Cargo peak takes off

news
features
who, what, where
travel
Tokyo
celebration
In a party
mood
Touching
moments
Into the
Arctic
Welcome return to
Haneda airport
SP dinner is a
colourful affair
Jenny sees the heart
of Guangxi students
Lights brighten up
Norway’s icy north
Page 2
Page 8-9
Page 14
Page 16
A magazine for staff and friends of Cathay Pacific Airways
November 2010, Issue 176
PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER
Cargo peak takes off
Business lift driven by strong demand out of Hong Kong hub
5 years on top
Readers of Wall Street Journal
Asia have once again given the
thumbs-up to Cathay Pacific,
placing the airline top in a poll
of Hong Kong’s most respected
companies.
In the latest “Asia’s 200 Most
Admired Companies” poll, CX
took the top honour in Hong
Kong for the fifth year in a row,
scoring particularly well in the
areas of innovation and vision.
Benefits closer
to home
ON THE UP: Senior First Officer Darren Connelly captured this stunning shot of CX074 taking off for Miami at Anchorage International Airport in October.
This year’s cargo peak arrived later
than usual – but then it kicked in
with a vengeance.
Traffic through the Hong Kong
hub has been particular strong, with
terminal operator HACTL breaking
weekly tonnage records at the end
of October and showing year-on-
year tonnage growth of 15.4% for
the month as a whole.
And all signs are that the market
will get even stronger in November.
“We had a good start this month
and the expectation is that market
demand will remain strong through
to mid-December,” says General
Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing
James Woodrow.
Hong Kong has been the key
driver for the business upsurge
with strong demand on transpacific
routes in the build up to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
“This is driven by restocking, new
product launches, a catch-up on IT
and infrastructure spending as well
as high demand from fast-fashion
outlets that rely on continuous new
product launches restocked by air
freight,” says James.
• Continued on page 2
• See page 4
The purchase
of 30,000
tonnes of
carbonemission
reductions
from carbon
offset service
provider Climate Action has helped
to boost the FLY greener offset
programme.
The new project portfolio
includes a “run-of-river” hydropower
project in the Pearl River Delta that
is bringing sustainability benefits to
the town of Lankou.
• See pages 8-9
Message
from the
Chief Executive
We are well into the peak periods
for both our cargo business and
premium passenger travel, and
things are shaping up very well.
While there is still some lingering
economic uncertainty in the air, the
sentiment in the business world
has improved greatly compared
with this time last year and we are
seeing a corresponding boost in
our front-end figures. These are
better on long haul routes than in
the region, where some companies
are continuing to keep a tight rein
on their corporate travel schemes.
Overall, though, we can be very
happy with the way our business is
shaping up at the moment. Passenger bookings are firm throughout
November and we’re already looking forward to a strong Christmas
and New Year: Hongkongers seem
to be ready and willing to splash
out on a well-earned seasonal
break.
Cargo is usually the undersung
hero of the Cathay Pacific Group’s
business, but it is receiving a lot
more attention this year. Cargo
performance has been consistently
very strong and there are several exciting developments in the offing including the joint venture with Air
China which is now going through
the final regulatory stages.
The airfreight market has been
buoyant throughout 2010 and all
signs point to this year’s year-end
peak being particularly strong. But
while we enjoy the short-term benefits of the current strong markets,
it’s vital that we take a long-term
view of our cargo business and
prepare for future opportunities.
We have a great deal of confidence
in the long-term future of the Hong
Kong air cargo market, and we’re
putting our money where our
mouth is in this respect through
huge investments in 10 new Boeing 747-8 freighters and the Cathay
Pacific Cargo Terminal, which is
rising quickly from the ground at
HKIA.
It’s a very exciting time for our
cargo business. By 2013 when our
terminal opens, all our Dash 8s are
in the air and the Air China Cargo
joint venture is reaping dividends,
we will have a world-beating cargo
operation that will cement Hong
Kong’s position as the world’s leading international airfreight hub.
Sales team on top of the world
Cathay Pacific took top honours at the 26th Frontier Awards on
20 October when it was named the Best Inflight/Marine Retailer of
the Year.
Organised by UK-based Frontier Magazine, the awards recognise
innovation and excellence in retailing to a highly specialised audience.
This is the second time CX has taken the top award, previously
winning in 2008.
Inflight Sales Manager Jasmine Hui highlights the strong
support from cabin crew as essential to winning the award.
“The award recognises Cathay Pacific innovation and
dedication in the inflight sales industry and is particularly
meaningful as the judging panel was drawn from every part of
the travel retail industry,” Jasmine says.
“It highlights the effort of the Inflight Sales team and the vital
support received from the cabin crew community, without which we
would not be able to achieve this distinction,” she adds.
GREAT WORK: The Inflight Sales team celebrates
taking the top honour at the Frontier Awards.
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Haneda is back
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The Tokyo team was in celebration mode on 31 October with the
resumption of Cathay Pacific’s services to Haneda airport in Tokyo
after an absence of 32 years.
CX548 arrived in the airport on
schedule just before 13.30 to a traditional Japanese welcome which
included a“Shishimai”performance,
a Japanese-style lion dance.
Hosting the ceremony was General Manager Japan Simon Large
who was joined by Haruhiko Shimoda, President & CEO of Tokyo
International Air Terminal Corporation. Also present at the ceremony
was CX548 pilot Captain Steve Stevens and Inflight Services Manager
Cara Wong.
Simon said flying back into
Haneda was a “dream come true”
for the airline.
“We now operate seven daily
flights from Tokyo, with Haneda
and Narita combined with 33,000
seats a week on route,” he said.
On the same day, Cathay Pacific
also launched a new daily service
to Osaka, while sister airline Dragonair resumed its non-stop daily
flight to Fukuoka.
The celebrations continued on 2
November, when Chief Executive
Tony Tyler attended a media lunch
at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo during
which he recalled his time as Man■
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Performance Index
On-time performance
Within 15 mins
Industry standard
Traffic/capacity (CX + KA)*
88.9%
62.3%
Passengers carried
2,178,726
18.4%
Passenger load factor
81.8%
1.6pt
ASKs (000)
9,686,947
12.9%
Freight carried
146,152
9.6%
Cargo load factor
69.8%
-4.6pt
ATKs (000)
2,126,227
19.6%
* Figures for Sep 10
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Imports have been surging
into Australia as a result of the
strong Aussie dollar. The Japan
market has also been strong
with CX able to fill some of the
gap resulting from Japan Airlines closing down its freighter
operation, while Beaujolais
shipments from France have
given a further boost.
Meanwhile, additional capacity from ports such as Dhaka
and Hanoi has been mounted in
response to a flood of exports.
“We were back to the full
freighter schedule from September and we’ve been putting
on extra sectors where possible
– regionally and on key trunk
routes,” says James. “This has
required some great help from
Flight Ops and Engineering to
squeeze the freighter fleet.”
Moving into the “peak of the
peak”, James says that Hong
Kong will remain the hottest
market and that the team will
be working hard to look after
key customers and provide the
space forwarders need.
Looking ahead, James says it
is still too early to predict what
might happen after the preChristmas rush.
“There are still some challenges in the world economy
and a lot depends on how consumer demand holds up,” he
says.
As a final touch, Tony used a
wooden hammer to smash open
a candy “Dragon Egg” which had
been filled with Chinese desserts
and a congratulatory card.
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• From page 1
RESUMING SERVICE: The team (top) including Simon Large (above left)
greets the first Haneda flight with a dragon dance.
ager, West Japan 25 years ago.
“In those days, we had three
flights a day to Tokyo and we flew
to three cities in Japan. We’ve come
a long way since then,” he said.
■
Peak takes off
CX now flying seven times daily to Japanese capital
on-the-dot CX standard
Tony Tyler, Chief Executive
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Produced by CX’s Corporate
Communication Department
7/F North Tower, Cathay Pacific City,
Lantau, HK
Publisher: C K Yeung
Managing Editor: Mark Tindall
Editor: Joyce Wong
Enquiries: 2747-5293
GalaCXy ID: CCD#SCT
Email: ccd#sct@cathaypacific.com
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New Service Centre
gears up for launch
Briefs
■ Senior discount returns
IMT promises better response rate, more user-friendly system
From December onwards, when
staff call the 3883 hotline for technical support, the call will go through
to a new state-of-the-art Service
Centre with a dedicated team of operators who will receive the call and
do all they can to ensure the problem is fixed – first time around.
