings on 22 September.
Both facilities will o� er more con-venience for passengers and sta� by providing a more e� cient use of � oor space and improved customer counters.
O� ciating at the opening ceremony were Director Sales & Marketing Rupert Hogg and General Manager Southeast Asia Wilson Yam.
The ceremony included a rib-bon-cutting and a traditional “nasi tumpeng” to bestow good fortune on the new facilities.
Country Manager Indonesia Rob Bradshaw said: “We are very pleased to be able to introduce our new of-� ces in Jakarta and Surabaya.
“It will allow us to run a smoother operation and o� er more conve-nience for our customers and sta� in both cities. This is in line with our commitment to be the best airline serving Indonesia.”
NEWS FOCUS
GETTING READY: The South Australian team is looking forward to direct Hong Kong fl ights over summer.
13
NET
HER
LAN
DS
Computer donation helps communityThe Amsterdam team put their old PCs to good use by donat-ing them to the Eigenwijks foundation.
The foundation is devoted to creating socially strong and friendly neighbourhoods by involving inhabitants in activi-ties to promote citizenship and support systems as well as holding computer clinics.
The donated computers will be used by neigh-bourhood volunteers to give training to people who are new to computers and to those who don’t speak Dutch very well.
The courses are designed to help them develop new skills and make friends at the same time.
IND
IA
In dramatic CBS news footage taken in 1975, and now available to watch on YouTube, Vietnamese refugees can be seen desperately scrambling to get on board the last US airlift out of Danang.
In the midst of this important moment in history was Toru Hazama as he stood at the aircraft door helping people get on board.
“We took off under the most critical conditions – the B727 was taxiing on the runway and onto the grass area due to runway damage – and there was no one in the control tower as the controller had already evacuated,” Hazama-san recalls.
The Line Maintenance Engineer was working for a US airline in Tokyo at the time and said he would never forget the “heavy toll that the war exacted on human beings”.
Towards the end of the Vietnam war, Hazama-san was also involved in helping a support group that looked after orphans in Vietnam.
“They asked the airline’s chairman to help bring these orphans out of Saigon to a safe place. He agreed to do so after he met with the group, and the orphans,” Hazama-san says, pointing out that he was struck by the dedication he saw in the support group.
“I was so impressed by their strong teamwork, courage and vitality, even as they risked their own lives to follow their leader and accomplish their mission,” Hazama-san says.
Soon after the war in 1975, Hazama-san joined Cathay Pacifi c and has stayed with the airline ever since. His most unforgettable experience was when his station team in Itami set a record of no technical delays for one year from 1990 to 1991 and then for two consecutive years from 1991 to 1993.
“Our team received an award from then-Chairman Peter Sutch for our two-year record in 1993. That was more than 1,460 fl ights with no technical delays,” Hazama-san says.
After retiring from CX Japan, Hazama-san was hired by the Hong Kong Line Maintenance team, working in a number of line stations including Saigon, Bangkok, Delhi and Chennai, and is now based in Incheon.
“I would like to keep on working for CX as long as the airline needs me and while I can maintain my good health,” he says.
Toru Hazama puts his heart into CX
PORT PEOPLE
AIRLINE VETERAN: Hazama-san with his wife, Yoshiko.
JAPA
N
Making a differenceThe Chennai Team is supporting the Landmark Foundation which does social work among slum children and the abandoned elderly in Chennai.
For this academic year, which began in June, the foundation is committed to helping 76 children from as young as four right up to college age to achieve their educational goals.
CX India has made a contribution of essential materials such as school bags, books and stationery, and the Chennai team made a special trip to distribute the items to the children.
Account Manager Eileen Mathew, Sales & Administration Coordinator Swapna Haribhaskar and Area Sales Manager – Tamil Nadu & Kerala Rajesh Menon bought and packed the gifts and, on the day, several sta� cars were used to transport the goods. The team gave their time on a Sunday to distribute the items and spend some time with the children.
