A magazine for staff and friends of Cathay Pacifi c Airways

Code share deal inkedFlights to Fiji another boost for Hong Kong hub

news

New team dives in with a raft of ideas

Getting highin TibetTrekking in the heart of Shangri-La

travel

Deep end of the ocean

features

Meet the Team campaign brings crew closer

Personal touch

who, what, where

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Shorter routes, bigger benefi ts

PRD route changes to cut fuel burn, emissions and lead to cost savings

Airline the most-admired

Cathay Paci� c has taken top honours for the fourth year in a row in the Wall Street Journal Asia’s reader survey of Hong Kong’s most-admired companies.

Among the di� erent categories in the survey – conducted among 2,622 executives and professionals in the region – CX was placed top in Quality, second in Innovation and third in both Long-Term Vision and Corporate Reputation.

In an interview in the paper, Chief Executive Tony Tyler reiterated the airline’s commitment to product and service excellence and the ways CX is continuing to seek improvements, including the ongoing strategic review.

September 2009, Issue 162 A magazine for staff and friends of Cathay Pacifi c Airways

Changes to � ight paths over the Pearl River Delta into Hong Kong be-ing introduced next month will cut � ight times and see reductions in fuel burn and emissions over the area.

The changes, being implemented by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation De-partment (HKCAD) with e� ect from 22 October, will also lead to signi� -cant cost savings for the Cathay Pa-ci� c Group.

The redesign will considerably shorten the two longest of the cur-rent arrival routes used by CX and KA � ights inbound from the north and west.

“The route inbound from Bang-kok, for example, will be more direct and around 210 kilometres shorter, saving us around eight minutes � y-ing time over the current route,” says Russell Davie, General Manager Op-erations in FOP.

All � ights inbound from Europe and China and most services from New York and Toronto will be af-fected by the arrival route from the north which exits Mainland airspace just to the west of Macau.

“Here we will see the route short-ened by 190km, saving 6-8 minutes in � ying time. That doesn’t sound

much but it will save us money, re-duce emissions and even help pas-sengers through better on-time per-formance,” says Russell.

Other � ights from the west, in-cluding from Bangkok and India, will bene� t with the changes to the second arrival route over Hainan Is-land.

Russell says CX has been working through IATA and with HKCAD for several years to achieve route im-provements.

“This is a very positive initiative by HKCAD that will also aid future PRD airspace redesigns and help in the

further expansion of HKIA” he says.Head of Environmental A� airs

Mark Watson says the initiative is welcomed as it supports the indus-try’s overall commitment to reduce air-tra� c management ine� cien-cies around the world.

“The PRD has long been seen as one area in which more direct rout-ings could have real signi� cance in terms of reducing unnecessary fuel burn and lowering emissions,” says Mark. “This will play an important role in assisting in IATA’s commit-ment to the overall carbon-neutral growth of aviation.”

In an interview with CX World, Chief Executive Tony Tyler says that while closer economic cooperation between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta is inevitable – and will bring many bene� ts – there is a need to ensure that Hong Kong’s role as an international aviation hub is not weakened as a result.

With HKIA projected to be at full capacity by 2018, “it is incumbent on Cathay Paci� c and the Airport Authority to make sure there is enough capacity and a good enough service to ensure passengers can come and go, and that cargo can � ow e� ciently through the airport,” he says.

A growth in passenger numbers should not be seen as a strain: “It is a business opportunity that we shouldn’t be giving away to other people!” he says.

In the short- to medium-term this will require an increase in the runway frequency rate at HKIA. “In the longer term, however, there is no doubt that a third runway will be needed,” he says.

• See page 4

Tyler – don’t weaken HK’s hub strength

Jumbo fl ightThings got heavy on board CX001 on 17 August with two baby elephants fl ying from Hong Kong to Brussels.

Originally brought in on CX3249 from Jakarta, the animals, named Ani and Valen-tino, were a gift to Belgium from the Indo-nesian government to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

Twenty litres of water were on standby in Hong Kong to keep the two hydrated while an ample supply of fruit was available for the 18-hour fl ight to Brussels.

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A show of strength Event shows way forward for Asian aviation following downturnAsian Aerospace 2009 stood up against the pressure of a challeng-ing business environment with 400 exhibitors from over 20 countries showcasing their products in Hong Kong from 8-10 September.

CX was the O� cial Carrier of Asian Aerospace which took place at AsiaWorld-Expo and included the Aircraft Interiors Asia and Air Freight Asia exhibitions as well as the Asian Business Aviation conference and the Asia Paci� c Airline Training Sym-posium.

Cathay Paci� c and Dragonair had a combined booth in the main exhibition hall which gave visitors a chance to try out the First Class seat while sta� were also on hand to demonstrate the CX Mobile ap-plication.

Another booth highlight was the imitation airport lounge with the sides decorated with images from the “Meet the Team” marketing cam-paign.

Assistant Marketing Manager Elise To says there was a steady stream of visitors and the overall response was positive.

“The First Class seat was popu-lar with everyone and even Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang dropped by to try it out!” she says.

Manager Product Alex McGowan says though he thought the space was smaller it was just as busy as previous events.

“I was impressed by how vibrant

ARATS head pays visit to Cathay CityA delegation of senior leaders from the Mainland overseeing Taiwan a� airs visited Cathay City on 30 July, led by Chen Yunlin, President of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS).

Also present was Sun Yafu, Vice Minister of Taiwan A� airs O� ce of the State Council, and nine other o� cials from ARATS, the Taiwan A� airs O� ce and the Taiwan A� airs Department of the Liaison O� ce of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong SAR.

The dignitaries enjoyed a simulator ride in the Flight Training Centre and a tour of other facilities in the headquarters complex.

A lunch at CPCS was hosted by CX Deputy Chairman Philip Chen along with Chief

and lively the show was. All the right people are here to meet with so from our perspective it’s a useful exercise,” he says.

Engineering Director Chris Gibbs says there was still a de� nite buzz about the place.

“At the Symposium, Norman Lo,

the CAD Director-General, delivered the keynote speech on new aviation technology and aviation training. There were discussions about the overall need in the industry to hire more pilots and more sta� in gen-eral so it’s not all gloomy, which is good to see,” he says.

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Produced by CX’s Corporate Communication Department

7/F North Tower, Cathay Paci� c City, Lantau, HK

Publisher: Kerry McGlynnManaging Editor: Mark Tindall

Editor: Joyce WongEnquiries: 2747-5293GalaCXy ID: CCD#SCT

Email: ccd#sct@cathaypaci� c.com

Performance Index

61%

89.5%Within 15 minsIndustry standard

on-the-dot CX standard

On-time performance

Passengers carried 2,210,068 3.8%

Passenger load factor 84.1% 5.7pt

ASKs (000) 9,389,709 -5.0%

Freight carried 131,732 -6.3%

Cargo load factor 72% 6.1pt

ATKs (000) 1,852,374 -9.9%* Figures for Aug 2009

Traffi c/capacity (CX + KA)*

Tony Tyler, Chief Executive

Message from the

Chief Executive

The fact that this is an extremely challenging time for the aviation industry was made strikingly evi-dent at this month’s Asian Aero-space event in Hong Kong. The mood was quite downcast and there was a lot of speculation about how long it would take the industry to get back to the healthy state we were enjoyed when we last convened in 2007. The jury’s still out on that one.

As the business downturn drags on we have to do everything we can to put our business on a surer footing, and that includes looking for more opportunities in our own backyard – the Pearl River Delta. The economies of Hong Kong and the PRD are becoming more closely integrated and that presents great opportunities for the Cathay Paci� c Group. Integration could also bring challenges, however, and it’s im-portant that we don’t let our guard down and see tra� c from Hong Kong being siphoned o� to other airports in the region.

That’s why we are enthusias-tic supporters of building a third runway at HKIA, which will ensure our home hub has the capacity it needs to enable it to compete ef-fectively with other expanding re-gional hubs in the future.

China as a whole, of course, remains of huge importance to the Group’s future – something we were very aware of when we brought Dragonair into the fold in 2006. Last month’s announcement that Air China and Swire Paci� c were buying the bulk of CITIC Pa-ci� c’s stake in Cathay Paci� c was a natural extension of the deal made three years ago and will reinforce the strategic relationship that al-ready exists with Air China. At the same time Swire will remain our major shareholder and there will be no change in Cathay Paci� c’s strategic direction or the way the company is managed.

To close, I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone in the team for helping Cathay Paci� c being named Hong Kong’s most-admired company for the fourth year in a row by the Wall Street Journal Asia. This is a fantastic achievement that shows that, whatever the current challenges we face, we are doing a lot of things right. Thank you all!

Executive Tony Tyler, Chief Operating O� cer John Slosar, Director Corporate Development Ian Shiu and Director Corporate A� airs Quince Chong.

During the visit President Chen thanked various business sectors in Hong Kong for their support and contribution towards the development of cross-Straits matters.

Hong Kong, he said, has for a long time held an important role in cross-Straits relations and the Central People’s Government has been concerned about the impact of “three links” on the SAR’s economy.

President Chen acknowledged the impact of cross-Straits direct � ights on the Hong Kong aviation industry and welcomed recommendations to o� set the impact.

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BEST IN SHOW: Scenes from Asian Aerospace 2009 including the vibrant opening ceremony (top) attended by Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang (centre) and Chief Executive Tony Tyler (third from right).

OFFICIAL VISIT: Chen Yunlin (centre) with Philip Chen (left) and Tony Tyler during his tour of Cathay City.

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Swire confi rms CX commitmentShareholding realignment will not change focusThe shareholding realignment announced last month that will see Air China and Swire Paci� c each take up a bigger stake in Cathay Paci� c made headlines around the world.

The news was splashed across business pages while commenta-tors speculated on what it might mean for the longer-term future of Cathay Paci� c and Hong Kong aviation.

In messages to sta� , Chairman Chris Pratt was unequivocal in con-� rming Swire Paci� c’s long-term commitment to CX and stressing that the new shareholding would not mean any changes to the stra-tegic direction and current opera-tional and � nancial management of the airline.

“Swire Paci� c fully intends to remain the single largest share-holder in the airline – as we have been for the past 60 years – and we remain wholeheartedly com-mitted to the long-term develop-ment of the aviation industry in Hong Kong and on the Mainland,” Chris stated.