Preparations for the new IMT Service Centre, located at Dragonair
House, is going full steam ahead
with an opening date set for 13 December.
Forty-one staff will be on hand
to man the phones, operating on a
shift basis.
“With a 24/7 rotation, we will always have someone available to
take your call,” says Service Centre
Manager John Tominey.
As well as being able to help
straight away.
IM Head, Service & Operations,
Gary Dashwood says he understands
the current frustrations felt by staff
who find themselves talking to operators who do not understand the
CX operating systems.
“Our target for first-call resolution
(FCR), that is, to have the operator
resolve the problem over the phone
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which includes an automated service request management system
that will enable users to log and
track their own requests.
This will also help to reduce email
communication, which accounts for
80% of current Help Desk interactions.
“For every email, an average of
seven interactions is required before the case is resolved. The aim is
to channel the reporting to phones
and web interface,” says Gary.
“Staff will be able to go onto
IntraCX and report the problem
themselves. It will then go through
an automation process and staff can
track the progress right through to
completion,” notes Gary.
Both Gary and John would like to
stress one thing – don’t expect firstday miracles.
“From day one, I would like the
service centre to be as professional
and concise as possible. However,
we will need time to get the team
settled in and operating efficiently
so patience and understanding will
still be required,” says John.
“The final wow factor for me is
happy end-users,” Gary says.
ON CALL: IMT Service Centre staff visit the soon-to-be-completed facility.
The team will be available 24/7 to answer queries.
service centre is that CX people will
be working to support CX people.
Half the team will be staff with professional service centre skills and the
remaining 50% will be existing support teams with years of CX experience and knowledge,” says John.
Phase two, scheduled for April
2011, will introduce a more userfriendly self-service-style system
in one call, is 70% within the first 12
months, a major improvement over
the current poor performance,” he
says.
While the target is an ambitious
one, Gary points out that it is consistent with world-class standards
and he hopes to get FCR up to 80%
within the second year.
“The main advantage of the new
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Australia’s million-dollar ladies!
Sydney’s Customer Sales team now has two million-dollar salespeople in
its ranks after Customer Sales Officer Kristy Li reached the milestone in
October.
CSO Kushala Shetty had previously closed an amazing A$1,010,546
(HK$7,757,700) worth of direct sales bookings in the eight months from
January to August.
Having only joined Cathay Pacific in 2007, Kushala says her success was a
case of “aiming for the sky not the treetops, because if you aim for the treetops you’ll never reach the sky!”
“When we make a little effort
to understand the passengers’
needs it goes a long way to
guarantee the sale closing and
also results in repeat sales,
“ Kushala says.
Similar to Kushala,
Kristy, who joined CX
in February 2009,
was presented
with a shopping
voucher and
extra days
leave at a
special
afternoon tea gathering to
celebrate her accomplishment.
SALES STARS: Kristy and
Kushala.
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One-of-a-kind co-brand card
A new co-brand card launched on
4 November is going to become a
highly desired item in many mid- to
large-size companies in Hong Kong.
The American Express Cathay
Pacific Corporate Card – the first of
its kind in the local market – will enable companies and employees to
earn Asia Miles on CX and KA flights
charged to the card.
The airline joined with the credit
card giant to launch the card on
4 November with a travel agent
event followed by a media briefing.
General Manager CPLP Paul Loo
joined with American Express Se-
nior Vice President Global Commercial Card Lisa Vehrenkamp for the
launch (pictured below), and Paul
said CX was delighted to build on
its already strong partnership with
Amex.
“Corporate travel is a key element
of our business at Cathay Pacific
and we can now offer the the most
convenient way for companies to
administer their air travel through this
corporate card,” he said.
Companies and employees will earn
one Asia Mile for every HK$12 spent in
Hong Kong and can redeem for either
air travel rewards or lifestyle rewards.
Cathay Pacific is once again
offering its annual Senior
Discount, with a 20% reduction on Business and Economy
Class fares from Hong Kong to
selected CX/KA destinations.
The offer is open to Hong
Kong and Macau residents
age 65 or above with a sales
period from 1 to 15 November
for travel up to 22 December,
from 28 December to 28 January, and from 7 February to 31
March.
More details can be found at
Cathaypacific.com.
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In 2009, a total of
3,802
wheels were changed on
the Boeing fleet
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■ Fund raises HK$1.5
million
Staff contributed generously
to help flood and landslide
victims in Pakistan and China
following an appeal launched
earlier this year.
More than HK$754,000 was
donated which was further
matched by the company for
a total of HK$1.5 million. The
money will go to help UNICEF
projects in the affected areas.
Meanwhile, 80 CX Volunteers
helped out at UNICEF charity sales held at Hong Kong
shopping malls in August and
September, raising HK$73,515
to help UNICEF.
■ Extra baggage charges
simplified
Cathay Pacific will introduce
a new and simplified method
of calculating extra baggage
charges with effect from 1
December 2010, switching
from the current charging rate,
which is based on ticket fares,
to a system calculated in accordance with travel zones.
Passengers can already view
a transparent and easy-tounderstand grid of charges at
Cathaypacific.com (Helping You
Travel > Baggage > Checked
Baggage) and can calculate in
advance exactly what charges
they will have to pay.
3
Hong Kong gets ready for racing highlight
Newsletter has 1,000
reasons to celebrate
January will be an exciting month for the Cabin
Crew Communications team when its signature
publication, the Cabin Crew Newsletter (CCNL),
reaches its milestone 1,000th issue.
The newsletter, which has been running for the
past 20 years, was originally created to share news
and photos of activities and provide important
information to the crew community.
To celebrate the anniversary, three competitions
(daily, weekly and a grand prize draw) are now
running until 31 December.
Prizes include CX souvenirs, an iPad, a Sony digital
camera, shopping vouchers and cinema gift cards,
building up to the grand prize of a holiday for two in
either Tokyo or Phuket.
And cabin crew can also look forward to seeing a
new-look CCNL from January.
Obituaries:
Captain Ray France and
Simulator Instructor
Terry MacDonald
Colleagues were
saddened to hear
of the recent
deaths of two FOP
staff.
Captain Ray
France passed
away on 4 October
after a battle with
illness.
Ray, who was
a Senior Training
Captain on the
Ray France
B777, flew with
the Royal Australian Navy before transferring to the RAAF
after the closure of the Fleet Air Arm.
He joined CX in 1994 on the B747-400, was
promoted to Captain on the B777 in 2002 and
became Training Captain in 2006. 
He is survived by his wife Beryl, son Daniel
and daughter Stephanie.
Simulator Instructor Terry MacDonald
passed away on 9 October.
He joined CX in 2006 having worked in
Hong Kong as Chief Pilot with CR Airways.
Prior to coming to Hong Kong he had been
Chief Pilot with Bombardier Aerospace Inc
in Canada prior to brief excursions with two
North American airlines.
Simulator Instructor Gerry Christie says
Terry was tireless in his energy and enthusiasm for training.
“He was a
self starter and
intelligent and
proactive leader.
A recurring comment and theme
from his co-workers and friends is,
‘I was proud to
know him’,” says
Gerry.
Terry is survived
by his wife Nicola and children
Terry MacDonald
Dylan and Amber.
4
Horseracing enthusiasts are in for a treat this year with a
month-long series of races being held as a prelude to the
main event, the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International races
on 12 December.
Three trial races will take place in November – the Cathay
Pacific Jockey Club Cup on 14 November, then the Cathay
Pacific Jockey Club Miles and the Cathay Pacific Jockey Club
Sprint on 21 November.
For the main event, Cathay Pacific is offering five different
packages for overseas travellers with more than 600 packages
selling worldwide within the first month.