HISTORIC MOMENT: Hazama-san (right) was present at a key point during the Vietnam War.
ties to promote citizenship and support systems as well ties to promote citizenship and support systems as well
The courses are designed to help them develop
Campaign offers a feast for the eyes The CX Japan team captured the essence of Hong Kong and highlighted the experiences that make the city worth visiting with a series of dazzling adverts for the “Hong Kong Style” campaign.
The six-month campaign, done in collaboration with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, features three smorgasbords of photos highlighting food, attractions and shopping.
At the launch event in Tokyo, General Manager Japan Simon Large said: “What we want to do today is give you a � avour of Hong Kong and to give you a better idea about why we love Hong Kong so much.”
2010 Miss Universe Japan Maiko Itai attended the opening event and shared some of her expe-riences after visiting Hong Kong for the � rst time earlier in the year.
Sales & Marketing Manager Japan James Evans says the campaign was being planned before the March earthquake and the expectations then were to grow Hong Kong sales by more than 10%.
“With Hong Kong Style we wanted to refresh the image of Hong Kong in Japan and not only appeal to people who have already visited Asia’s world city but also to reach out to those who
haven’t,” he says.
“Hong Kong is the third most visited Asian destina-tion from Japan, after China and Ko-rea, and there are consistently between 1.2 to 1.3 million visitors from Japan visiting Hong Kong each year. With CX and KA’s comprehensive schedules between Ja-pan and Hong Kong it is no wonder that our home city is by far and away our bestselling destination,” James adds.
Climb every mountainCX sta� are used to overcoming challenges, so, when the Mumbai team was literally faced with a mountain, they simply worked together to scale it.
The road trip to Karnala and Pen, on the outskirts of Mumbai, included a two-and-a-half-hour trek up a mountain from the Karnala bird sanctuary. The 17-person team all made it to the summit despite varying levels of � tness and only having one bottle of water between them.
Lunch at the Woods Hotel was a welcome relief before setting o� to Pen to spend some time in the tranquil water of the nearby dam. The road to the dam was � lled with huge potholes, so bikes were used to ferry everyone.
The team really enjoyed the serene environment by the water which was so di� erent from the hustle of Mumbai.
14
Johan van DuijnContract Manager, IMTJohan previously worked in Belgium for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecom-munication (SWIFT). He did a number of projects at the SWIFT offi ce in Hong Kong and “that’s how the idea grew to one day wanting to relocate to this fabulous city!” he says.
Johan likes hiking and has taken up Thai kick-boxing at his local gym. “My other interests are
(vintage) Harley-Davidson motorcycles, travelling and gastronomy,” he says.
Epsilon IpEnterprise Architect, IMTEpsilon was previously Head of APAC Security Practice at Cisco Systems.
“I hope to contribute my knowledge and experience to defi ne next-generation security strategies for CX,” he says.
Epsilon likes astronomy and loves cats. “I have a Scottish fold and a British shorthair,” he says.
He also serves as CISM Director for the ISACA China Hong Kong Chapter, helping to promote information security professionalism in Hong Kong and China.
Pierre BastjaensPurchasing Manager, IMTPierre previously worked in Paris for construction company Bouygues and he moved to Hong Kong after his wife.
He says when the job search started, CX was top of his list of companies to work for.
“I am really happy to be part of the team and feel I might one day be one of those people who came to Hong Kong for a few years and end up staying
much longer than expected,” Pierre says.
Sara Byrne Assistant Manager Infl ight Safety & Standards, ISDSara was previously a fl ight instructor and also worked in various positions at Virgin Australia.
“As I have previous experience in both fl ight and ground operational roles, I’m hoping to use that experience when working with the CX crew,” Sara says.
In Brisbane, Sara cooked for family and friends and hopes to continue that with the diff erent styles of food in Hong Kong.
“I enjoy the outdoors and keeping fi t but also enjoy restaurants, going out and a lazy afternoon drink. And I love being near the water,” Sara says.
Oneminute with...
Ketty Man, Park’N’Shop cashier
1. You have been working
for Cathay City’s Park’N’Shop for six years now. What do you like most about it? My customers have become my friends and they tell me about their lives.