Under the changes, which come into e� ect later in September, Air China will buy a 12.5% stake from

CITIC Paci� c, taking its sharehold-ing in CX to approximately 29.99%, while Swire Paci� c’s stake in the airline will increase from almost 40% to approximately 41.97%.

The new structure will inevitably see more cooperation between the two carriers on di� erent levels.

“Since our strategic partnership with Air China began in 2006 we have already seen developments such a reciprocal sales representa-tion and more code-share arrange-ments,” says Chief Executive Tony Tyler.

“Now we will see an even deeper

The team goes mobile!The popular “Meet the Team” site at Cathaypaci� c.com is now available for people on the move.

iPhone users who’ve downloaded the “CX Mobile” application will have automatically received an alert telling them they now have access to “Meet the Team”, allowing them to view all the pictures of sta� , read their pro� les and even download their favourite image as their phone’s wallpaper.

“Meet the Team” is only available for iPhones at the moment, but the CX Mobile application is also available to users of BlackBerry and Windows Mobile smart phones (including the latest Nokia and Sony Ericsson devices).

More than 60,000 downloads have been made to date, and CX has put itself ahead of the pack in terms of o� ering mobile services to users of smart phones – most carriers currently o� er mobile applications for iPhones only.

Full details can be found at Cathaypaci� c.com (Manage Your Trip > Mobile Services).

Exchange programme gives Air China insights Four Cathay Paci� c sta� spent a few months with Air China earlier this year to learn more about the airline’s business functions and operations.

The annual programme ran from 23 February to 22 May with Cargo Sales Manager Stanley Cheung, ICM Manager Dennis Leung, Manager Revenue – Europe/S Paci� c/ME & India Patrick Yu and Personnel Manager Overseas Olivia Wong taking part.

Stanley says the experience gave him more insight into how “commercial” Air China can be.

“Unlike CX Cargo, which is a department of the company, Air China Cargo is a standalone business entity with complete business functions.

“I was attached to Marketing & Sales, Network & Revenue, Finance and Cargo Services which are all new to me and widened my horizons,” he says.

Olivia says her time was cut short to six weeks but she was still able to spent time in various departments including Human Resources, Revenue and Marketing.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” she says. “I think my time there taught me to be open minded and never underestimate the competition.”

Dennis says it was a good opportunity to understand how

Air China operates on a day-to-day basis and how di� erent decisions were made from a � ight operations perspective.

“The main functions of Air China’s Flight Operations department is similar to that in CX but the structure is not the same,” he says.

“I gained invaluable experience on how a Mainland airline conducts its business.”

Two exchange programmes with Air China are being held annually with the next one starting on 19 October.

cooperation that will draw on the knowledge and experience avail-able in both hubs to bring more bene� ts for both carriers.”

In the media frenzy that fol-lowed the announcement, some commentators speculated that a full takeover of CX by Air China was inevitable while others saw that Swire was reluctant to lose control of Cathay.

In its leader on 19 August, the South China Morning Post said that “Cathay Paci� c is a symbol of Hong Kong. There are few compa-nies as highly respected or brands as closely associated with our city … there would be a good deal of disquiet in Hong Kong [if Swire did lose control].

In an opinion piece in the SCMP, political commentator Kevin Raf-ferty said that CX was “in many ways quintessentially Hong Kong, the medium-sized airline with an international heart, aggressively Cantonese but with a global pol-ish, proudly part of China and with the constant ambition to be the best – just as Hong Kong sees itself, rooted in China but with a vision of doing business with the whole world.”

The popular “Meet the Team” site at Cathaypaci� c.com is now available

automatically received an alert

itself ahead of the pack in terms

NEW IDEAS: (from left) Olivia Wong, Patrick Yu, Dennis Leung and Stan-ley Cheung in Beijing.

Typhoon Morakot, which swept by Hong Kong and made landfall in Tai-

wan on 7 August, was no ordinary summer storm.

The typhoon caused unprec-edented damage in Taiwan, par-ticularly in the south of the island,

with the worst � ooding in more than 50 years leaving hundreds

dead or missing and countless more left homeless.

Sta� in the CX and Dragonair teams in Taiwan leapt into action once the extent of the devastation was known, launching a relief fund to

help those a� ected.Taiwan sta� dug deep into their

pockets and in just a couple of weeks raised almost NT1 million (approxi-mately HK$235,000) while sta� from other ports, including Hong Kong, add-ed close to NT100,000.

The company agreed to match sta� donations and did some further round-ing up, leading to a � nal total of NT2.2 million.

The money was donated to the Bud-

dhist Tzu Chi Foundation, which has a long record of providing e� ective and compassionate care, with General Man-ager Taiwan & Korea Adrian Harley mak-ing the presentation at the foundation’s o� ce.

Adrian thanked sta� around the net-work, and particularly those in Taiwan, for their generosity.

The passage of the typhoon had a big impact on CX operations with all CX and KA � ights into and out of Taipei cancelled on 7 August and services to Kaohsiung in the south cancelled over two days.

It took a huge e� ort from the KHH team to get things operational again – read the full story on page 7.

HELPING HAND: Adrian Harley presents the cheque to the Tzu Chi Foundation.

COMMITTED: Chris Pratt said Swire will stay the biggest shareholder.

4

The key to keeping HKIA competitiveOpportunities and challenges from PRD integration – Tyler

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Friends and colleagues of Captain Jack Smith (retired), one of the driving forces behind the Sunnyside Club, were deeply saddened to hear of his passing last month.

Jack, who is survived by his wife Helen and children, passed away on 18 August following a long battle against cancer.

As a pilot, Jack was known as “a Captain who cared” – for the airline, his fellow pilots and cabin crew. He helped to get the Sunnyside Club up and running in 1988, later taking over as Chairman, and he never stopped caring for the youngsters the charity helped to support.

“To work with Jack in the Sunnyside Club was an inspiring experience,” says committee member Daisy Chan.

“The memory that I cherish the most is going on the annual junk trips with him where Jack always wore his elephant-print T-shirt and played with the kids on the beach. I will never forget his big smile and the love he showed.”

The Sunnyside Club has given great support to various schools over the years and “this highly respectable gentleman” is remembered with real affection by April Lau, Principal of the HKCS Pui Oi School.

“Over the years we witnessed his single-minded devotion to putting smiles on children’s faces. We should all be thankful that we were given the chance to have known Captain Jack,” says April.

Nora Wong, General Secretary of the Hong Chi Association, recalls the assistance Jack provided over the years, securing funds for everything from therapy aids to safety equipment.

“Uncle Jack created many job training opportunities for our trainees … he was a man of great man of honour with admiration and endless love for those he helped.”

The economies of Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region are becoming more intertwined and closer cooperation between the two areas will have an impact in many areas – including aviation.

CX World spoke to Chief Executive Tony Tyler to ask how the Hong Kong hub can maintain its competitiveness in the light of increased integration.

What impact will closer cooperation be-tween Hong Kong and the PRD have on the region’s aviation industry?There’s no doubt that the PRD is increas-ingly going to become part of the catch-ment area served by Hong Kong Interna-tional Airport. We’re seeing that already in the way our sales are growing in the PRD.

I see the region as a great source of traf-fic for our home hub and specifically for the Cathay Pacific and Dragonair networks. Increasingly the PRD will be seen as a des-tination as well – that’s one of the reasons we are starting flights to Guangzhou.

We made it clear it clear in our strategy review that we should develop our busi-ness in the PRD so the increasing integra-tion of the two economies should definite-ly be seen as an opportunity.

And a challenge too, given the growth of Guangzhou and Shenzhen airports?At the moment each of the three big PRD airports – and their home carriers – are very different. Hong Kong is a big international hub, Shenzhen has a more comprehensive domestic network while Guangzhou is also limited in terms of international services.

Hong Kong and the Cathay Pacific Group need to continue building HKIA as an inter-national hub and gateway to China, at the same time serving the local market with a

profitable range of services into China.

It’s projected that HKIA will be at full ca-pacity by 2018. Could cooperation with other airports in the PRD take some of the strain off our home hub?It should not be seen as a strain – it is a business opportunity that we shouldn’t be looking to give away to other people! If people want to travel to and from Hong Kong they want to do it through HKIA, not to be forced into taking the second best option. It is incumbent on Cathay Pacific and the Airport Authority to make sure there is enough capacity and a good enough service to ensure passengers can come and go, and that cargo can flow ef-ficiently through the airport.

Capacity constraints at HKIA are a prob-lem and in the short- to medium-term we need to increase the runway frequency rate. In the longer term, however, there is no doubt that a third runway will be needed. True, business has taken a dive recently, so it’s perhaps not as urgent as it was, but it is still important that it’s done. These things take a long time so it’s very important that the planning and prepara-tion work is pushed ahead.

A number of other rival hubs in the re-gion are already adding more capacity but they may find their runways underutilised. Build a third runway in Hong Kong and it will be used. A lot of airlines want to fly here and we certainly want to grow and develop our business.

Would the Hong Kong hub benefit from the proposed rail link between HKIA and Shenzhen International Airport?For Cathay Pacific and HKIA it will certainly be a good thing as long as there’s a stop in

downtown Shenzhen – and that is part of the plan. The link will give us better access to the Shenzhen market, especially for in-ternational travel.

However, I don’t think we will see a lot of passengers transferring between the two airports – it’s been shown around the world that people prefer single-hub trans-fers. One thing is clear: a rail link cannot be a substitute for a third runway.

You mentioned the efficient flow of car-go through HKIA – can more be done in this area?Our business will increasingly depend on transshipment freight and the customs regulations in Hong Kong are not as help-ful as they could be.

At the moment, when you tranship freight through HKIA have to import it and then export, whereas some other airports have created free trade zones enabling freight to be move seamlessly from one aircraft to another without a lot of paper-work. This is something we’ve asked the government to have a look at.

Obituary – Captain Phil Blown

On 5 August, Captain Phillip (Phil) Blown passed away while resident in a nursing home in Richmond, New South Wales, Australia. He was 96.

