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2<br />
Fundraising efforts awarded<br />
<strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong> was among the<br />
recipients of the Hong Kong Red<br />
Cross Annual Big Donors – Diamond<br />
Award on 18 October.<br />
The CX Group’s donation<br />
of more than HK$10 million to<br />
various relief projects in 2011<br />
was the highest among all the<br />
corporations in Hong Kong.<br />
“Through CX’s corporate<br />
social responsibility activities<br />
we encourage staff to help out<br />
via direct donations or volunteer<br />
work,” said Employee Services<br />
Manager Bob Nipperess, who<br />
represented CX at the awards<br />
ceremony.<br />
Malaysia’s joining date<br />
confirmed<br />
Malaysia Airlines will become a<br />
full member of oneworld with effect<br />
from Friday 1 February 2013,<br />
offering the alliance’s full range<br />
of services and benefits.<br />
The national airline of Malaysia<br />
received clearance to board oneworld<br />
after successfully completing<br />
a thorough review of its readiness<br />
conducted by<br />
Qantas, which is<br />
sponsoring its entry<br />
into the alliance,<br />
with the oneworld<br />
central team.<br />
Malaysia Airlines will substantially<br />
expand the alliance’s<br />
network in Southeast Asia, where<br />
it will add 14 destinations and<br />
one country – Brunei – to the<br />
oneworld map and strengthen the<br />
alliance’s connectivity between<br />
many key business cities in Asia<br />
and other parts of the world.<br />
Best pyjamas in the sky!<br />
The Australian Financial Review<br />
has named CX’s Shanghai Tang<br />
pyjamas as the best in the air.<br />
The article in the<br />
Sophisticated Traveller<br />
section compared<br />
pyjamas<br />
from five leading<br />
carriers to find<br />
out which deliver<br />
“true comfort and<br />
style in the air”. CX’s<br />
First Class offering<br />
was a clear<br />
winner with a<br />
4-star rating for<br />
comfort and five<br />
stars for design and<br />
the “at home” feeling.<br />
Celebrating 50 years of Bond<br />
To celebrate 50 years of James Bond on film, passengers can now view<br />
some of the best-known Bond movies, watch documentaries, listen to Bond<br />
soundtracks and even sip on the secret agent’s favourite drink.<br />
On Studio CX , passengers can choose from six classic films featuring the<br />
celebrated spy: Dr. No, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, The Spy Who<br />
Loved Me, The Living Daylights, GoldenEye and Casino Royale. The selection<br />
encompasses the full range of the 23 Bond movies made since 1962<br />
and feature all the different actors who have portrayed 007 over the years.<br />
Two television programmes will be featured in the Lifestyle/Documentary<br />
section – The Cars of James Bond and a biography of James Bond creator<br />
Ian Fleming.<br />
Even before boarding, eligible passengers can celebrate the 50th anniversary<br />
by sipping on James Bond’s favourite martini which is being offered<br />
to - passengers at The Pier (First and Business Class sections), The Wing<br />
(Business Class) and The Cabin (Business Class) lounges in Hong Kong.<br />
Sandy wreaks havoc<br />
Great effort from teams gets New York operation back on track<br />
Teams around the network pulled<br />
together when Hurricane Sandy<br />
assailed the north-east coast of<br />
the USA and led to 20 CX passenger<br />
sectors being cancelled and<br />
four freighter services diverted.<br />
Sandy’s passage forced the<br />
closure of John F Kennedy International<br />
Airport, with extensive<br />
areas being inundated with water<br />
and littered with storm debris.<br />
Flights from Hong Kong to New<br />
York were suspended on 29 and<br />
30 October. Coaches were arranged<br />
for passengers who departed<br />
on 28 October only to arrive<br />
in New York and find the city’s pub-<br />
lic transport network closed down.<br />
Services resumed on 1 November<br />
with CX888 departing at 1am. An<br />
extra sector – CX2846 and CX2845<br />
– was arranged on 3 November to<br />
get stranded passengers away.<br />
Senior Vice President Americas<br />
Tom Owen says that the planning<br />
done in advance of Sandy’s arrival<br />
and the reaction to the events of<br />
the storm showed the CX teams<br />
at their very best, with close cooperation<br />