2. You must have seen a lot of changes? I � rst meet customers when they’re single and they come to me after they get married and have had their own families.
3. What are some of your unforgettable experiences? Once a � ight crew on a three-month training in Hong Kong needed help with a missing button on his shirt. So I got some sewing materials from home to help him.
4. What did you do before this job? I was a full-time mom for 10 years. Before that, I worked for the Kowloon Cricket Club as a waitress and the Kai Tak Airport co� ee shop.
5. How does working for CX compare with your previous jobs? I like it here even though the store is small. I see people of di� erent nationalities every day.
6. How many children do you have? I have an 18-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son.
7. What does your husband do? He’s a taxi driver.
8. What do you do in your spare time? I study the Bible. I became a Christian in July after a CX sta� introduced me to his church.
9. What other interests do you have? I like to shop and eat food from di� erent countries.
10. If you had a chance to travel, where would you go?I would like to vsit friends in Aus-tralia and the US.
Customer Services Offi cer Heidi Yu has a body many women – and men! – would envy.
The bodybuilding fanatic has been involved in the sport for six years and took third place in the Hong Kong Bodybuilding Championship 2010 after also representing Hong Kong in similar competitions held around the region, including Singapore, Tai-wan and Vietnam.
In early October, Heidi represented Hong Kong in the Asia Body-building Championship in Bangkok. At press time, the results had not yet been announced.
“For the competition, you need both physical and mental prepara-tion. Beforehand I diet from around 10-12 weeks and a lot of mental control is needed. To be honest, I love junk food and biscuits are the hardest thing for me to say no to,” she laughs.
During the contest, all the competitors choose three freestyle poses and four quarter turns to display.
“The judges fi rst assess overall athletic appearance, taking the whole physique into account,” Heidi says. “The assessment takes into consider-ation hair and facial beauty, overall athletic development, presentation of a balanced, symmetrically developed physique, the condition of the skin and the skin tone, and the athlete’s ability to present themselves with confi dence, poise and grace.
“A high quality of self discipline is needed but, because I want to per-form the best I can on stage, I force myself to work harder and harder,” she adds.
Off season, Heidi normally goes to the gym two to three times a week and this increases to fi ve times when she’s preparing for a competition.
“My favourite thing to do is cardio training on the treadmill or to go for a run near Tolo Harbour,” she says.
And if you want a body like Heidi’s, she stresses that incredible discipline is needed.
“There are many easy exercises you can do at home when you are watching TV such as arm curls, tricep exten-sions, crunches or lunges. But there’s no free lunch – if you want a trim, sexy body then you must exercise every day,” Heidi says.
a balanced, symmetrically developed physique, the condition of the skin and the skin tone, and the athlete’s ability to present themselves with
“A high quality of self discipline is needed but, because I want to per-form the best I can on stage, I force myself to work harder and harder,”
Off season, Heidi normally goes to the gym two to three times a week and this increases to fi ve times when
“My favourite thing to do is cardio training on the treadmill or to go for a run near
“There are many easy exercises you can do at home when you are watching TV such as arm curls, tricep exten-sions, crunches or lunges. But there’s no free lunch – if you want a trim, sexy body then you must exercise every day,” Heidi says.
IN THE GROOVE: Heidi showcases some of her competition moves.
CX World welcomes all new staff. Here is a selection of the newcomers who recently came on board...New Joiners
Heidi puts poses to the test
FROM THE US WITH LOVE: San Francisco and Los Angeles-based crew with John Slosar during the Chicago launch gala celebration.
MOVING MOMENT: Patrick Li chairs his final
Commercial Sales Meeting after 30 years at CX.
GOOD LUCK MEL!: The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian teams hold a farewell party for Mel Choly Madayag.
GOING GOTHIC: CCD’s Elin Wong and Kerry McGlynn recreate the famous Amer-ican Gothic at Chicago’s Art Institute.
Three CX staff have been recog-nised for their outstanding volun-teer work in the annual “Hong Kong Loving Hearts Campaign” organised and run by ATV’s Chinese language channel.