Captain Blown was a veteran pilot with Cathay Pacific during the heady days of the 1950s and enjoyed a long and distinguished

aviation career.On 23 July 1954, Capt Blown was Captain of a DC4

flight from Bangkok bound for Hong Kong which was shot down by Chinese fighters over the South China Sea near Hainan Island.

Of the 18 crew and passengers, nine survived thanks to the intense efforts of the flight deck crew and the sturdy construction of the aircraft.

The story of the “Hainan incident” is detailed in Gavin Young’s Beyond Lion Rock: the Story of Cathay Pacific Airways.

Doors finally close on Classic Fleet Office

Obituary – Capt Jack Smith (retired)

It all came to an end for the Boeing 747-200F Classic fleet on 31 August when the last aircraft, B-HVZ, flew out of Hong Kong bound for its final resting place at Victorville in the Californian desert.

Before the flight the remaining members of the Classic team gathered for a commemorative photo to mark the closing of the Fleet Office – an emotional moment for all concerned.

“I am sad to see everyone on the fleet go – the pilots, flight engineers, simulator instructors and our secretary, Josephine [Wong],” says Chief Pilot (747) Geoff Denham.

“This Fleet had a real ‘can do’ attitude. The destinations weren’t the most

glamorous and the cargo schedules were tough, so the Classic crew developed great camaraderie amongst themselves.

“The work was demanding and largely unheralded but the crew got the job done without complaint – well not too much,

anyway! It is sad to see the team disband.”

The last Classic revenue flight took place on 27 July (see August CX World) and a skeleton team – Geoff, Chief Flight Engineer Mike Conduit and Captain Craig Baynes – was kept on to fly the last few aircraft out of Hong Kong.

Classic pilots have been redeployed across all fleets in CX, both passenger and freighter, while all flight

engineers have flown their last flight.

“Those of us who had the opportunity to experience a

crew with flight engineers will appreciate that they are a special breed.

“I will miss their technical expertise, their pragmatism and their wry sense of humour,” says Geoff.

FINAL CALL: (from left) Craig Baynes, Josephine Wong, Geoff Denham and Mike Conduit together for the last time.

5

Opportunities and challenges from PRD integration – Tyler

Countdown to East Asian Games begins!Hong Kong celebrated the 100-day countdown to the East Asian Games with a torch relay along the city streets on 29 August.

Cathay Pacifi c is one of eight Diamond spon-sors of the sporting event and among the 65 torchbearers was HKIA Service Leader Helen Liu who says she was “on top of the world” when she was chosen.

The event saw participants running along a special route covering Tsim Sha Tsui, Victo-ria Harbour and Wan Chai with Helen jogging along Salisbury Road in TST (right).

“I was surprised to be selected. It’s such an honour and very meaningful for me,” says Helen who is also a member of Hong Kong women’s basketball team.

“We’ve been training very hard since August and hope to do Hong Kong proud,” she says.

The East Asian Games will be held from 5-13 December with more than 3,000 elite athletes from nine countries and regions competing in 22 diff erent sports.

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n Faster immigration for MPOsAll members of the Marco Polo Club can now enjoy quicker and more convenient immigration clearance at Hong Kong Interna-tional Airport.

MPOs can have their travel document and fi ngerprint data scanned in advance, enabling them to enjoy much quicker pas-sage through immigration using the Frequent Visitor e-Channels.

The service is now available to all Silver tier and above MPOs who are 18 and over and in pos-session of the appropriate travel documents. They can enrol free of charge at the Immigration Department’s Enrolment Offi ce in the Arrival Hall at HKIA.

n Safety reporting goes electronicElectronic versions of two ground safety forms used by ground staff worldwide – the Ground Safety Report form and the Injury Report form – can now be found on the Corporate Safety Department website on IntraCX.

The Ground Safety Report can be used for reporting events at Cathay City, at Hong Kong airport, at all outports, in crew hotels and on crew transport worldwide, while the Injury Report form is used to report injuries that occur on the ground.

Cabin crew should continue to use the existing e-CSR system and the existing Cabin Crew Work Injury Form (WIF).

n New at CXcitementNew items for sale at the CXcite-ment Shop include two aircraft models – a 1:400 scale Douglas DC4 Skymaster model retailing at HK$130 (HK$104 for staff ) and a Vickers OA-10 Catalina Model (HK$130/HK$104).

Also new is the simple and functional Adventura Onyx Black Ball Pen (HK$240 – no staff discount) and the Golf Ball Marker (HK$120/HK$96) engraved with the Dragonair logo.

Briefs

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Leisure destination to draw travellers through Hong Kong hub

December launch for Fiji code shareCX will add its second new destina-tion in less than two months when a new code-share service with Air Pacifi c (FJ) begins on 3 December, connecting the Hong Kong hub directly with the Southwest Pacifi c island nation for the fi rst time.

Hot on the heels of the launch of its own four-times-weekly service to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on 26 October, the CX code will be going on to FJ’s new twice-weekly service between Hong Kong and Nadi, de-parting Thursday and Saturday.

Fiji is an increasingly popular

leisure destination and CX should be able to draw from key markets around its network to connect onto FJ’s fl ights out of Hong Kong.

The Auckland team played a key role in setting up the new code-share service and Ian Herald, Mar-

students participated in this year’s English On Air programme.

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keting Services Manager in AKL, says that Hong Kong will act as an ideal hub for attracting visitors from around the CX network.

“We expect the new code share will be supported in particular by our sales offi ces in UK/Europe, Asia and India as many tourists who come to the South Pacifi c circulate around Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacifi c islands,” says Ian.

Air Pacifi c – “a great little airline,” according to Ian – operates a young fl eet of Boeing 747s, 767s (which will be used on the Hong Kong

route) and Boeing 737-800s. It fl ies to a total of 25 destinations

covering the islands of the South Pacifi c, Australia, New Zealand, Los Angeles and Vancouver.

In addition to helping put the FJ code share together, the New Zea-land team is also busy preparing for its annual capacity increase in line with the peak travel season.

HKG-AKL returns to a double-dai-ly service from November through February with the 747-400 being deployed on the route in expecta-tion of high demand.

Professionals’ association learns more about airlineA group from the Hong Kong Professionals and Senior Executives Association visited Cathay City on 16 July.

The group of 12 learned about the history of the company at the CXperience museum, toured the state-of-the-art Integrated Operations Centre and received a briefi ng on the airline from Director Corporate Aff airs Quince Chong.

The visit concluded with a lunch at Catalina’s hosted by Quince, pictured here with some of the members of the HKPSEA including chairman Samuel Yung (centre).

It was quite a logical thing to happen. I was interested to read what Swire and Citic Paci� c had to say afterwards.

Jamie Carter, ENG

I will be interested to see how it impacts on how we make decisions in the long run with more Air China members on the board.

Graham Barkus, PNL

I am not concerned. I doubt it will have any real a� ect on sta� .

Lynn Arcinas, ISD

We had to change eventually and I think we will see Air China take over in the long run.

Phil Walker, FOP

I am not worried. In fact, as China is the place everyone is looking too, I hope we will be in a stronger position with this relationship.

Josephine Sin, ISD

It was expected. We have to face the reality that sooner or later Hong Kong businesses will be taken over by China.

Susan Chu, CRD

6

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The online poll

What was your reaction to Air China taking up a larger stake in Cathay Pacifi c?

Therefore using Asia Miles for upgrading is exclusively available to K-class fares and above.

Concerned about time-table change Can I ask why the “Flight Informa-tion at a Glance” section has been dropped from the System Time-table publication?

I found this section very useful when I needed destination infor-mation in a hurry.

Name withheld

Max Lui, Marketing Manager, replies: The omission of the “Flight Information at a Glance” section from the System Timeta-ble is part of our e� orts to reduce the production cost, bulkiness and environmental impact of the publication.

The reduction in the number of issues from three to two per year is another means to achieve these goals.

Items are considered for omis-sion based on cus-tomer perspec-tive.

In this case, much of the infor-

mation on the deleted pages

can still be found within the main

section of the pub-lication.

We are in the process of reintro-

ducing this section but only for the online

printable version and hopefully also on our

iPhone/Blackberry/mo-bile applications.

Sale time for outport staffSta� at Head O� ce enjoy various o� ers from time to time such as the sta� sales of in� ight items.

Would it be possible to have similar promotions and sales for outport sta� ?

I also noticed if we want to purchase company items atCathaypaci� c.com we have to use a credit card authorised for use in Hong Kong. Is it possible to help address this issue?

Dewey LianKA

Jessica Wan, Assistant Man-ager In� ight Sales – Logistics, replies: It is possible to orga-nise sta� sales online and we have done so in the past. But the reason most of the sta� sales are held at Cathay City is because the majority of the products are defective and it’s better to give sta� a chance to examine the prod-ucts before purchase to minimise refund requests.

Online sta� sales also involve more administration and follow-up work, and we just don’t have the extra manpower to handle it.

Nevertheless, we will take note of this request and will try to or-ganise more online sta� sales to bene� t outport sta� .

Star letter

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.

Last month we asked you “Do you think we can expect to see any rebound in premium business in the last quarter?” You answered:

Check out the CX World website and Daily News on IntraCX for next month’s poll question.

For purchases via Cathaypacif-ic.com, we currently accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex and Din-ers Club credit cards and it is up to the Finance Department to de-cide whether we will accept more cards in the future.

More fl exible FOCs? Is it possible to make our travel bene� ts more � exible by having our annual FOC broken into up to four segments, zoning still appli-cable, instead of having it issued as one ticket?

There are times outport sta� do not plan to take a four-legged trip in a year and would prefer a simple roundtrip journey in-stead.

Given this alternative sta� would have the option to use the bene� ts to the fullest and not be constrained when planning their itineraries.

Jamine Esperat-FigueroaMNL

Bob Nipperess, Employee Ser-vices Manager, replies: With the recently launched sta� travel au-tomation project, the subject of tickets and sectors is one area we will be tackling.

The present arrangements have been in place for many years and your feedback will be useful as the teams work through the various aspects of the project.

The introduction of the PSS system provides us with a great opportunity to make signi� cant changes to our current arrange-ments for sta� travel, which will bene� t everyone.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

I think the worst is over and things will bounce back pretty quickly soon.

I believe things will improve but the upswing will not be very steep.