“The five main markets for the packages so far are Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai,” says Assistant
Marketing Manager Elise To.
CX staff will receive free admission to the public enclosure
for the Cathay Pacific International Jockey’s Championship on
8 December and on 12 December by presenting any CX/KA
boarding pass at Sha Tin.
1 year and counting!
Activities mark cutover of phase 1 of PSS on 12 Nov 2011
Cathay Pacific and Dragonair
have begun the countdown to
the biggest system change in the
airlines’ history, with the replacement of CUPID and CUPAC now
just a year away.
The two-phase transition will
see CUPID replaced by Amadeus
Altéa Reservation and Altéa Inventory on 12 November 2011,
and CUPAC being progressively
replaced by the Altéa Departure
Control System between May
and August 2012.
With the clock now ticking,
the Passenger Services Systems
(PSS) team is organising a countdown party on 12 November
– attended by Chief Executive
Tony Tyler, Chief Operating Officer John Slosar and KA’s Chief
Executive James Tong – at which
a large countdown timer will be
launched to raise staff awareness
on the system change.
Similar but smaller countdown
timers will also be placed in a
number of offices and outports.
Following the countdown, the
team will kick-start a series of PSS
promotional activities including
a slogan competition, exhibition
boards, and quizzes with small
giveaways.
Acknowledging the importance of the PSS project, the Chief
Executive said that in a year from
now, “CX and KA will operate on a
modern platform that meets new
market demands and provides
for future developments when
the market evolves.”
The new systems will help to
enhance services to passengers
with improved self-service capabilities and automated workflow.
“There will also be potential
to enrich our Internet Booking
Engine and improve our ability
to cope with disruptions,” Tony
added.
The system change will affect
thousands of staff across the two
airlines and Tony thanked in advance all those who will be work-
MILESTONE: Amadeus’ Gilles Floyrac (left) and Richard Reed
sign off on 12,500 pages of specifications for the PSS project.
ing with the new systems.
“You will play a determining
role in ensuring the success of
this system change,” he said.
“After all, you are the ones
who will translate the benefits of
the new system into improved
services for our passengers.”
On 29 October, the PSS team
held another small celebration
to mark a milestone in the sys-
tem change – the signing off
of a 12,500-page-long list of
specifications by Amadeus Programme Director Gilles Floyrac
and PSS General Manager Richard Reed.
This marked the conclusion
of all project solutions needed
to complete the development
and implementation of the system replacement.
Flashback
July 1966 …
…and the world’s most popular band,
The Beatles, arrive in Hong Kong on their
second visit to the city.
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George
Harrison and Ringo Starr received a rousing
welcome in Hong Kong on 3 July when they
arrived on board a Convair 880M aircraft.
The visit was a 70-minute stopover as
part of their Asian tour which included
Tokyo and the Philippines, where they
unintentionally snubbed First Lady Imelda
Marcos.
Photo credit: The Beatles: Bob Whitaker
- Hulton Archive/Getty Images
caRE Team
put to test
Perth marks four decades
Annual airport crash exercise a chance to
put training into practice
The new CARE Team volunteers will receive
their first test in the early hours of the morning
on 19 November when a crash and rescue
exercise is held at Hong Kong International
Airport with Dragonair as the hosting airline.
More than 40 CARE Team members will
be placed in various locations during the
exercise including the Family Reception
Centre, the Crisis Communication Room and
the CARE Team Operation Room, where they
will be given a chance to put the skills they
have learned into practice.
Two two-day training sessions have been
held so far, with the second being conducted
from 11-12 October.
The first day was an overview of the
corporate E&A plan, callout and deployment
procedures and the roles and responsibilities
of the CARE Team. On the second day, in
cooperation with the Corporate Medical
Department, Psychologist Florence Ma led
an interactive workshop for volunteers to
get the knowledge and skills needed to help
them deal with distraught family members.
Passenger Sales Executive Scarlett An says
she joined the CARE Team “because I like to
help other people”.
“During the training session, I learned that
being a good listener is the most important
thing and how to respond and help people
from different cultures,” she says.
Aircrew Personnel Specialist Anne Sheh
says the skills they learned will be very
important when talking to distressed family
members.
“We learned what to do and more
importantly, what not to do. We were offered
guidelines on what to say and Florence
stressed the importance of the words we
use,” she says.
During the session, a video was shown of a
volunteer attempting to comfort a distressed
family and making several glaring mistakes.
Secretary Sally Ng says: “We were all
laughing at the way he behaved, but actually
his response was very human and it could
have been any of us making similar mistakes.
That’s why this training is so important.”
Forty years of Cathay Pacific flights to Perth
was celebrated on 15 october at the Duxton
Hotel with more than 120 guests attending.
The guests, including government representatives, travel industry partners, Marco
Polo Club members and the media, were
welcomed by Chief Executive Tony Tyler and
General Manager South West Pacific Dane
Cheng.
Five cabin crew from Hong Kong wore vintage CX uniforms from the past 40 years.
The first flight, operated by a Convair 880,
arrived in Perth on 1 April 1970, flying via
Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta to inaugurate the
then weekly
service.
Perth is now
a daily service
operated by Airbus
330s, and will increase
to 10 flights a week in November.
The highlight of the celebration was a
nostalgic performance by Hong Kong singer
Frances Yip, who sang one of the airline’s earliest advertising theme songs, Discovery.
Another delight for both staff and guests
was when Frances called on Tony to join her
in a duet (above).
SKILLS TEST: CARE Team recruits go through a training workshop with Florence Ma (right).
35 years of great memories
Ask Ed Nicol about the memorable moments from his three-and-a-half decades with Cathay Pacific
and he comes up with a pretty long list.
The former Director Information Management, who retired from the airline on 22 October, takes
with him many vivid memories, ranging from the first flight to London and the “amazing party”
to celebrate the inaugural service to Papua New Guinea, to new IT strategies, SARS, the growth of
China and “mammoth wine-tasting sessions in ISD”.
Friends and colleagues gathered in Catalina’s on 20 October to say farewell to Ed, with Employee
Services Manager Bob Nipperess presenting the director with his gold retiree card.
Afterwards, Ed recalled how the company had grown
from the small “Asia’s discovery airline” with Convairs
and B707s when he joined in 1975, to become one
of the world’s most prestigious airline brands.
“No-one was predicting the dramatic rise of Asia
during this period and it has been a privilege and
great fun to be part of it,” he says.
“There have been so many wonderful
experiences, but most of all it’s been the
people I’ve met and have worked with
that have made it so special – it’s been
a fantastic 35 years.”
Ed will be staying on in Hong Kong
and “I shall also enjoy watching Cathay
continue to grow as Hong Kong and
China grow. Good luck to you all,” he says.
5
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Letters to the Editor
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My brother is my nominated travel beneficiary, but despite being
a Captain at CX for 16 years, I cannot apply for a jump seat for him.
But a newly hired ground staff can apply for the jump seat for
their husband or wife – are brothers considered a higher security
risk?
I think employees’ siblings should be allowed access to the jump
seat if they have concessional travel privileges. Will there be a
change in the existing policy anytime soon?
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Name withheld
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Bob Nipperess, Employee Services Manager, replies: The rules
for jump seat travel are approved by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation
Department and are not simply an internal Cathay Pacific staff
travel policy element.
The scheme rules are reviewed from time to time and I shall pass
your suggestion to the team for consideration.
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We welcome feedback from anyone in the
CX network on any issue affecting the airline
or the industry. Please email your letters to
CCD#SCT. Not all letters will be published but
those that are will be edited for length and to
comply with the CX World style.
The sender of the star letter each month
will win 3,000 Asia Miles. The Feedback page
is sponsored by Asia’s leading travel reward
programme.
is carrying a full fare ticket?
The infant is not issued with a
seat and is required to be seated
on an adult’s lap with a special
infant’s safety belt.
In the event of the staff member being denied boarding, there
would be no issue with the infant
being left to travel alone as no
parent would dream of allowing
this to happen.
It is exactly the same situation
as if a full fare passenger travelling with an infant was to be
offloaded.