between Hong Kong and<br />
the USA to minimise disruption.<br />
“The Airport team at JFK, led by<br />
Airport Services Manager James<br />
Groark, coordinated its plans<br />
SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED: REV’s Ed Higgs roadtests the Long Bar martinis.<br />
through daily conference calls<br />
with the Customer and Commercial<br />
Control team and key Head<br />
Office departments,” Tom says.<br />
“A CX flight was the last one to<br />
leave JFK before the storm swept<br />
in, and we were one of the first to<br />
return with a full complement of staff<br />
braving the commute to receive and<br />
dispatch flights,” he adds.<br />
The North American Reservations<br />
call centre, based in Vancouver,<br />
collected phone and email<br />
enquiries from passengers and<br />
prioritised callbacks for rebooking<br />
and protection.<br />
“There was a tremendous effort<br />
here to reply to each and every<br />
passenger enquiry. Hong Kong<br />
was equally busy and the Marco<br />
Polo Club Service Centre assisted<br />
by taking care of our elite flyers,”<br />
Tom says.<br />
Back in Hong Kong, the Reservations<br />
& Ticketing teams were in<br />
full force to handle the disruption<br />
with thousands of phone calls being<br />
made to passengers trying to<br />
get to JFK.<br />
“With more than 4,000 passengers<br />
affected, the teams ended<br />
up making about 2,000 calls to<br />
ensure passengers were kept updated,”<br />
says Worldwide Reservations<br />
& Ticketing Manager Mary<br />
Chan.<br />
“They assisted with changes<br />
to travel plans and help to make<br />
protection arrangements,” she<br />
added.<br />
Mary says that a lot of operations<br />
decisions were made at odd hours<br />
with short notice, “but the teams<br />
simply took that as a challenge and<br />
delivered their usual excellent customer<br />
service,” she adds.<br />
In the end, despite the large<br />
scale disruption, Tom says he has<br />
not heard of a single complaint<br />
from passengers.<br />
“So many of the US and Head<br />
Office staff played a role in this<br />
major disruption and pulled together<br />
magnificently to overcome<br />
the problems and expedite the recovery,”<br />
he says.<br />
Produced by CX’s Corporate<br />
Communication Department<br />
7/F North Tower, <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong> City,<br />
Lantau, HK<br />
Publisher: Cecilia Leung<br />
Managing Editor: Mark Tindall<br />
Editor: Joyce Wong<br />
Enquiries: 2747-5293<br />
GalaCXy ID: CCD#SCT<br />
Email: ccd#sct@cathaypacific.com
Recently, I was asked – with flights seemingly<br />
so full why did we lose money in the<br />
first half and are we doing better now? It’s<br />
a sensible question – one that I expect<br />
many of you wonder about as well – so<br />
I wanted to use this opportunity to share<br />
with everyone my answer.<br />
In the simplest terms, there are cost and<br />
revenue factors which have combined to<br />
make 2012 a difficult year. Let me explain<br />
further.<br />
On the cost side, the biggest issue is<br />
fuel. Fuel is our single largest cost.<br />
We planned for fuel to be expensive this<br />
year, but it has been even more expensive<br />
than we anticipated. The actual cost of fuel<br />
into plane - because we have to pay more<br />
for aviation fuel than the cost of the crude<br />
oil you see reported in the newspaper<br />
– has exceeded budget by about 6%.<br />
Now, 6% may not seem like much but,<br />
looking at all our flights together on an<br />
annual basis, if we had done nothing,<br />
this higher fuel price would have meant<br />
our total fuel bill this year would have exceeded<br />
the high budget we had planned<br />
by HK$2.5 billion!<br />
The increase in the price of fuel since<br />
2010 has had a big impact on the operating<br />
cost of our routes. On a 747-400 flight<br />
to London, fuel today represents 62.5% of<br />
the total cost of the flight. In 2010, when<br />
fuel was substantially lower, it represented<br />
only 47.9%. That is a big jump! Let me try<br />
to put that into perspective. Taken over a<br />
year, on that one flight pair alone, the fuel<br />
bill will have increased by HK$110 million<br />
– again, on just this one flight pair.<br />
To directly address the fuel situation,<br />
we have limited options. We can and do<br />