Sadly, I don’t we’ve seen the end of the recession – there won’t be much change this year.

%

Letters to the Editor

Upgrade concernsFollowing up on a letter in the June CX World regarding the low fares on o� er which do not ac-crue miles, I can understand why you would not get credits on such fares, as you cannot have it both ways.

What I would like to know is why only K-class bookings and above can use points for up-grades.

This also ties in with another letter to July CX World express-ing concerns on Economy Class passengers being upgraded to � ll the front cabins.

At least if we allowed more pas-sengers the option of using their points to upgrade, it would help � ll the front end as well as retain their loyalty.

Deborah Christini AKL

Jenny Ho, Manager Commercial CPLP, replies: Un-derstandably the option of using Asia Miles to up-grade to a higher class is appeal-ing to passen-gers who need to � y frequently and especially on long-haul � ights.

However it has always been the strategy of both Revenue Management and CPLP to reward pas-sengers who purchase higher fares by giving them more options and � exibility.

7

KA PEOPLE

Gearing up for new Guangzhou service

Kaohsiung weathers stormAugust. “On 7 and 8 August there were no Dragonair services at all. So the day after we found ourselves handling eight departures and nine arrivals,” he says.

“Thousands of passengers were a� ected with many of them being held for three days until we could resume operations.”

Thunder says the worse part of the disruption was having no idea when services could resume.

“We didn’t have an ETD for any services and then on 9 August there were � ve A330 services at the same time. The team had to handle all

The week of 3 August was a wild and windy one in Kaohsiung as Typhoon Morakot descended on Taiwan, throwing operations into turmoil and stranding thousands of passengers.

The typhoon reached its peak intensity on 7 August with winds of up to 155 km/hour and made landfall in central Taiwan later that day. It wasn’t until 9 August that it weakened to a severe tropical storm before making landfall in China.

KHH Airport Services Manager Thunder Lei says the typhoon made its presence felt in Kaohsiung on 6

passenger queries and new book-ings for three days,” he says.

Despite the di� culty of even trav-elling to work, every sta� member showed up for duty with some stay-ing overnight at the airport.

“We had 21 sta� , including six in-terns, working on passenger servic-es and eight on cargo services. They worked from 5am to midnight daily and some had to sleep at the airport as they were not able to get home,” Thunder says.

“It was a really di� cult situation with huge volumes of passengers demanding information, a closed

airport for two days, then many departure at once, including � ve � ights all checking-in at the same time. Everyone really coped well and worked very hard.”

Manager Kaohsiung Joseph Sheu says: “Although we tried to tell pas-sengers not to come out to the airport many still did. Airport sta� were busy helping them rebook and change schedules.

“I would like to thank the KHH sta� for their dedication with many of them working over 18 hours on 9 August and leaving well after mid-night.”

Sweet smell of success

The new twice-daily service to Guangzhou will help the Cathay Paci� c Group develop the PRD as the KA and CX’s home market, according to Manager Guangzhou Kinto Chan.

The service, which launched on 14 September, will be operated by A320 and A321 aircraft. To complement it, the new Guangzhou team will have 19 people in the Sales & Operational teams as well as more than 80 sta� manning the China Call Centre.

“One of our biggest jobs is to make the PRD our home market, so creating a seamless travel experience between the PRD and Hong Kong as well as promoting our already strong KA and CX brands is essential,” Kinto says.

“This will mean increasing our presence in the market to get more business. Our Sales & Market-ing teams will be busier than ever!”

Even though there are other cross-border transport options, direct � ights are the fastest and most convenient, says Kinto.

“A typical bus journey to HKIA from Guang-zhou takes four hours including border checks and customs.

“CAN airport is only 30 minutes away from downtown and we can check bags through for passengers to their � nal destination, thus sav-ing time and hassle,” he says.

As a major manufacturing base, foreign com-panies in Guangdong Province have set up of-� ces to develop their business, leading to more cargo business as well as a strong corporate travel market.

“The goods manufactured here in Guang-dong keep our Cargo team busy while the trav-elling executives are our target passengers, as

Sta� gathered in the dining room in Dragonair House on 7 August to say goodbye to CEO Kenny Tang and General Manager International A� airs Maggie Yeung. More than 50 sta� joined in the fun including General Manager Operations Peter Sanderson and General Manager In� ight Services Christine Liu.Kenny thanked sta� for their support during his three-year tenure and recalled major events that had happened during his time as CEO, especially the integration with Cathay Paci� c and expanding KA’s regional network. Kenny said he would also miss his o� ce with its lovely view of Hong Kong airport! Kenny and Maggie also received handmade cards and souvenirs of their time at KA.

Fond farewell for Kenny and Maggie

READY TO GO: The offi cial opening of the CAN offi ce (above) and the team who will be selling and servicing out of Guangzhou.

are the families who visit the large Cantonese dias-pora in Australia, Europe and North America,” Kinto says.

“We have also seen an increasing number of stu-dents travelling overseas which we can tap into.”

Other than business travellers, including del-egates attending the popular twice-yearly Canton Fair, leisure visitors are also being targeted with a range of “green” attractions.

“The city government has done a lot to improve the environment and the main boulevards in the city centre have been ‘greened up’ with trees,” Kinto says.

“One hour’s drive away is a diverse landscape ranging from limestone grottos to tall rocky moun-tains and muddy estuaries which gave birth to many excellent mountain retreats, hot springs and beaches.”

A visit to France in 2006 led to a sweet-smelling hobby for Flight Attendant Benni Lam.

“I joined Dragonair in 2006 and had the chance to visit some big perfume factories there and saw how tailormade perfumes are created.

“In France it’s quite popular for women to use a personalised scent,” she says.

When she returned to Hong Kong, Benni decided to try her hand at creating some “signature” scents.

“In Asia, wearing a personalised perfume is not as well known but I think Hong Kong women trea-sure the thought of having a spe-cial scent.

“So I ordered some oils from the US and started experiment-ing,” Benni says.

The experiment was so suc-cessful that Benni began devel-oping custom-made perfumes and home fragrances for other people.

“My creations are oil based and have no alcohol which means the aroma lasts longer,” she says.

“I start by asking people which scents they like whether it’s � ow-ery, fruity or woody, and how light or strong they prefer their perfume to be.

“Then I create a special scent for them,” Benni says, adding that her favourite perfume is a simple baby powder.

Benni took part in a crew grooming promotion on 3 Au-gust where di� erent skincare and cosmetic companies were in-vited to set up booths in the crew lounge. She was delighted with the enthusiastic response from the crew.

Despite her success, Benni says the perfume making will remain a hobby.

“I like working as a cabin crew – it gives me the � exibility to work as well as indulge in my personal interests. And I still love to travel,” she smiles.

Though the internal information campaign on the Pearl River Delta (PRD) has ended, sta� still have a chance to visit the area with a series of packages designed to show the vast diversity of the region.

Run by Eternal East Tours, the theme package on o� er include visits to hotsprings, a family fun day out at Chimelong Xiangjiang Safari Park or a visit to Tea Stream Valley.

The packages are available until October 31 and Cathay Paci� c and Dragonair sta� will receive HK$100 o� every package when they show their sta� ID card.

Activities for the month-long programme included an exhibition at both Cathay City and Dragonair House, sta� forums and a PRD quiz.

Passenger Sales Manager PRD Linda Tse says the response from sta� was encouraging.

“Sta� were willing to spare the time to read the information on the exhibition panels – we received feedback that the future infrastructure plans section was particularly interesting,” Linda says.

“We received close to 300 entries for the quiz which, given the number of questions asked, is a good response rate.

“The sta� forum by Dr Thomas Chan (see interview right) on 19 August was also well attended and gave a good insight into the development of the PRD. There was also an interesting interactive Q&A session afterwards,” she says.

Getting to know HK’s backyard Campaign to boost PRD awareness gets encouraging response from staff at Cathay Pacifi c and Dragonair

CPLP, CIS, and CRD who understand the needs of our target market, which led to the formation of Team Blue Ocean,” he says.

Team leader, CRM Project Man-ager, Elaine Lee says the name came from the book Blue Ocean Strategy which describes how to create new market space, or blue ocean, rather than competing in existing indus-tries, known as red oceans.

Elaine meets with the other six members – Database Marketing Co-ordinator Linda Lau, Database Mar-keting O� cer Ralph Cheng, Assis-tant to General Manager CPLP & CIS

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Inventive new team proves its worth by fl oating a sea of ideas

8

For the past few months, First and Business Class passengers have been enjoying dishes specially designed by the Hong Kong Chefs Association’s National Culinary Team.

The wide selection of Western-style appetisers, entrees and desserts were all created by the team who won gold and silver medals at the 22nd IKA International Culinary Olympics last October.

The menu will be available in� ight until October and the second phase of the programme was launched with a press event in August.

In order to select dishes suitable for serving in� ight, the team at Cathay Paci� c Catering Services had to work very carefully with the HKCA to ensure the taste and quality were not compromised.

CPCS Executive Chef Jörg Kubisz says: “The HKCA presented 150 dishes after we gave them general guidelines. We have to consider ease of presentation – an elaborate dish with 10 components is lovely in a restaurant but the cabin crew would � nd it too hard to replicate. At the same time, we wanted to keep the look authentic.”

After the initial day-long tasting session, Jörg says dishes were shortlisted and then it was CPCS’s turn to be put to the test.

“We replicated the dishes and invited the HKCA team back in to sample and critique them. We had already built in certain adjustments and slightly amended the recipes to suit the production process.”

Jörg says his favourite dishes were “robust with strong character”.

“I like the braised dishes which require slow cooking as they are ideal for our cooking processes,” he adds.

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Inventive new team proves its worth by fl oating a sea of ideas

Dragonair CEO James Tong I highly recommend sampling the chicken dishes in Guangzhou. If you are visiting the city, just go to any decent restaurant and order a dish of chicken (any style), and you will notice that they are fresh and delicious.

General Manager Sales PRD & Hong Kong Chitty CheungWhile golf is becoming more popular in Hong Kong, a good course is hard to � nd due to

space constraints so many people opt to play outside of Hong Kong.

Roughly speaking there about 60 golf courses in Guangdong Province so if you wanted to play golf there every weekend it would take over a year to try out every one!