Flight Purser Victor Lee, Assistant Manager, Technical Publishing & Library, Joyce Chow and Assistant Purchasing Manager Clara Ng have combined to make up one of the semi-finalist groups.
Victor (above) has been actively involved in volunteering service since 2003, taking care of those in need around the world. In 2003, he took unpaid leave for five months to help take care of the dying and poor in Calcutta.
“It doesn’t matter if you donate money or volunteer, the important thing is to try to help. Love is not about having something but giving,” Victor says.
Joyce (right) has devoted her weekend nights to manning the suicide prevention hotline of The Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong for 26
years. Joyce says: “In my ex-
perience, listening re-ally works. We act as a mirror and give them clarity, as well as hope and comfort.”
Clara (left) became even more committed to volunteer work after surviving a family car accident in 2008, and is now involved in set-ting up a personal charity fund to provide education to underprivileged children.
The 10 winners of the ATV campaign are decided by public voting which will close on 13 November. Go to www.hkatv.com for more information (website is in Chinese only).
To enter, visit the online quiz entry form on the CX World site. The deadline is noon on Friday, 4 November.
The QuizThe first prize this month is a three-night weekend stay in a deluxe room for two at the New World Saigon Hotel including buffet breakfast.
The New World Saigon Hotel is located in the city centre opposite the lush 23 September Park and within walking
distance of the famous Ben Thanh market. The 533-room hotel features a range of dining options and
guests can enjoy contemporary Chinese cuisine in Dynasty Restau-rant, relax with a drink in the Lounge or sample a deluxe seafood buffet at Parkview.
The property also contains a fitness centre overlooking the park, a spa with a range of body and beauty treatments and an outdoor swimming pool. For more information, visit www.saigon.newworldhotels.com
Seven lucky winners will receive either a GELer-ation manicure at Elemis Day Spa or a Tri-Pollar slimming or facial rejuvenation treatments at the Beautiful Skin Centre.
The GELeration manicure, priced at HK$540, is an additive-free hybrid polish available in 26 custom colours that gives nails a durable, pristine finish.
Applied like a regular polish but with the staying power of a gel, a GELeration Nails manicure or pedi-cure can last up to three weeks without chipping, peeling or fading. If the winner is a male, the prize can be exchanged for a Buff Manicure in the Spa’s dedicated Men’s Zone.
TriPollar is a new and clinically proven technology that provides an active solution in the fight against ageing and slackened skin.
The treatment, performed by expert therapists, is designed to stimu-late new collagen growth right where it is needed to tighten and re-con-tour the face, neck or body. Each treatment is worth HK$600.
For more information go to www.elemisdayspa.com.hk and www.beautifulskincentre.com.hk
WELCOME ABOARD: New Los Angeles-based crew were in
Hong Kong for their final induction training.
SUMMER FROLICS: The sun shines brightly as the Vancouver team enjoy a barbecue.
SMALL CELEBRATION: Bangkok staff enjoyed cake to mark the port’s 65th anniversary.
DANCING QUEENS: The annual Senior Pursers dinner was the usual lively, colourful affair.
AIRPORT HANDOVER: Peter
Langslow passes the AHQ
baton to Adrian Harley dur-
ing his farewell party.
Vote now for staff trio in community campaign
16
Shhh, don’t tell anyone. The summer season in Whistler, Canada is more fun than the winter season. In fact, I will go one further and declare that the warm, sunny summers are so incredible that you might switch your winter ski holiday to a summer one.
Activities in the summer include biking, hiking, swimming, fi shing, golfi ng, picnicking, sightseeing and canoeing. To make Whistler even more tantalising, prices are cheaper in the quieter summer season.
The entire Whistler valley, from north to south, is honeycombed with biking and hiking trails for all fi tness and skill levels. Strolling or pedal-ling along a meandering mountain stream or lake is a relaxing way to spend the day, while adrenalin junkies can try out the single track trails or downhill biking.