I hope this issue can be resolved as I am sure there are
many parents with infants who
wish to travel on ID tickets.
David Moore
FOP
Bob Nipperess, Employee Services Manager, replies: Our
ticket acceptance policies are developed in cooperation with the
Airports Department.
At present, we require both
travellers (that is, parent and infant) to have the same generic
type of ticket.
That said, I would be happy to
take the matter up with the Airports team to see if any changes
to the present arrangements are
possible.
Baggage
blues
I would like to suggest having a
baggage storage room for staff as
the existing left baggage facility
at Hong Kong International Airport is quite expensive.
When transiting, we often arrive
early in the morning with connecting flights in the afternoon or
evening and it would be a great
help to be able to leave luggage
in a storage room.
Standby staff passengers who
are bumped from flights could
also use the facility as they often
have lengthy waits or even have
to come back the next day.
Frankie Ng
CGO
John Arnold, Manager Property & Services, replies: The
request to have a left luggage
facility for staff who are travelling
through Hong Kong International
Airport is a reasonable one.
Unfortunately, as airport rents
are expensive and such a facility
will only benefit a relatively small
number of staff, the suggestion is
not viable.
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Speedier
systems
Are there any plans for CX to connect with future oneworld partner airBerlin at its hub in Düsseldorf or Berlin?
Düsseldorf has long been renowned as a world exhibition
centre with many business travellers and it is also the centre of
German advertising, telecommunications and fashion industries.
Can I please have an indication
for the timeframe to update the
operating systems – GroupWise,
Microsoft Excel and Word – in the
outports?
The current operating versions
are extremely slow and often very
frustrating!
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Mark Ng, Manager Airline Planning, replies: For the near future,
our focus would be to strengthen
our existing network in Europe by
adding frequency to places such
as Paris, Milan and Moscow.
Having said that, it is exciting
to have a new oneworld partner
which has a strong presence in
both Düsseldorf and Berlin.
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Flight Attendant Ray Yeung
helped a passenger on
CX841 from New York to
Hong Kong when the power
in his seat failed.
Senior Purser Josephine
Bonife took great care of an
elderly passenger on CX139
from Hong Kong to Sydney
in September.
Murray Cassar
SYD
Liam Ryan, Group Programme
Manager, Corporate and Backoffice Operations – Infrastructure, replies: The outports are
scheduled for new email system
deployment and a Microsoft Office upgrade from late February
2011 onwards.
These upgrades will be cohesively managed with other infrastructure projects, including the
PC Refresh and WAN Optimisation
initiatives.
Last month we asked: “CX contributes to charitable causes
around the world including Change for Good and individual
fundraising projects to aid victims of natural disasters. Do you
feel:
Baby fliers
We have done more than our fair
share and there is scope to scale
back our charitable commitment
Why is it not possible for a staff
member to travel on a standard
ID90 Economy Class ticket with an
infant (under two years old) who
0
20
40
60 80%
Check out the CX World website and Daily News on IntraCX for next
month’s poll question.
The online poll
CX should do more for charities
both locally and globally
The current level of support is
about right
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6
“I was on my way to San Francisco
when my Southwest Air flight was
delayed. I contacted Resident Sales
Executive Nancy Morgan to tell her I
might miss my flight to Hong Kong.
She reassured me that she would do
all she could to help me and notified
the CX SFO team of my late arrival.
Upon arrival a CX agent met me at
the gate, escorted me to the check-in
counter, helped me find my check-in
luggage and ensured I got on the flight
with the least amount of stress possible.
The ISM not only made the journey
an enjoyable one she also assisted me
on the ground in Hong Kong.
What makes your airline great is
people like Nancy and her staff and
the cabin crews. Because of them I will
always choose CX.”
“The power supply did not work in my
seat and Flight Attendant Ray Yeung
helped find me an alternative place to
sit.
Unfortunately the power supply did
not work there either and finally he
took my BlackBerry to be recharged in
the galley. I am very grateful for this
great service.”
■
Düsseldorf
calling
A passenger was delayed
on his way to catch CX873
from San Francisco to Hong
Kong on 6 September. He
thanked Resident Sales
Executive Nancy Morgan
and the airport team for the
help they gave.
“Senior Purser Josephine Bonife was
very kind to my mother during this
flight.
She took the time
and care to peel
and slice an
apple for
her as she
was unable to
do so with the
plastic knife
provided.
I would
like to
thank her
for being
so helpful
to my
mother.”
Japan network expands
with Okinawa, Sendai
Dragonair will operate scheduled
services to three cities in Japan
when the airline begins a thriceweekly service to Sendai, as well as
continuing its regular scheduled
service to Okinawa.
Services to Fukuoka resumed on
the 31 October, scheduled flights
to Okinawa will continue from 21
November and the seasonal Sendai
flights will begin on 1 December for
three months.
The Okinawa service will be operated with an A330-300 aircraft while
an A320 will operate to Sendai.
Dragonair has previously operated services to both these cities,
which Marketing & Sales Manager
Japan James Evans says has its benefits when making preparations for
the start of scheduled services.
“There have been 31 charters between Hong Kong and Sendai this
year and the scheduled flights during the December–February period
will be a boost for this market,” he
says.
Once scheduled services to Sendai were announced, the sales team
held agent seminars to raise awareness, and also participated in a local
travel festival with the Hong Kong
Tourism Board to spread the news.
Media interviews and advertorials
have also helped spread the message.
“Very importantly for the Sendai market, we have worked closely
with travel trade partners by holding joint events. The Sendai market
is a strong group market and we
are working closely with our travel
trade partners on securing support
for our flights,” James says.
Whereas Sendai will only be online for three months, Okinawa will
be a year-round online destination
for Dragonair.
And while groups originating
from Sendai will be a major contributor for that route, Hong Kong
travellers are expected to dominate
on the Okinawa service.
“A press gathering, seminar and
Geoffrey Wu,
First Officer
JAPAN CALLING: The resumed Fukuoka service gets off to a colourful start.
luncheon is being planned to celebrate the Okinawa service and passengers on the first flight will also
receive a special gift,” James says.
Dragonair’s other Japanese destination, Fukuoka, was officially re-
launched on the 31 October with a
small gate ceremony.
The event began after KA386
landed and included a lion dance
performance by local high school
students.
HOSTILE
TERRITORY:
Crew learn
vital skills and
training during
a hijacking
exercise.
To make the whole event more realistic, each participant was asked to
play a role and briefed on how they
should dress and behave.
A train-the-trainer course the following week provided a discussion
forum among participants, who are
also trainers themselves, to review
the whole hijack process.
These experiences will now be used
for future CRM and security classes
where crew can share their experience
through mini-exercises.
Deputy Manager Line Operations
Jim Ashby, who was Captain of the
“hijacked” flight, says the exercise
was highly useful in terms of future
In March, Dragonair launched
a campaign asking staff from
around the network to submit
interesting stories about their
work experience at the airline.
Over the next few months,
CX World will be featuring several staff from ‘The Heart of
Dragonair – KA People Stories’
campaign.
One big
family
Exercise drives home security message
Anyone going into Dragonair’s mockup cabin on 4 September would have
been confronted by men in balaclavas waving guns while terrified passengers cowered in their seats.
Fortunately this nightmare scenario was only a highly realistic hijacking
exercise, the first that Dragonair has
ever run.
The exercise was facilitated by UKbased Green Light, with actors playing the role of hijackers to intimidate
participants.
More than 30 KA staff, either operating crew or instructors in security
and Crew Resource Management
(CRM) classes, joined in.
KA PEOPLE
safety and security enhancement.
“The exercise provided first-hand
exposure to some of the psychological effects that may be experienced in
a hijacking,” he says.
“The subsequent debrief and trainthe-trainer course brought home the
lessons that were learned from the
exercise and reinforced the training
potential of the programme.
“I do think that despite our reputation for service, the importance of
safety and security must be brought
to the forefront of our daily thinking,”
Jim adds.
Flight Purser Anthony Fung says
the exercise made him think deeply
In 2005, when Dragonair was
celebrating its 20th anniversary,
I was a cadet pilot training in
Australia under Dragonair sponsorship.