Group/Leisure Sales Manager Jacky LamHaving worked in Guangzhou for the past 10 years, I have found some good shopping places which all have a speci� c focus:

• Furniture: Chu Kong New Town• Pets and � owers: Fangcun Huadi Bird

Fish & Insect Market• Toys and stationery: Wan Lin Square,

Yi-De Road• Dried seafood and Chinese herbs: Yi-

De Road• Tea: Fangcun Tea City• Computer and IT equipment: Tianhe

Computer City• Leather and watches wholesale:

Sanyuanli• Apparel and trendy stu� : Tianhe City

Square or Beijing Road

PRD pleasures ... things to see and do on your next Delta trip

Infl ight meals from best in the business

Developing innovative ideas to at-tract a new younger generation

was the reason the Blue Ocean team was created at CPLP and

CIS. General Manager CPLP &

CIS Paul Loo says when he took up the position about 12 months ago he wanted to ensure the Marco Polo

Club and Asia Miles target not just current frequent � y-

ers but also the next genera-tion.

“We have got a group of young talents in

TASTE TEST: Jörg Kubisz (right) and CX Catering’s Brendan Duffy prepare the dishes for the media event.

Getting to know HK’s backyard Campaign to boost PRD awareness gets encouraging response from staff at Cathay Pacifi c and Dragonair

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Expert highlights the way ahead The rapidly developing infrastructure in the Pearl River Delta is on track to make the region one of the wealthiest in the world, according to China ex-pert Dr Thomas Chan.

Dr Chan, who sits on the Central Policy Unit pan-el on Pan-Pearl River Delta for the Hong Kong SAR Government, was at Cathay City on 19 August to speak at the Sta� Forum on how development in the PRD will impact Hong Kong.

He said the railway transport system in the re-gion will be expanding signi� cantly over the next two decades with the RMB370 billion Inter-city Rail Transport Network Project scheduled for comple-tion in 2030.

This network will connect all the towns and cit-ies in the PRD with a one-hour commuting time within the metropolitan areas in the region.

In an interview following the forum, Dr Chan expanded on the impact this sophisticated infra-structure will have on the PRD saying the railway network may lead to a fundamental change in the aviation business in China.

“It is likely the sea-air model used by Hong Kong International Airport to connect passengers to the PRD will eventually be superseded by railway-air connections.

“Unless we have convenient railway links to the region, we may see travellers choosing to bypass HKIA,” he warned.

At the same time, Dr Chan said Hong Kong should be cautious when planning to increase connections with the PRD.

“For instance, the e� ectiveness of the HK-Shen-zhen Railway Link is in doubt given Shenzhen Air-port is growing as a competitor to HKIA,” he said.

“By the same token, it is a fanciful idea to use neighbouring airports as a type of third runway. We should boost our competitiveness through en-hancing our own capacity.”

Given that the number of inbound and out-bound PRD passengers already sur-passes that of Hong Kong, Dr Chan con-cluded CX should con-tinue to de-velop the re-gion as part of its home market.

Sarita Chan, Communications O� cer Vienna Kwan, Data Exploitation Analyst Wing Yin-siu, and Administrative O� cer Yee Ki-kwok – reg-ularly to discuss ideas.

“Our meetings start with an initial brain-storming session on a speci� c topic related to CPLP, CRM or CRD. We aren’t bound by guide-lines so all innovative, out-of-the-box ideas, implementable or not, can be heard and dis-cussed,” Elaine says.

“Then the ideas are shortlisted, debated and discussed before being reviewed and � nally a presentation is done at the CIS/CRD/CPLP monthly meeting.”

Ideas which began with Team Blue Ocean and are in the process of being implemented

Inventive new team proves its worth by fl oating a sea of ideas

9

Passenger Sales Manager PRD Linda Tse Every summer many Hong Kong visitors go to Hokkaido to see the � owers but the Sun� ower Garden in Panyu has just as many beautiful blooms. There are blossoms � owering here throughout the year, and visitors will be able to see sun� owers as large as a human head and stroll through gigantic � elds of lavender.

Tourists can also sample the famous sun� ower chicken (fattened up with sun� ower seeds), indulge in lavender ice cream and watch a fun pig race.

Assistant Corporate Communication Manager – Public A� airs Thomas LauFor dining I like the Beiyuan Jiujia – an old and famous restaurant with garden views serving authentic Cantonese cuisine. And the Chenguang restaurant at the Star Hotel serves lovely congee.

The four-star Victory Hotel has been converted from the old Shanghai Bank Building. A stone’s throw away from the Shang Xia Jiu Pedestrian Street it provides a more economical choice from the White Swan Hotel in the same district.

PRD pleasures ... things to see and do on your next Delta trip

include the use of mobile channels for mem-ber recognition, an Aviation Day Tour as a Club event targeting families with children, and contributing to the Asia Miles iPhone application and Asiamiles.com mobile site revamp.

“The meetings are useful for generating in-novative and fun ideas, but we also know they need to be reviewed and that sometimes the idea would not work within the CX culture or is too costly,” Elaine says.

“But I don’t want the group to be discour-aged by the thought their idea is not imple-mentable. I want them to be as innovative as possible so we have a pool of ideas we can shortlist,” she says.

Paul says Team Blue Ocean is completely free to work on its ideas without interference and he feels the departments have bene� ted greatly by the many ideas which have been generated.

“When I listen to the presentations by the members of Team Blue Ocean, I feel very com-fortable and con� dent that Marco Polo Club and Asia Miles will continue to be very attrac-tive to the next generation of frequent � yers,” says Paul.

“At the same time, we are developing a team of young talents who will become the future leaders in the � eld of Loyalty Pro-grammes and Customer Relations Manage-ment,” Paul says.

EXPERT ADVICE: Dr Thomas Chan.

Feedback begins after strong survey responseOAS fi ndings to drive change to make CX a better businessThe � rst presentation of � ndings from the 2009 Organisational Align-ment Survey (OAS) will take place at the quarterly general management meeting at the end of September.

Soon after, GMs and department heads will receive reports for their ar-eas of responsibility enabling them to start giving feedback to their teams.

More than 80% of ground sta� across the network responded to this year’s survey, and the OAS � ndings will be used to help the airline identify core themes and opportunities for im-

provement across the organisation. “The 2009 results will help us un-

derstand how well we are doing on the things that really matter – are

we moving in the right direction, the wrong direction, or not at all,” says Chief Operating O� cer John Slosar.

“It will also help us identify areas

Emil Tam, Network Performance Manager

What is the main part of your job? I manage the customer service standards and performance of all the Cathay Paci� c and Dragonair outports, as well as the corporate on-time performance programme which is overseen by Director Service Delivery Ivan Chu.

I am also responsible for managing resources such as aircraft ground time and airport manpower standards, as well as the bilaterals such as check-in arrangements for code shares and interline agreements.

What is a typical day for you? Much of my job has to do with numbers and data analysis. A typical day for me is to go through all the delay statistics and the signi� cant � ight disruptions from the previous days, and identify if there are any lessons to be learned or opportunities for improvement. I then work with the ports concerned to jointly review what can be done to address the issues.

I also talk with Airport Services Managers and Country Managers about the optimal manpower level for the airport – a subject which always leads to fruitful debates!

What do you like best about your job? My job has a good mix of numerical and non-quantitative elements – for example, I interact with ports and departments for their buy-in.

That enables me to stay abreast of how our airports are doing from the standpoint of customer perception and operational reliability.

What is the most challenging part of your job and how do you tackle it? In AHQ, our main customers are the outport Airport Services Managers and we don’t get to meet them face to face as often as I would like.

So it is important to keep them informed about our latest developments and all the policy and performance updates. Maintaining frequent and close communication is key.

I would like to visit the outports more to support the local airport team whenever they want AHQ’s help. Sometimes email is not the best solution for communication.

WHAT I DO

where we need to focus more time, energy and resources to drive the kind of change we need to help make CX a better business.”

Picking up on some of the feed-back from the � rst survey in 2007, the reporting format this year will be sim-pler and easier to understand.

more to support the local airport team whenever they want AHQ’s help. Sometimes email is not the best solution for communication.

10

The results – which will include a comparison between 2009 and 2007 – will set priorities for action, with sta� at each level in the company en-couraged to play a role in improving how the organisation works.

“The current economic environ-ment has created new challenges, making it even more important for our management teams to under-stand what’s working, what’s not and what things we can do to generate the greatest value and bene� t for all our ground teams,” says John.

10 more weeks for 10th anniversary fares

Passengers can enjoy a 10% discount on oneworld alliance fares worldwide for a further 10 weeks from 26 August, to further celebrate the alliance’s 10th anniversary this year.

The 10% reduction was initially o� ered from 1 February – the actual birthday – until April. It was the � rst time for any global alliance to o� er this kind of special promotion across its full range of consumer fares.

The renewal of the special o� er marks the 10th anniversary of the � rst new recruits, Finnair and Iberia , being added to the alliance. The o� er is valid from 26 August to 3 November and applies to all oneworld’s alliance fares.

oneworld Vice President Commercial Nicolas Ferri says: “oneworld is in business to o� er more services, products and value than any airline can provide on its own, and our alliance fares are a classic example of this - fares covering more destinations in more countries than any individual airline can o� er, with more � ights to choose from, all on some of the world’s best airlines.”

The alliance’s portfolio of 12 fares includes the round-the-world fare oneworld Explorer and four multi-continent Circle fares - Circle Paci� c, Circle Trip Explorer, Circle Asia and Southwest Paci� c and Circle Atlantic.

LIVERY LATEST: The second CX aircraft to get the special oneworld livery, an A330-300, is now in the air after arriving back from Xiamen at the end of August. The third aircraft to get the livery, created to highlight the commitment of member airlines in the alliance’s 10th anniversary in 2009, will be a Boeing 777-300ER being delivered from Seattle in October.

Photograph by Senior First O� cer Colin Parker

Great Cities aired at ideas seminarDeputy Chairman Philip Chen delivered a speech on his “Great Cities” theory at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 22 August for a seminar organised by the Hong Kong Ideas Centre.

Citing a wealth of examples of great cities throughout history, Philip put forward a strong case for a close relationship between hub connectivity and economic prosperity.