While biking or hiking, take the opportunity to stop at Alta or Lost Lake and enjoy a plunge into the clean, cool waters. Alta Lake is not gla-cier fed and is quite comfortable for swimming during July and August. The lakeside area is popular with picnickers who go there to swim and enjoy the sunshine whilst watching the sailboats and canoes go by.
The Whistler Blackcomb ski lifts stay open during the summer months to whisk visitors to the mountain top for spectacular views or, even bet-ter, a leisurely walk amongst the wild-fl ower-strewn mountain trails.
And you really shouldn’t miss the record-breaking Peak to Peak gon-dola that crosses Fitzsimmons creek at almost 1,500 feet (457 metres). It’s an unusual day that you can’t spot a black bear from the safety of your ski lift.
Golfers can visit one of three championship golf courses. My favou-rite is the Nicklaus North which is nestled along the emerald waters of Green Lake and has panoramic views of both Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. The fi ve-star hotels off er delightful spa experiences but my
A resort for all seasons
SHOW US YOUR TIPS!CX World welcomes sta� travel tips from across the network – email us at CCD#SCT
Travel bites
■ Cebu splendourAlegre Beach Resort & Spa, Cebu is o� ering CX sta� a
special rate of 4,880 pesos per night, including deluxe room
accommodation with a choice of daily breakfasts or round-trip land transfers.
The property is set amidst seven hectares of lush tropical gardens featuring 19 private cabanas.
The resort has one main restaurant, The Pavilion, located on top of a cli� and serving international and typical Philippine cuisine. There is also an outdoor BBQ and bar area.
A wide range of watersports including jet-skiing, snorkelling, diving and kayaking is also available.
More information on Travel Desk.
■ Gamers gather in Hong Kong Asia leads the world in producing innovative computer game technology and enthusiasts can get a � rst glimpse of the exciting new products coming next year at the Asia Game Show at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Held from 23-26 December, the annual events attracts thousands of visitors and video lovers from all over the world.
More information can be found at www.asiagameshow.com
■ Get into the Christmas spirit From 18 November to 3 January, visitors to Hyde Park in London will be able to enjoy a festive winter wonderland complete with a German Christmas market and a traditional English fair serving up edible goodies.
The free event also includes an ice skating rink, the Snow Ball Bungee Dome and a spectacular observation wheel which soars high over the area.
Visit www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com for more information.
HK$500 for a travel tale!
SUMMERTIME FUN: (Clockwise from top) beautiful Alta Lake; a bear hazard at the golf course; Brad and his wife Elina enjoy the views.
There’s a lot more to Whistler than just winter sports, according to Captain Brad Sinclair
Cathay Holidays Limited would like to invite sta� to have a fun holi-day in the snow in Niseko with a special prize o� er from Hokkaido Tracks Holidays.
Niseko is located more than 600km north west of Tokyo on the island of Hokkaido. The area is regarded as a must-ski destination with an average of 14 metres of snowfall in winter and arguably the � nest snow powder in the world attracting thousands of winter sport devotees every year.
Hokkaido Tracks Holidays is the largest and most established ac-commodation company in Niseko with a range of luxury accommo-dation choices and services including a complimentary mountain ski valet service, Internet access and a dedicated concierge to look after everything from room service to babysitting or arranging ski lessons for adults or children.
CX World is o� ering a special prize of two nights’ accommodation at a two-bedroom condominium or resort house run by Hokkaido Tracks Holidays. The visit must be completed by 30 April 2012.
To enter, send an email to Sta� Communication Team Group (CCD#SCT) with the subject line “Hokkaido Tracks” by 31 October and tell us which island Niseko is located on.
favourite is the Scandinave Spa. The facility is surrounded by the calming Lost Lake forest and there is a series of outdoor hot and cold baths, wa-terfalls, saunas and steam baths to stimulate blood circulation, release toxins and leave you feeling that you don’t have a care in the world.
Complete the visit with a Swedish massage and you are guaranteed to sleep away the jet lag.
Win a ski-resort
stay!
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
Mention CX World to the Nicklaus North golf course when booking a round of golf and you’ll receive a 10% discount for the 2012 season.