After graduating from flight
training school, I was offered a
Second Officer position and had
the privilege of flying the specially designed 20th-anniversary
livery aircraft. I’m now a Senior
First Officer.
Being a pilot had long been my
dream and after graduating from
university, I saw a recruitment
advertisement for Dragonair.
I decided that I wanted to apply, but even just getting on to
the Cadet Training Programme
required a great deal of determination and perseverance, as the
selection process is extremely
rigorous. However that turned
out to be good training for the
actual programme itself which
was very intensive.
I received plenty of advice and
support during my training from
experienced pilots at Dragonair,
and that has continued since I officially joined the company.
I hope that now I am qualified
I can offer that same support to
young people when they join.
As a pilot, you are just one
part of a large team – passengers
see the pilots and cabin crew,
but a plane doesn’t get off the
ground without the help of many
other people – the dispatcher,
the refueller, the meteorologist,
the air traffic controller, to name
just a few. It is vital that we work
together in a co-ordinated and
smooth way.
about how he would have handled a
real-life situation.
“As a safety officer as well as a
flight attendant, I have a dual role in
the cabin which is never an easy task,”
he says.
“How would I stay calm in an
extremely hostile situation when
everybody is expecting cabin crew
to do something about the hijacker?
What sorts of communication skills
are applicable? What are the available
resources onboard that can be used
to help us survive?
“The whole exercise made me
question how I would respond when
my life is on the line,” Anthony adds.
7
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Pilot groups selected as staff get ready for
transition to Microsoft Outlook
As announced in the October CX World, the
New Ways of Working (NWoW) project will
soon begin the process of replacing the GroupWise and Lotus Notes emails systems at Cathay
Pacific and Dragonair respectively.
Selected pilot departments in Hong Kong,
from both airlines, will begin trialling the new
system from December.
After switching over they will be using Microsoft Outlook with a web-accessible archive
centralised on company servers, as well as a
new instant messaging tool, Office Communicator.
To get ready for the change, representatives
from all departments and outports will help
coordinate the transition process (see below).
More information on this important company change will be communicated in subsequent issues of CX World and other corporate
channels.
Staff can already find out more about the
project and how it will affect them through the
NWoW website on IntraCX (accessible through
IntraCX Zone Highlights), and the first issue of
an NWoW newsletter will be out coming soon.
For enquiries about the change, staff can
email NWoW Group on IMT#NWOW.
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JOB WELL DONE:
Director Engineering
Chris Gibbs thanks
the team behind the
defect-free drive.
Email trials
set to begin
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says: “Overall, we have improved our Z-ADD
rate by 50%. The lunch was a small thank
you to the people who are doing the actual
work to make that happen.”
With each improvement it becomes incrementally harder to improve further and
Tony says new targets are now being set for
the defect-free project.
“So far we have concentrated on functionality in the cabin area such as seats, IFE and
equipment,” he says.
“The next step is to look at improvements
in cleanliness and the appearance of the
cabin. It’s all very well sitting in a perfectly
functioning seat but if the carpets are worn
through or the cabin looks dirty, it affects
the passenger experience as well.
“This is how I see defect free evolving, with
the challenge of how to effectively measure
appearance and cleanliness,” Tony adds.
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The Engineering team celebrated a notable
achievement in the defect-free project in
October, hitting their defect targets ahead
of schedule and improving the overall passenger experience in the process.
From 1 April, the defect-free project set
the goal of ensuring that no aircraft departs
Hong Kong with defects that will impact on
the passenger experience – the so-called “ZADDs”.
A small lunch celebration was held at the
Cabin Maintenance Centre on 18 October
to thank the mechanics and engineers who
helped achieve the Z-ADDs target.
In January 2009 the average number of ZADDs per aircraft was 0.75. By January 2010,
this number had dropped to 0.6 and in both
August and September the number was on
target at 0.4.
Cabin Maintenance Manager Tony Britton
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Defect-free team delivers
How the transition from GroupWise to Outlook will work
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10
Pedallers get ready!
Staff are gearing up for the annual Hong
Kong 24-hour Charity Pedal Kart Grand
Prix, to be held at Victoria Park on 20-21
November.
Weekly training sessions have been
taking place, with pedallers working on
their speed and endurance at courses
around Hong Kong International Airport.
As before, the four CX teams will attempt
to win as many trophies – and raise as
much money – as possible, while having as
much fun as they can.
The Men’s, Women’s and Mixed teams
hope to better their performance this year
while the Fun team will be racing in a new
kart featuring the winning design from
the “E-cycle competition” organised for
underprivileged kids in Tung Chung.
“The Pedal Kart event offers a great
way for staff from different departments
to work together as a big team,” says
Engineering Trainee Martin Ng, a member
of the organising committee.
Staff are encouraged to head down
to Victoria Park to cheer for Team CX
– admission is free!
FINISHING TOUCHES: A cover is placed on the
E-cycle kart designed by Tung Chung students.
Briefs
Race cars raring to go
■ Christmas calling
CX091 from Atlanta to Hong Kong carried a special cargo on 21 October when two race cars which had just competed at the Atlanta Motor
Speedway event were transported to China.
One was a Porsche 911 GT3R Hybrid and the other was from the
Le Mans Series. They were on their way to compete in the China section of the 2010
Intercontinental
Le Mans Cup held
at the Zhuhai
International
Circuit.
The race was
held on 6-7 November and was
the first time part
of the Le Mans
race was held on
Chinese soil.
Fleet grows with latest
delivery from Toulouse
This super-stylish Illy Francis
Francis X7 Espresso Machine is
just one of the great gift ideas
available from the Home Delivery Store at Cathaypacific.com.
Selling at HK$3,600, the coffee
maker comes with Illy Expresso
Capsules and a ceramic cup and
saucer and set.
The Inflight Sales team has
put together a wide range
of premium gourmet foods,
wines and lifestyle products,
and those who buy online now
will received a free box of Vero
Chocolate Bonbons and a US$25
inflight sales gift certificate.
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The Cathay Pacific fleet grew a little
bit bigger last month with another
new aircraft arriving from Toulouse.
The airline’s latest A330-300,
B-LAJ, arrived in Hong Kong on 23
October, bringing to 32 the number
of A330s in the fleet – although one
will be transferred to Dragonair in
December to replace a leased aircraft that’s being returned.
The total number of aircraft in
the fleet is set to be fairly fluid in
the coming months as more BCF
freighters are transferred to the
Air China cargo joint venture from
the first quarter of next year, more
A330s arrive, and a total of six Boeing 777-300ERs are delivered from
March through August.
Of the six passenger aircraft
to enjoy a yacht ride from Sai Kung
to Half Moon Bay and play on the
sand and in the water as well as enjoy a buffet lunch on the beach.
For CPLP’s Joyce Faye Wong this
was her third time volunteering at
the event.
She says she is always humbled by
the overwhelming display of love,
dedication and commitment of the
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2,558
tonnes of cherries this
year
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■ Getaway Surprise boost
NEW ARRIVAL: A press group pictured in Toulouse before the delivery flight
for B-LAJ. The new arrival is the 32nd A330 in the CX fleet.
Sunnyside Club puts smiles on faces
It was a perfect day out for 35 youngsters from the Sunnyside School in
Tseung Kwan O on 30 September as
they took part in their annual beach
outing.
More than 40 volunteers from CX
and the Hong Kong Marine Police
helped to make the outing a memorable one.
The children had an opportunity
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As of August 2010,
Vancouver had uplifted
One parked passenger aircraft being brought back into service
parked during the financial crisis,
only one – a Boeing 747-400 – will
be brought back into service.
B-HUA will be un-parked in November and be back in operation to
support the peak season schedule in
December, later enabling more 747s
to be deployed to San Francisco.
All four of the parked A340-300s
will be returned to the leasing company while the second of the two
parked Boeing 747-400s, B-HOO, is
being dismantled, with many of the
parts being removed used to support the CX 744 operation.