The talk was followed by comments from the three panellists – Chinese University Professor of Geography Professor Yeung Yue-man, former government economist Kwok Kwok-chuen and Hong Kong Institute of Education Department of Social Sciences Associate Professor Dr Simon Shen – and an interesting discussion with the participants.

MEETING OF MINDS: (from left) Kwok Kwok-chuen, Yeung Yue-man, HKIC Chairman Lawrence Fung, Philip Chen, seminar moderator Professor Andrew Chan and Dr Simon Shen.

Chief Operating Offi cer John Slosar

The 2009 results will help us understand how well we are doing on the things that really matter

11

The IMT Department organised several visits this year to learn how other major companies use IT in their business practices and share knowledge and tips with industry colleagues.

The � rst visit was in February when 24 IMT sta� visited the IT sec-tion of China Light and Power (CLP).

The group was taken around CLP’s Technology Centre for Innovation, Data Centre and Electric Bill Printing & Dispatching Operations Centre.

The group learned about CLP’s initiatives to achieve their GREEN IT strategy which is designed to help protect the environment through smarter use of IT.

In April, 20 sta� visited the Vogue

Visits provide a chance to share IT knowledge, best practices

Laundry facility in Tuen Mun to see Asia’s largest single-site laundry plant (pictured above).

The two teams shared experi-

ences on the application of RFID (Radio-frequency identi� cation) technology.

The � nal visit in July – to HSBC’s

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■ Third A340 parkedThe third of four A340-300s being parked by Cathay Paci� c left Hong Kong for Victorville on 9 Septem-ber. The next will leave in the � rst week of October.

The airline announced in Au-gust that it is parking the A340s and two Boeing 747-400 passen-ger aircraft in response to the cur-rent business downturn. The � rst 747 will depart this month with the second going in January.

■ Online booking lucky drawFrom 25 August to 31 October, passengers purchasing a round-trip or one-way ticket online for any Cathay Paci� c � ight originating in Hong Kong will be automatically entered into a lucky draw.

The top three prizes are YCL roundtrip tickets to Sydney, Tokyo and Bangkok, with a host of other CX-related prizes for the runners-up.

■ Find dining partners on OpenRiceHong Kong-based Asia Miles partner restaurants are now be-ing featured on OpenRice.com, a popular restaurant and food commentary website.

Members can search for restau-rants based on district, cuisine, restaurant type and price range via a dedicated Asia Miles page which can also be downloaded into a Blackberry or other PDA device. Special dining o� ers are featured every month.

Go to www.openrice.com/res-taurant/channel/asiamiles.htm for more information.

■ Flu advice for staffThe Corporate Medical Depart-ment has issued advice to sta� in the light of continued H1N1 and other in� uenza infections throughout Hong Kong.

CMD has reminded all sta� working in CX that if sick with � u-like symptoms they should wear a mask when around others and practice good personal hygiene and coughing etiquette. It is also advised to stay home until symp-toms have subsided for at least 24 hours or more before reporting to work.

Updated guidelines for employ-ees and managers can be found on the CMD website.

Briefs

The Guangzhou-based China Call Centre handles an average of

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calls every month

Brickbats to bouquetsFrontline staff to be empowered for more proactive service recoveryOne challenge the airline faces when something goes wrong during a passenger’s journey is the amount of time it can take to address the situation.

While it’s sometimes pos-sible for frontline manag-ers to do some service recovery on the spot, it can often take days or even weeks to deal with passenger com-plaints through the Cus-tomer Relations Depart-ment (CRD).

“Loyalty means repeat busi-ness so we must focus on customer happiness and building customer trust,” says Jessica Chan, Head of Cus-tomer Relations.

“Proactively resolving service fail-ures on the spot or within the trip will certainly help to build that trust.”

Jessica is leading a strategy action

item that, by the second quarter of next year, will put measures in place to empower and support frontline sta� to resolve failures on the spot.

“Statistics show that our service soft skills are

very strong, and that our brand and prod-uct are excellent,” she says.

“But when it doesn’t work con-

sistently we don’t create value. Because

service failures are un-avoidable in this business,

it will really make us stand out from competitors if we can recover quickly.”

The airline already has service recovery and compensation guide-lines in place to deal with scenarios such as denied boarding or in� ight entertainment failures.

Anything outside of the service re-covery guidelines is referred to CRD, “which is not ideal because the mat-ter is not resolved on the spot,” says Jessica.

Under the strategy-led initiative, frontline sta� will be empowered and supported to resolve failures while, post trip, MPO members will receive more timely follow-up recov-ery and recognition.

“This will require a shift in service culture with empowerment guide-lines in place to enable speedy re-covery action,” says Jess.

With more recovery being done on the spot, the CRD team’s focus will evolve to support line depart-ments in service recovery, identify service failures and build passenger loyalty.

“Currently we take a reactive ap-proach, tracking complaints handled by CRD in Hong Kong and outports,

Winning move as CX and KA fl ight training bought togetherSections of the Flight Training Centre walls will be coming down this month as a move to bring Cathay Paci� c and Dragonair � ight training under one roof begins.

On 21 September an A330 simulator will be removed from the KA FTC and be installed later that day in the facility at Cathay City – the � rst time for a sim to be added at the CX FTC since the 777-300ER arrived in August 2007.

KA’s A320 sim will follow a few weeks later, moving to its new home in the CX FTC on 7 November.

“The consolidation of the two FTCs will de� nitely give us more synergies in terms of training,” says Manager Simulator Training Chris O’Dea.

The addition of a new A330 door trainer and emergency evacuation

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trainer will mean that safety training for both airlines will also be done under the same roof by the end of the year.

The change is being made possible by the subleasing of the vacated Dragonair facility to Oxford Aviation Academy (OAA), one of the world’s leading pilot training organisations.

OAA currently operates three sims out of the CX FTC but expressed a wish to expand in Hong Kong.

It will move its A320 and A330 sims into the KA facility and also bring in one more from the UK due to the creation of an extra bay. The company’s Boeing 737 simulator will remain at Cathay City.

“This is a win-win move for both the CX Group and OAA, with one of the big bene� ts from our point of

view being that it will be a minimal-cost exercise and generate revenue for the Cathay Paci� c Group,” says Chris.

Following the changes the CX FTC will house a total of 10 simulators with an 11th – for the new 747-8F freighter – arriving late next year.

Tseung Kwan O Data Centre – saw the team learning more about inno-vative technology solutions such as “printing anywhere”, which allows computer printouts to be retrieved from any printer in any o� ce loca-tion simply by scanning the sta� ID card on the reader.

Assistant Manager Business So-lutions Karen Wu says: “We gained useful insights into how IT is used to deliver business value in other companies.

“This may help us to improve, particularly in the areas of project management, innovation, IT proj-ect governance and ‘green IT’ – all of which are hot topics of discussion in the IT industry.”

MOVING IN: Oxford Aviation Academy will sublease the vacated KA FTC.

but in future service failures and re-covery will be captured and tracked from all customer touch points and fed back to CRD,” says Jessica.

“Together with the other custom-er-focused strategic initiatives we believe this will put the focus back on our customers and that their ex-perience with us will be consistently good.”

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Festive time in Paris The Paris team has been busy over the past few months sponsoring several high-pro� le events.

In July, CX Paris partnered with the Paris Cinema Festival (right) o� ering special fares for passengers from Asia as well as sending out invitations to Gold and Diamond Marco Polo Club members to attend premieres over the 13-day event.

From 16 April to18 May, CX joined with Tourism Australia for the tourism board’s annual online campaign (below) which also linked back to Cathaypaci� c.com. The campaign generated more than 50,000 clicks and the Paris team was delighted to see online sales to Australia growing by 233% in May and 256% in June.

Sales blitz hits the road The Colombo team joined up with Traveller Global for the travel agent’s 20th anniversary with a roadshow in July in Kurunegala.

The team, accompanied by tom-tom beaters, gave out caps, T-shirts and notepads to passersby who were also invited to take part in a lucky draw to win a ticket to visit Bangkok.

Regional radio stations drummed up interest with consumers by providing live updates throughout the event.

Accolades from frequent fl yersCathay Paci� c was named Best O� ine Carrier in Bangladesh for the second year in a row in the Monitor-Galileo Airline of the Year 2008 awards ceremony presented in August.

The awards recognise service excellence in all aspects including in� ight entertainment, cabin condition, frequent � yer programme and cargo. They are voted on by Bangladeshi frequent � yers via a poll conducted by travel publication Bangladesh Monitor.

Manager Bangladesh & Nepal Louis Li accepted the award from the Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism GM Quader (right).

Louis thanked the team saying: “This award would not be possible without the joint e� orts of our passenger and cargo sales, operations, and back o� ce teams.”

A-resting time for Engineering team The Taipei Engineering team has been making good use of aircraft down time by implementing an ongoing cabin seat refurbishment programme as part of Engineering’s defect-free drive.

Aircraft which are being parked at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport overnight on weekends are having defective armrests replaced, with more than 300 seats being processed within hours. After being refurbished, the armrests are then installed on the aircraft being parked at Taipei the following week.

So far two B777-300s have received refurbished armrests with at least � ve more passenger aircraft scheduled to receive the same treatment.

Brian Davis, former Sydney Airport Services Manager, was farewelled in style at two functions in July.

The � rst was a cocktail party held on 17 July and attended by over 70 Cathay Paci� c sta� from the Australian Regional O� ce, and the SYD Airport, Cargo and Engineering teams.

BYE BYE BRIAN: Bill Rothery (back row, third from left) at the farewell lunch for Brian Davis (holding model plane).

12

New ideas keep glass half full in USAs teams across the network eagerly await the � rst seem-ingly mythical “green shoots of recovery”, most for now are happy enough just to see any sign that the worst has come to an end.

In the United States there are indeed indications the re-cession is bottoming out, but that’s not helping CX much at the moment.

Front-end demand is still way down, as many busi-nesses continue to keep strict travel policies in place, and American people in general are being very cautious in their personal discretionary spending.

“Add to that an environment where all airlines are o� er-ing promotional fares and you have a very di� cult oper-ating climate,” says Senior Vice-President Americas Scott Mowrer.

E� orts by local sales teams to diversify the customer base have resulted in some new tra� c, including in Busi-ness Class. But there are signi� cant hurdles to overcome, including a harsh political climate that comes down hard on companies which are seen to be spending extrava-gantly.

Passenger numbers were generally high over the sum-mer peak, especially in Economy Class, but the team was not able to get yields up to acceptable levels – “although that wasn’t for a lack of trying,” says Scott.

“Every airline is throwing out deals to lure those pas-sengers who continue to travel, so it’s very, very competi-tive right now. However, from a glass half-full perspective, the lower fares are helping us introduce our services to some new customers so hopefully that will pay dividends when fares bounce back.”

The US team decided that tough times demanded new ideas so they have been using social media such as Twitter to promote the brand and squeeze out some new busi-ness.

On a more traditional front, there have been strategic double and triple mile o� ers, more e� ort put into various Marco Polo Club initiatives, and some capacity-controlled, lower-priced Business Class fares to attract people’s atten-tion and dollars.

And this autumn will see an extensive partnership with The Atlantic magazine which, in addition to traditional ad-verts, will have CX branding for its “Doing Business in Chi-na” web broadcasts, hosted by renowned journalist James Fallows.

“This is a great channel for us to reach potential business travellers,” says Scott.

Despite one or two positive signs Scott is still reluctant to make any guess at how busi-ness will shape up in the last quarter.

“For now we remain fo-cused on � lling the planes without giving away the store, at the same time striving to maximise every opportunity presented,” he says.

NEWS FOCUS

Aussie teams gather to bid Brian a fond farewellAirport sta� from other Australian and New Zealand ports

were joined by General Manager Airports Peter Langslow, Manager Customer Services & Product Russ Fortson from Hong Kong, Country Manager New Zealand & Paci� c Islands David Figgins and Airport Services Manager Auckland Peter Bartley.

JS&S and senior Cathay Paci� c managers also had a chance to farewell Brian at a lunch hosted by

Chairman of John Swire & Sons Bill Rothery.

Award night for top agents Country Manager Aaron Chan and the Passenger Sales and Cargo Sales teams held a top agent award party on 18 July to recognise leading travel agent partners.

Representatives from 15 passenger agents and 10 cargo agencies attended the event.

Entertainment was provided by a jazz band though the highlight of the evening was a performance by the CX team.

Award night for top agents Country Manager Aaron Chan and the Passenger Sales and Cargo Sales teams held a top agent award party on 18 July to recognise leading travel agent partners.

Representatives from 15 passenger agents and 10 cargo agencies attended the event.

Entertainment was provided by a jazz band though the highlight of the evening was a performance by the CX jazz band though the highlight of the evening was a performance by the CX jazz band though the highlight of the evening was a performance by the CX jazz band though the highlight of the jazz band though the highlight of the evening was a performance by the CX jazz band though the highlight of the evening was a performance by the CX evening was a performance by the CX team.

attended the event. Entertainment was provided by a Entertainment was provided by a

Seafarers ahoy! For a few days in August, the Manila Town Office looked like the set of a gameshow as lucky travel agents were presented with their prizes of electronic goods after participating in a promotional sales drive (right).

The sales initiative helped boost sales amongst seafarer traffic ex-Philippines and the lucky draw was open to all marine agents who issued tickets to any CX destination from 21-31 July.

Also in Manila, five service champions – Mechanic Omar Longakit, Ticketing Officer Miriam Fortes, Loyalty Marketing Executive Lynette Sugay, Airport Services Supervisor Ruben Cruz Medina and Baggage Services Supervisor Mq Benipayo – were honoured during a lunch in late August. The staff had all received written commendations from customers over the past few months which was acknowledged with a gift and certificate.

O� ces around the world have been busy over the past couple of months welcoming new managers and saying a fond farewell to departing sta� .

In Cebu, a “Hats and High Tea” event was held to farewell Vickie Yue and present Camilla Taylor as the new Port Manager to sta� , local media and the travel industry.

Vickie was presented with a photo album and collage of her time in Cebu while Camilla received a locally made designer purse.

In the United Arab Emirates, the team in Dubai farewelled Country Manager Clement Tam and Reservations sta� Himani Ahuja and Yuan Ci Ci while new Country Manager Clement Au was presented to the team.

With General Manager Middle East, India, Africa & Pakistan Tom Wright in town for the event, the team held a summer party with colourful Hawaiian wear setting the tone for the evening.

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Ports bid adieu and hello to new managersIn Indonesia, Country Manager

Vincent Li and Martin Xu and Rick Zeng were saying goodbye in style. The theme there was a “Touch of Pink” with decorations and costumes to match. The Jakarta team, top travel agents and Marco Polo Club members showed up in force to farewell the trio and meet new Country Manager Rob Bradshaw.

The three o� ces in Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Kota Kinabalu – all organised small receptions to farewell Katherine Lo and introduce new Country Manager Patricia Hwang to members of the travel industry.

Finally over in India, the CX Mumbai town o� ce hosted a farewell party for Laura Hayward and Rick Symington and welcomed Alasdair Boyd and Louis Li.

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The evening began with the traditional garlanding of the four, followed by speeches and the presentation of gifts to Laura and Rick.

The fun evening included a skit containing hilarious anecdotes of Laura and Rick’s time in India before Alasdair and Louis were taught a “traditional dance” to help welcome them to the team.

13

Talk about playing with � re and water. Rather than relaxing at home, Amsterdam’s Airport Supervisor Zu Den Hollander can often be found exploring the Paci� c Ocean or going up a volcano in the heart of Asia.

Zu has never looked back since she started diving 16 years ago and now combines her favourite hobby with both reef cleaning and an outreach programme to help children understand the need to protect underwater life.

“It’s amazing how much rubbish and � sh nets you can � nd su� ocating the reef life. Sometimes I feel like apologising to the � sh for invading their home,” says Zu.

Wherever she goes, Zu loves to involve children in reef awareness by talking to them about reef conservation and showing them her underwater pictures.

On dry land, Zu loves to explore volcanoes and mountains. She says her favourites are Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, Mount Bromo in Java, Mount Lokon in Sulawesi and Vesuvius in Italy.

And even when she’s at home this active woman doesn’t rest. Zu stays in shape with a Zumba dance workout – a combination of movements based on Latin rhythms, salsa, mambo, meringue and hip hop.

“It’s energetic and great fun!” she enthuses.

Action girl Zu

PORT PEOPLE

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After serving more than 35 years with Cathay Paci� c, the UK’s Business Devel-opment Manager, James Hancock, has a bank of memories from his time in the airline industry.

When James started with CX at the tender age of 20 there were only eight sta� in the UK o� ce. There are now more than 70.

His fondest memory is from 28 years ago when a CX plane � rst landed at London Gatwick and “all of a sudden we were a big player in the Hong Kong-UK market,” he says. “We

went from being a mysterious company no one really knew about to being one of the leading airlines of the world.”

Throughout his 35 years he has relished working for CX – “a charismatic company where everyone is treated with respect.”

In his current role, James is looking at various ways to broaden the airline’s footprint through business oppor-tunities that may not have been explored before, such as freighter charter services for music tours and Formula 1 racecars.

“Many people say they are hungry for business, but I am starving!” says James, whose skills and experience led to him being invited to facilitate a sales conference at Cathay City.

Noting that while he’s achieved a lot, he says there is a lot more he wants to do. When he’s not working he’ll con-tinue to spend time with his family and indulge in his big passion, rugby.

Still hungry for business

WATERBABY: Zu combines diving with educating children about the world’s reefs.

MORE TO DO: James still relishes new challenges

14

Jimmy Cheng, Engineering Trainee

1. One year on the job and how do you feel so far? A long way until I get to receive my retirement fund.

2. What’s the most misunderstood thing about engineers? The perception we use ham-mers and nails. I want you all to note – we have evolved to using computers.

3. Do you feel intimidated as more women enter the male-dominated engineering profession? Not at all – I’m excited about it!

4. If you could change one part of an aircraft, what would it be? The tail number – I would change it to my initials.

5. Which three words de-scribe you?Laid back, cool, comical.

6. Read any good books lately? Haven’t come across any decent books, but CX World is always a good read!

7. Why did you get involved in the Pedal Kart Grand Prix this year? I felt the great teamwork at last year’s race. Everyone was working well to achieve the same goal and that spirit of cooperation is priceless.

8. How much work has been done for this year’s event?A lot but still not enough. We still need pedallers and to raise more money for charity.

9. Any personal targets for the race? Ensure every participant enjoys the event as much as I will.

10. Your advice for fi rst time pedallers?Imprint this on your mind – “Too Fast, Too Furious.”

Since the CX Volunteers programme began in 2007, sta� have clocked up more than 2,000 hours of community service. On 26 August the company paid tribute to their great work and dedication.

A thank-you event was held at the blue sofa area on The Street and Director Corporate A� airs Quince Chong praised the sta� volunteers for sel� essly donating their time to help others.

“What you have done re� ects the people and service culture we have in CX and I am very proud of all of you,” she said.

During the party, sta� enjoyed a slideshow and exhibition which highlighted some of the great memories of the community activities they’d taken part in over the past year.

Special certi� cates were handed out to Carol Cheung (ENV), Penny Yang (ISD), Raymond Ng (APD) and Tony Wong (PSD) who achieved the highest number of social service hours last year.

“The honour was so unexpected,” says Carol, adding her favourite memory was the Christmas party organised for Tung Chung children last year.

For Tony, helping others meant helping himself too. “There are a lot of life lessons to be learnt when you engage in community activities,” he says.

Sta� who are interested in signing up as a CX Volunteer can go to the CX Volunteers website on IntraCX for more details.

The enthusiasm of cabin crew for the company’s People and Ser-vice brand campaign led to the ISD communication team deciding to do their own internal version.

Cabin Crew Communications Manager Elaine Champion, says: “There was a fantastic response to the marketing campaign but they only had limited spaces available for the number of crew who showed an interest.

“We decided to copy the idea and we also called it ‘Meet the Team’. Of course we don’t have the same budget so we did a barter deal with a cosmetics company and used internal resources for the photography sessions.”

The team received 64 applications and plans to eventually feature 30 crew, four of whom are highlighted here.