HOO is the oldest airframe in the
744 fleet but was actually the second of the aircraft type delivered
- B-HOP arrived in June 1989 with
HOO following in September.
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parents/guardians and teachers.
“I’m moved by the beautiful children and their smiling, happy faces,”
says Joyce.
“For most people, going to the
beach is not a huge undertaking
but for these children, sadly, an outing is not always possible without
the assistance of many volunteers,”
she adds.
A teaser “news feed” on Facebook helped to generate even
more sales for the latest Getaway
Surprise promotion this month,
with the Hong Kong public eager
to get their hands on special
fares to London, Milan, Ho Chi
Minh City and Shanghai.
Ads also appeared in newspapers to highlight the fares, on
sale from 4 to 6 November.
■ Staff get dressing down
FUN IN THE SUN: Sunnyside
students enjoy their annual
beach outing.
Cathay Pacific staff joined
more than 1,000 organisations, schools and government
departments in Hong Kong for
the Dress Special Day on 28
September to help raise funds
for Community Chest activities.
Staff contributed more than
HK$56,000 this year and had a
lot of fun in the process, with
costume themes ranging from
construction workers to a day at
the beach. See Memory Board on
page 15.
11
NEWS FOCUS
INDIA
The Delhi Cargo Awards 2010 honouring the top
agents for last year were held on the lush green
lawn of the Uppal hotel in Delhi on 24 September.
There was magic in the air with Upender Thakur
providing a lively magic show before the band
played a mix of rocking Bollywood numbers and
golden oldies.
Awards were also presented to the top 10 Delhi
cargo agents by General Manager Middle East,
India, Africa & Pakistan Tom Wright and Regional
Manager Cargo – India, Middle East & Africa Ashish
Kapur.
Getting creative for Hari Raya
MALAYSIA
The CX Airport and Cargo teams in Kuala Lumpur joined with
the Kuala Lumpur Airport Service (KLAS) ground and cargo handling teams for a Hari Raya celebration on 30 September.
The group were treated to a sumptuous buffet spread of Malaysian goodies including lemang, rendang and satay. Country Manager Mandy Wu thanked CX and KLAS staff for their hard
work and presented appreciation awards to three KLAS staff for
their exceptional service.
A teambuilding activity was held for the group to showcase
their creativity by designing an innovative 3D display in 30 minutes to illustrate the theme “Raya celebration with CX”.
Legendary meeting with NBA stars
PHILIPPINES
In mid-2008, when direct cross-strait flights began from
Taiwan to the Mainland, the media predicted a huge decline
on Cathay Pacific’s Hong Kong-Taipei route as passengers
took advantage of the ability to fly direct.
While the route certainly took a hit, with CX and
Dragonair’s market share of Taiwan’s Mainland-bound
traffic dropping from 40% in the first half 2008 to 10% in
the first half of 2010, CX still operates more than 100 flights
per week with another daily flight being added to the 2010
winter schedule.
“Four pairs of daily flights were cut as a result of both
the weak global economy and the cross-strait flights. But
we were pleased to see three of the four pairs resumed so
far this year,” says General Manager Taiwan & Korea Adrian
Harley.
Adrian says there are several reasons for the survival of
the service.
“There has been a relaxation of travel restrictions for
Mainland China tourists to visit Taiwan; direct flights sell
at higher fare levels relative to CX/KA; the direct flights are
available only to major cities on the Mainland; and there
is sustainable demand from passengers for other key
destinations on the CX network,” he says.
“The passenger mix of the Mainland China routes has
also shifted towards a higher share of group traffic over the
past two years, representing the strong demand for leisure
group travel,” Adrian adds.
Since direct cross-strait flights began, CX Taiwan has
shifted its focus to promoting Hong Kong and the Pearl
River Delta through various packages.
“Hong Kong package sales have more than doubled so
far in 2010 compared to 2009,” says Adrian.
“We also focus more on CX’s international network
and long-haul destinations and promoting direct sales,
especially through online channels,” he adds.
The Engineering and Airport teams didn’t sit back
and relax either, with the latter winning the best airport
performance award systemwide in 2009, while Engineering
has moved beyond just being a typical line station.
Engineering Manager Mike Liu says: “We have established
an engine change team who go round the world to provide
outport support, as well as doing overnight seat and cabin
refreshes in Taipei.”
Since being established in 2007, the engine change
team has gone to help out in Japan, Bangladesh, China and
Europe and has made 12 engine changes this year alone.
They also went to Victorville to assist with engine changes
when aircraft were being reactivated.
Airport Services Manager Jimmy Hu says the next big
challenge for the Airport team is working through the
terminal renovation which is expected to last for another
16 months.
“The renovations in Terminal One are having a great
impact on passengers and it has become a challenge for
the team to mitigate the inconvenience being caused,”
Jimmy says.
It was an exciting time for NBA fanatics in Manila when NBA Legend Gary Payton and NBA Development Leaguers Mark Tyndale
and Richie Frahm met with Marco Polo Club members and CX
staff in Makati City.
Guests were given the rare opportunity to have their photo
taken with the players who also signed limited-edition caps.
Country Manager Philippines Ed Higgs gave signed shirts and
NBA Asia Challenge 2010 premier tickets to lucky draw winners.
The NBA Asia Challenge 2010 was held between the visiting
players and the Philippines Basketball Association team with
Asia Miles as the official partner of the event.
Staff volunteers signed up new members and gave away much
sought-after NBA Asia Challenge caps.
Festive time in Fukuoka
Cathay Pacific highlighted the resumption of Dragonair’s
daily Fukuoka service and CX’s worldwide network during
the Asian Pacific Festival held during Fukuoka Asia Month.
The Asian Pacific Festival was held from 18-20 September at Hakata Port, Fukuoka. More than 100 booths from
tourism offices, airlines and travel agents were dotted
throughout the area alongside food stalls selling a variety
of cuisine from Asian countries.
Cathay Pacific shared a booth with the Hong Kong Tourism Board to showcase the airlines’ network and products
and also held a consumer seminar with the HKTB and
Macau Tourism Office to highlight the two destinations.
JAPAN
Taiwan gets
back on track
Magical time at cargo
event
Meeting of minds
One of Japan’s largest travel trade events, the JATA
World Tourism Congress & Travel Fair 2010, was held
in Tokyo from 24-26 September.
Exhibitors from 139 countries and regions participated with more than 110,000 visitors, including
media and travel trade representatives, flocking to
the event.
oneworld held a presentation at the JAL booth
with cabin crew from all the alliance partners with
flights into Japan participating.
HELPING HAND: The Taipei Engineering team at work on an
engine change for B-HNH in Ho Chi Minh City.
12
PORT PEOPLE
Empathy highlighted with staff award
A passion for food
7 September was an important day for Vancouver Customer Services Agent Cheryl Anderson (left) who not only received her overdue 10, 15 and 20-year long service awards
simultaneously, but was also named Employee of the Quarter.
Airport Services Manager Lori Miller praised Cheryl’s empathy and genuine compassion in dealing with an elderly passenger suffering from Alzheimer’s.
“Cheryl went above and beyond the call of duty in helping the passenger who was
lost and disoriented after arriving,” says Lori.
“She didn’t leave him until she was certain he was comfortable and well taken care
of. This behaviour is very typical of Cheryl who cares so much for everyone she interacts with,” Lori adds.
Meanwhile, long-service pins were also presented to Vancouver airport staff by Vice
President Canada Lavinia Lau (below).
CANADA
When Frankfurt’s Customer Services/Ticketing Officer Andrea Koermendy first came to Hong Kong in 1984 she disliked the taste of the ginger in Chinese food.
Today she keeps fresh ginger in her kitchen and can’t
get enough of it.
“For me, cooking is the nicest way to care for friends
and family and enjoy time with them,” says Andrea who
recently contributed a recipe for Hungarian goulash for a
cookbook produced by Frankfurt Airport.
The food lover started cooking when she began travelling around the world and found that the best chefs were
always the “mamas” in small Italian family restaurants.
“I get my inspiration from the endless diversity of Italian
food – and I’m not talking about pizza! I am inspired by
the traditional methods used to produce
their food to create the perfect taste,”
Andrea says.
In addition to whipping up a
dish every few days, Andrea also
paints large abstracts and realistic
pictures in acrylic colours with a
group of artists
once a week.
“When
I’m
painting, my brain
is totally free from all
negative impressions.
One is so busy with
creating forms and colours that there is no
room for other thoughts,”
smiles Andrea.
Seafood shipments
on the menu
SRI LANKA
The Colombo Cargo team sponsored three
freight forwarders and three shippers to attend the Asian Seafood Show in Hong Kong
from 7-9 September.
The trip was designed to develop the seafood market between Sri Lanka and Hong
Kong and China. The group was accompanied by previous Country Manager Sri Lanka
John Holden, current Country Manager
Andrew Pattison and Cargo Manager Kapila
Santhapriya.
WORLD OF FLAVOURS:
Andrea’s love of travel
inspires her cooking.
■
VIETNAM
BAHRAIN
Agent support appreciated
The sales team of top cargo agent Danzas Bahrain was thanked during a luncheon event as the CX cargo team showed their appreciation for regular shipments to Penang.
Cargo Manager Bahrain & Saudi Arabia
Kothandath Mohandas presented a gift to
Danzas Assistant General Manager Operations Sabu John (pictured right).
The CX Bahrain team, including Country
Manager Bahrain, Saudi and Offline Middle
East Daniel Cheung, also met with the
Kingdom’s Olympic Committee to explore
business opportunities for the 16th Asian
Games which will be held in Guangzhou in
October.
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Dream come true
Colourful night for awards
Hanoi’s top cargo agents gathered for the CX annual gala dinner with plenty
to celebrate as Vietnam’s economy growth has meant a robust year for both
the airline and agent partners.
To acknowledge the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of Hanoi as the
Vietnamese capital, guests and staff were invited to wear traditional attire:
the flowing ao dai for women, and classical mandarin suits for men.
General Manager Southeast Asia Anna Thompson joined the event,
and agents took the opportunity to urge her to encourage CX to commit
more capacity to the Hanoi market. After presenting awards to the topperforming agents, it was time for the fun part of the evening with the
Hanoi team organising a series of games.
Manager Hanoi Richard Colville thanked the Hanoi organising team for
helping CX to stand out from other airlines.
■
Malaysian-born LAX Duty Manager Christine Hew got into
the travel industry when she helped out at her brother’s
agency on her home country’s east coast as a tour guide.
She then went on to work for Malaysia Airlines for five
years, starting as a ticketing agent before climbing up the
rung to become Duty Manager.
“I’ve always wanted to work for CX because I love the
airline and I love Hong Kong,” says Christine, whose dream
finally came true when she joined the New York Airport
team as a part-timer in June 2004.
“CX is very modern and advanced compared to other
carriers. It also has better management and training programmes for staff,”
she adds.
Thanks to career
development opportunities offered
by the company,
Christine became
a full-time staff in
2009.
In
July,
she
joined the Los Angeles team as a
Duty Manager.
“I’m getting used
to driving in Los
Angeles. It’s really
different compared
to New York,” says
Christine.
PLENTY OF DRIVE: Christine is enjoying her new life in LA.
13
One
minute with...
Abhijit Abhyankar, Area
Sales Manager – North India
1. You are involved in arranging India’s FunCX outings
– what’s that all about?
FunCX allows you to be yourself
no matter what the activity is. It’s
also a chance to create cherished
memories with colleagues.
2. What activities have you
done?
We’ve gone on picnics, had a
movie screening, a carrom tournament and a karaoke evening.
3. Just how “fun” is it?
The entire team is so lively and
enthusiastic that at some point
we need to come up with ideas to
get people to go home!
4. The India ports really like
to party! Why do you think
that is?
The parties involve every department and it’s not easy to get
everyone together. So when we
do gather, it’s a riot!
5. There’s also a lot of singing and dancing – what’s
your favourite karaoke song?
You and your friend by Dire Straits.
It doesn’t involve much singing
and the great guitar chords are
enthralling. And it helps bad singers like me sound good.
6. You are also fond of tennis – who is your favourite
player?
I am a Rafa fan. He is agile, has a
great serve-and-volley game, is
superb at the baseline and is the
only one who can beat Federer.
7. You also acted at school
– are you the villain or the
romantic lead?
Most of the ladies see me as the
romantic lead and the men …
well, you can guess.
8. What is your favourite
thing about India?
The people and the different
cultures. And the food.
9. Least favourite thing?
The summers! They are just
unbearable.
10. What is your dream
holiday?
Any place with a beach. Nothing
like sitting under an umbrella,
hearing the sound of the sea and
sipping some chilled lager.
14
Jenny’s precious corner
Five years ago, a friend of Jenny
Chun’s took part in a “walkathon”,
taking an 85-day journey from
Newfoundland to Toronto to raise
CA$110,000 (HK$850,000) for education projects supported by the
CRRS Worldwide Foundation.
“The money raised changed the
life of hundreds of children from the
poor rural areas of Guangxi, where a
mere CA$180 enables a child to go
to school for one year,” says Jenny, a
Customer Services Officer in the CX
Toronto Airport team.
Her fundraising friend, Tony, made
a promise that he would return to
visit the Guangxi children each year,
and Jenny joined him twice – in
summer 2009 and again this year.
On her most recent visit, Jenny
joined the CRRS vision trip to visit
different counties in Guangxi, moving from village to village by bus.
“Everywhere we went, we sat
down with the students to have a
meeting about their life and education,” Jenny says.
“The most rewarding time was
having lunch with the students
where they openly expressed their
feelings,” she recalls.
During one of the formal meeting
sessions, a student asked Jenny why
she always smiled.
She told the students that being
thankful for what she had was the
source of her smiles, and the team
leader then asked each of the students to say what they were thankful for.
“Something amazing happened.
These students, who have little or
no material comforts, and who used
to keep silent in front of the class,
began to tell us things like, ‘I am
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thankful that my grandmother, my
only remaining family member, is
healthy’ and ‘Although my mother
passed away, I am thankful that I always have my father by my side’.
“Everyone in the room was
touched by this heartfelt sharing.
Even the school principal, who has
worked in the school for over 20
years, was brought to tears,” Jenny
says.
Jenny found it hard to comprehend how the Guangxi farmers
– many of whom live in extreme
poverty – can live life to its fullest
and never complain.
“The small gifts such as a pencil
or small notepad I gave the children
became their treasures – they keep
those small gifts in their precious
corners. I really hope I can visit them
again,” she smiled.
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CX World welcomes all new staff. Here is a selection of the
newcomers who recently came on board...
Joseph Nip
Cargo Safety Manager, CGO
Joseph believes the safety performance of a company reflects the collective attitude of every staff
within it.
“My first impression of CX is that everyone puts
safety first while planning their work,” says Joseph.
Before joining CX, Joseph oversaw different safety, health, environment and quality management
systems in various industries. He looks forward to
helping the Cargo team develop a robust safety management system as well
as broadening his aviation knowledge.
Mike Richards
Purchasing Manager Fuel, APD
ALL SMILES: Jenny was touched by the attitude of the children in Guanxi.
Mike joins APD with many years of experience
in logistics and commodity purchasing in fuel
and oil-related products both within Europe and
Transatlantic.
He expects to apply his experience to develop
CX’s aviation fuel procurement via the new bulk jet
fuel receiving facility at Tuen Mun.
On the sporting front, Mike is looking forward
to joining famous local events like the Hong Kong
Sevens and the Dragon boat races, while continuing to support his UK
football team Derby County from afar.
Tam Yin-ling
Change Management Lead, IMT
Her full name is Tam Yin-ling but you can call her
Yin. Formerly IT Change Manager with the Airport
Authority Hong Kong, Yin hopes that her previous
experience at the airport can add value to her new
role in IMT.
Outside the office, Yin’s family devote much of
their leisure time towards organising and participating in Parent-Teacher Association activities at
her son’s primary school, including educational visits and charity fundraising
activities.