Similar to the marketing campaign, the participants talk about their personal interests and hobbies and bring in fun props to help illustrate their stories.

“We’ve seen some very interesting things – from a favourite ted-dy bear, to a specially designed carrot cake and an array of cooking utensils,” Elaine says.

“One crew was a champion rower in her university days so she wanted to bring in a rowing machine. Of course that wasn’t possible so she bought in about 50 medals she had won instead.”

The Meet the Team programme is being featured in the Cabin Crew Newsletter and the Cabin Crew Team website.

“In October, there will be an exhibition in the crew lounge with all the photos, and the crew who are featured can come and see them and bring their families along as well. This will also give the other sta� a chance to meet them,” Elaine says.

One Getting to know youFlight Attendant Emily Hui I always show my best side once I’m in my CX uniform and am friendly to my passengers.

This attitude was learnt when I was in the British Hong Kong Red Cross where our motto was “help one another”.

My SSFTH stories are plentiful. Once I was on a � ight from JFK-HKG with 25 infants onboard. That was interesting as I had a dual role of cabin crew and temporary mother!

Flight Attendant Arleta Tsang When I was in school there was a tour to go to Cathay City. It was my � rst experience of Cathay Paci� c and I still remember the warm welcome from the CX sta� .

These days I help to conduct exactly the same school tours

at Cathay City. I brought cooking utensils

to this photo shoot as I love to cook.

My favourite port is Dubai because there is a kitchenette in the hotel room so I can cook for my friends.

Senior Purser Gemma GonzalesI’ve been working for CX for half of my life and I have grown up emotionally, professionally and not to mention chronologically!

I consider CX as my family and throughout the years of being part of this family I always felt happy, satis� ed and loyal to it through thick and thin.

I baked a carrot cake and brought it along today as I love to bake and carrot cake is one of my favourites.

Flight Purser Benaifer LakdawallaIt is hard to summarise my entire 13 years at Cathay Paci� c in a few words.

Serving tea and co� ee may seem like the most boring job but at CX we strive to achieve far beyond that.

Coming home exhausted knowing that I did all I could to make someone’s day – that is SSFTH to me.

I am from Bombay, and I have the travel bug. I love South America. My � rst backpacking adventure was with my husband in Peru in 1999 and I absolutely loved it.

Taking a moment to thank volunteers

APPRECIATION SHOWN: Quince Chong (centre) presented spe-cial certifi cates

to (from left) Penny Yang, Carol Cheung, Tony Wong and Raymond Ng.

minute with...

HIGH FIVE: Happy memories for Mae, Victor and Fernie from HKG who joined staff and retirees from CX Taiwan to climb fi ve peaks in the Hehuanshan National Forest.

GO SRI LANKA!: Sales staff enjoy some free time

during a busy visit to Kurunegala

ARRIVEDERCI: The CX Rome team

farewell Rob Bradshaw and welcome

Chris Daniells as Country Manager.

LAST OF THE CLASSICS: Titus Diu peeps out of the nose of B-HVZ at a farewell event for the freighter.

CHEERIO: Ricky Yeung says goodbye to Xiamen at a

colourful farewell event.

CHICKEN DELIGHT: CX Bahrain staff point out their

dishes in the port’s chicken cooking competition.

TALL TALES: Crew from CX312 met the tallest man in

the world at Beijing International Airport.

Final fl ight is a family affair

To enter, visit the online quiz entry form on the CX World site. The deadline is noon on Friday, 9 October.

The QuizEnter our latest quiz and win a one-night stay in a Horizon Club Lakeview room at the Shangri-La Hangzhou.

The hotel is located in a tranquil secluded setting on the north shore of Hangzhou’s famous West Lake, overlooking Solitary Hill Island and the Xiling Bridge.

The 382-room hotel o� ers health club and recreational services including bicycle rentals to explore the lake and the paths winding through the 40-acre property, an indoor swimming pool, and a fully equipped Fitness Centre with gym and outdoor tennis courts. A championship golf course is just minutes from the hotel.

Dining options include the international bu� et at the Co� ee Garden, authentic Italian dishes at Peppino or Hangzhou cuisine at Shang Palace.The winner will also have access to the facilities and services in the Horizon Club Lounge.

Find out more at www.shangri-la.com

The winner of our second prize this month will receive a three-night stay at Mercure Suzhou Park Hotel & Suites with breakfasts.

The 194-room hotel is located in the heart of Suzhou, close to the central business district.

An international bu� et is o� ered at the Globe a Cafe or guests can sample Cantonese, Huaiyang and other authentic Chinese delicacies in the Soho Chinese restaurant.

Guests can enjoy a round of golf at the nearby 18-hole golf course or go on a boat excursion along the lakes the city is famous for.

The hotel is also close to famous tourist attractions including the Silk Museum, Zhuo Zheng gardens and Hanshan Temple.

Find out more at www.mercure.com

Suzhou Park Hotel & Suites with breakfasts.

Chinese delicacies in the Soho Chinese restaurant.

GALA DRESS: Mumbai staff wear traditional attire to mark the country’s Independence Day in August.

CHEERS!: The crew of CX888 relax after a long fl ight.

The CX168 � ight on 12 August was a special one for the Larsen family as Captain Kim Larsen � ew his last � ight after 20 years at Cathay Paci� c. Acting as First O� cer was his son Robert Larsen (below).

“I joined Cathay Paci� c in January 1989 and have � own the 747 Classic, 747-400 and spent the last 11 years on the Airbus,” says Kim, who is now enjoying his retirement in Perth. “The last � ight was all the more special because my son and my wife were also there to share it with me.”

However the Larsen name is in no danger of disappearing from CX any time soon.

”I also have two nephews � ying at CX – First O� cer Richard Larsen on the Airbus and First O� cer John Larsen on the 747-400 – so the Larsen name will live on at CX,” Kim says.

16

After 12 years I was back in China to go back-packing as well as volunteering at a Tibetan orphanage near Shangri-La.

It was a rewarding experience to chat with the girls and realise they were much like I was at their age. I told them fairy stories, shared � rst-aid knowledge and, like kids all round the world, they loved playing games.

After playing teacher for a week I went back to my travels with hiking at the top of the list and I decided to visit Ti-ger Leaping Gorge – the deepest river gorge in the world.

It is tucked between two snow capped moun-tains, Yulong and Haba, and I did a two-day trek starting at the upper trail and heading right down into the gorge.

During the hike, I saw some amazing rock formations and beau-tiful waterfalls running through the narrow trails.

But after six hours walking, the best sight was a teahouse which of-fered an amazing view of Yulong mountain.

The fresh air, tranquility and magni� cent views were well worth the di� cult hike.

I moved on to the city of Lijiang and de-spite hearing about how touristy the town has become, I still found it a charming, elegant place.

At night, just like Lan Kwai Fong in Hong Kong, there was one street full of bars where loud music spilled out onto the street.

During the day, I walked around the nar-row cobblestone paths sampling freshly made snacks and drinking yak yoghurt.

Infl ight Service Manager Lynn Chen fi nds adventure and friendship in the heart of Shangri-La

Tibetan trails

SHOW US YOUR TIPS!CX World welcomes sta� travel tips from across the network – email us at CCD#SCT

Travel bites

■ Great stay by the wallCathay Paci� c Holidays is o� ering weekend packages in

Beijing with accommodation in boutique property Commune by

the Great Wall Kempinski. Prices start at HK$3,099 and the package

includes Economy Class round-trip tickets and two nights’ accommodation with breakfast.

Commune by the Great Wall is located in the Shuiguan mountains one hour outside of Beijing.

The property is a private collection of unique contemporary houses designed by 12 Asian architects with 42 villas and 190 suites, four restaurants, the Anantara Spa, Kid’s Club and an outdoor pool.

More information on Travel Desk.

■ Tiger tales The Cathay Paci� c City Guides feature Air Crew Tips from sta� , and Senior Training Captain Andrew Tait suggests coming face to face with tigers in Bangkok.

“You can cuddle with tigers at Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno Forest Monastery in Kanchanaburi along the River Kwai on a sunny afternoon (when the tigers are too relaxed to attack),” Andrew says.

“Often, male adult tigers are around and monks will escort you along the track, but don’t worry – both the monks and the tigers are really friendly and you are safe,” he adds.

To submit your own tip please go to www.cathaypaci� c.com/tips.

The best sta� tip for the September/Oc-tober period will win a two-night stay at the Beijing So� tel Wanda.

■ Resurrecting Ben Hur The legend of Ben Hur is coming back to life at The 02 arena in London from 17-20 September.

Designed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the � lm, Ben Hur Live features stunning light, sound, water, wind and pyrotechnic e� ects.

The highlight is the famous chariot race with � ve quadrigas competing in a neck-and-neck race around the arena � oor.

Visit www.benhurlive.com.

This month’s photo shows Cape St Vincent in Portugal and was taken by Cabin Crew Line Manager – FP & FA Steven Tsang.

“I travelled to Portugal in Easter and visited Sagres Point which is next to Cape St Vincent, about four hours out of Lisbon,” Steven says.

“The Cape is on the southwestern-most point of Portugal and is a landmark for ships travelling to or from the Mediterranean. Cli� s rise vertically from the sea to a height of 75 metres,” he says.

Steven says the Cape has been sacred since Neolithic times when the people living in the area considered it a magical place where the sunset was larger than anywhere else.

“They believed the sun would sink into the ocean here, marking the edge of the world,” Steven says.

The Cape is linked to the 4th-century martyred Iberian priest St Vincent whose body was brought ashore here. “A shrine was erected over his grave,” he says.

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

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

WALKABOUT: (clockwise from above) A view of Yulong mountain;

children from the orphanage; a water-

fall along the way to Tiger Leaping Gorge; and

taking a well-deserved break.

There are also several day excursions to ex-plore outside the town. Yulong mountain is nearby and it is possible to take a gondola for a closer view of the peak.

Cycling to the surrounding towns can be another day excursion. The ancient town of Shuhe is only four kilometres away. It is qui-eter than Lijiang and here you can ride horses, go bargain shopping or sip cappuccino made from Yunan co� ee beans.

My short China adventure was very ful� lling and left me with a desire to go back and ex-plore even more.