Jacky Yau
Service Centre Lead, IMT
Jacky has 15 years of experience in IT consulting and
service desk and IT infrastructure management.
Jacky was also a Microsoft forum owner providing solutions for IT-related problems. He published
regular webcasts on the Microsoft Community
group on Facebook offering tips and tricks for Microsoft product users.
“Flying is my dream and it’s a wonderful chance
for me to join CX,” says Jacky, father of a 7-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl.
Apart from technology, he likes hiking and watching movies.
ger Amanda
irns Airport Mana
BIRTHDAY GIRL: Ca
an 80sth
wi
40
right) turned
Jessop-Shaw (far
s party.
themed fancy dres
Race warriors hit the road
Hundreds of runners representing airlines from all over the globe
took part in the annual World Airline Road Race in London on 25
September.
The CX team had a total of 22 runners who flew in from across the
network to compete. “We received a warm welcome from our London colleagues when we met the night before the race at the T-shirt
swap party,” says FOP’s Jebsen Chen.
“The racing conditions on the day were a runner’s dream – cool,
sunny and a flat course. Not to mention the late start of 11am so everyone got some extra hours of much-needed rest, especially the 10
Hong Kong-based cabin crew who flew in to London the day before
the race,” Jebsen adds.
Congratulations go to Alan Ryan (FOP) who came fifth overall in
the men’s 5km race, and Ryoko Goma (ISD) who was second in her
age group also in the 5km race.
In the 10km race, Mallette De La Riva (ISD) came third overall in
the women’s race while Andrea Wilkerson (ISD) came second in her
age group.
The next WARR will be hosted by American Airlines in September
2011 in Texas.
ALL GREEK TO ME: The Del
hi FunCX club was
inaugurated with a Greekthemed evening.
s celebrated 25 years of
BEST FRIENDS: Induction 15 clas
to the Philippines.
friendship with a weekend trip
WEDDING BELLES
: New Zealand Co
untry Manager
David Figgins (ce
ntre) congratulat
es Natalie Weir
and Mark Pirihi
before their Fiji
wedding.
FILM BUFFS: The Singapore team’s movie nights got off to a
great start with a viewing of Eat, Pray, Love.
The Quiz
The winner of the first prize
this month will get a year’s
supply of coffee from Bolaven
Farms together with a pair of
coffee mugs.
Bolaven Farms is the leading
organic grower and supplier
of the finest Bolaven coffees,
grown and processed in the
pristine environment of southern Laos.
Bolaven Farms is a social enterprise, training resident farmers at its own farm and making credit available to graduates
to start their own farms. Farmers are empowered to break the cycle of
poverty, one family at a time.
The company’s fine coffees are available for sale in Hong Kong and
the US through its website, and also from the coffee stall in the Fusion
supermarket in Discovery Bay.
CX staff can enjoy a discount of
10% on each bag of coffee and 15%
on three bags or more. More details at
www.bolavenfarms.com
The second prize winner will receive a two-piece
Vinum – Cognac Hennessy glass set from Riedel
Crystal.
This narrow, small volume glass enables the
sweet aromas of cognac to reveal themselves
and the shape is
suitable for brandy,
cognac, armagnac,
calvados and rum.
Go to www.riedel.
com for more information.
To enter, visit the online quiz entry form on the CX World site.
The deadline is noon on Friday, 3 December.
Dress Special Day
und
ie But fo
ECX’s Oll
.
e
nish sid
his clow
Fun in the sun fo
r PSS’s Joseph
Yung (left) and
Henr y Mok.
r the PSS team
er time fo
It’s still summ
eme.
on a beach th
who decided
CRM’s Steve Tunstall
brings out his Indian
attire.
Safety helmets an
d vests were comp
ulsory wear for the
Cargo team photo
at the terminal cons
truction site.
Dreaming of a
white wonderland
Flight attendant Surasak Netraprajag was enchanted by the Northern
Lights on a visit to Norway
Tromsø in Norway is a long way from anywhere. To
reach the city requires a three-hour flight from Oslo,
and it took nearly 20 hours from Tel Aviv where I decided to leave from.
So where is Tromsø? It’s located above the European Arctic Circle in the county of Troms. A common mistake is to pronounce it Trom-so and I
quickly learned it should be pronounced Trom-saa.
My first glimpse through the plane window was
of an absolutely breathtaking landscape of ice and
snow.
The start of the long winter in Tromsø means it is dark
for almost 24 hours a day, and I was lucky that when I went
it was still light for about four hours a day, which was more
than usual. But I still had no idea what time it was or what
meal I should be eating!
A few facts about Tromsø. It has the world’s northernmost university, it is the most density populated town in
the Arctic and also holds the dubious distinction of being
the world’s most expensive town.
A basic hamburger will set you back about US$20 while a
small bottle of Coke is US$7.
No trip to Norway is complete without seeing the natural
wonder of the aurora borealis – the Northern Lights.
Luckily for me, Tromsø is right in the heart of the aurora
borealis zone, and is one of the best places in the world to
observe this stunning phenomenon.
I saw it on the second day of my visit when we were driving near Senja, which is the second-largest island in Norway
and is located along the Troms county coastline. The Northern Lights simply lit up the dark sky and it was the perfect
way to end my weekend in the Arctic Circle.
■ Fun in Fukuoka
The Hakata Miyako Hotel, Fukuoka is offering Cathay Pacific
staff special rates starting from
6,300 yen with breakfast.
The 266-room hotel is one minute
from Hakata Station and only five minutes
by train from Fukuoka Airport.
The property has four F&B outlets including an Italian restaurant, a Japanese restaurant, a lobby lounge and a bar.
■ Floating away in Thailand
Balloon and adventure sports enthusiasts
will be in their element from 2-6 December
when the ancient city of Ayutthaya hosts the
Thailand International Balloon & Adventure
Sports Festival.
Thousands are expected to watch the
gigantic, brightly coloured hot-air balloons
drift up into the sky every morning while, at
night, the
balloonists
will use
a special
burner to
light the
interiors
of the balloons to turn them into a glowing floating
spectacle.
An adventure sports element has been
added this year, with spectators able to
watch or even take part in car drifting, inline
skating and paragliding.
More information at www.thailandadventuresports.com
■ Wishing you a balmy Christmas
Singapore’s famous
Orchard Road will
light up from 20
November to 2 January with twinkling
lights and themed
ornaments for the
annual Christmas in
the Tropics event.
This year’s theme
is “A Starlit Christmas” and visitors
will be able to enjoy
a range of entertaining street performances
and take an open-top bus tour.
The Christmas cheer will also spread to
Marina Bay which will have a similar starlitthemed event called Marina Bay Christmas
Splendour, with dazzling decorations at the
Marina Bay Sands and special offers in the
adjacent shopping mall.
More information at www.stb.com.sg
SHOW US YOUR TIPS!
FROZEN SPLENDOUR: Surasek (insert) enjoyed his time in icy Tromsø (top and
above) and also had a chance to see the Northern Lights (middle).
Snap happy
CX World welcomes staff travel tips from
across the network – email us at CCD#SCT
HK$500 for a travel tale!
This month’s contribution comes from Senior Captain
Kevin Scott and shows pre-dawn light playing on the
water of terraced rice paddies in Yuanyang County, south
of Kunming.
“We took this photo in a very special place known as
‘Mirrors of God’ and the beauty of the landscape and the
incredible effect of the changing light did indeed live up
to its name,” Kevin says.
The visit to Yuanyang County was part of an eightday adventure exploring the backroads of rural Yunnan
Province.
“It was a self-drive holiday and we were part of a four
car four-wheel drive convoy of like-minded adventurers,
including a team of three guides and a backup driver who
took care of all the details,” Kevin adds.
16
Travel
bites
Every month, CX World invites all CX staff to
tell unusual, interesting or just downright
quirky tales of travel moments around the
world.
Sponsored by Inflight Sales, the lucky
sender of the main
story receives HK$500
worth of inflight
sales products of
their choice from
the ever-changing
collection of over
260 items on offer
(excluding liquor
and cigarettes).
Go shopping
at www.