hedge, but hedging is not a miracle solution,<br />
particularly when fuel prices have<br />
been stubbornly high for so long. Hedging<br />
is like an insurance policy – which like every<br />
other insurance policy costs money to<br />
buy – and so it offers some protection, but<br />
it doesn’t remove all of the risk.<br />
We can try to raise ticket prices, but this<br />
is extremely difficult to do in the current<br />
weak economic environment.<br />
We are allowed to collect fuel surcharges,<br />
but these require regulatory approval<br />
and help us recover only about 50% of the<br />
extra fuel cost we pay. So this also helps,<br />
but cannot fill the gap.<br />
Finally, we can take steps to reduce<br />
fuel consumption and this is where we<br />
have been most aggressive. Retiring the<br />
747-400s from our fleet more quickly and<br />
replacing them with fuel efficient 777-<br />
300ERs will help us tremendously. The<br />
777s are overall more than 20% more fuel<br />
efficient than the 747-400s. As we move<br />
into 2013 and take delivery of more 777-<br />
300ERs, we’ll see an even bigger benefit<br />
but the full benefit will not be realized until<br />
2014.<br />
The cost issue, however, encompasses<br />
more than just fuel. There is significant<br />
cost <strong>press</strong>ure all around us. We are seeing<br />
increases in airport charges, overflight<br />
charges, catering charges, landing and<br />
parking charges, handling charges and<br />
passenger costs to name a few. So we<br />
must tackle our cost base where we can.<br />
Our Chief Operating Officer Ivan Chu is<br />
leading these efforts.<br />
Turning to the revenue side, cargo has<br />
been a huge challenge. Not just in 2012,<br />
but for most of 2011 as well.<br />
Cargo has always been important to CX.<br />
In good years, cargo can be almost 30%<br />
of our total revenue although the result for<br />
2012 will be well below that. 2010 was a<br />
boom year for cargo, but a weaker world<br />
economy changed all that and not for the<br />
better.<br />
Cargo volumes track the health of the<br />
world economy – a weak economy means<br />
lower cargo demand. Faced with this situation<br />
in 2012, we have cancelled freighter<br />
flights and we have also parked some of<br />
our freighters. But cargo doesn’t only travel<br />
on freighters.<br />
Invisible to most customers, but not to<br />
our bottom line, cargo also travels in the<br />
bellies of our passenger aircraft. Cargo<br />
volumes in our passenger aircraft year-todate<br />
are below budget and overall cargo<br />
revenue this year is lower than 2011 by<br />
around 13%.<br />
Inside our passenger cabins, loads have<br />
been good. Not as good as in 2010 when<br />
the load factor averaged 83.4% or even in<br />
2011 when it was 80.4%, but certainly quite<br />
good at 80.2% through October. Still, you<br />
can see that we have a lost a little bit here.<br />
While load factor is important, yield is<br />
equally important. Yield basically means<br />
average ticket prices. To understand this,<br />
we have to talk about both premium traffic<br />
(First and Business Class) and Economy<br />
Class traffic.<br />
This year, premium traffic has been soft<br />
also due to the world economic situation.<br />
Our top corporate customers in the financial<br />
industry are travelling more than 15%<br />
less than they did the previous two years.<br />
As a result, load factors in the premium<br />
cabins are slightly below where they were<br />
in 2010 and 2011 and average fares are<br />
also lower.<br />
In our Economy Class cabins, load factors<br />
are also slightly down over where they<br />
were in 2011. But the real problem has<br />
been a decline in average ticket prices,<br />
which are below budget and below last<br />
year by about 4%.<br />
Many airlines are facing similar challenges<br />
and thus the competition for passengers<br />
is even more intense than usual.<br />
Put all that together – high fuel prices,<br />
cost <strong>press</strong>ure on all fronts, some less fuel<br />
efficient aircraft, lower cargo revenues,<br />
weaker premium revenues, lower average<br />
ticket prices in Economy Class due to competition<br />
– all at the same time and the result<br />
is a very challenging year.<br />
We know that aviation has its ups and<br />
downs. We have lived through both ups<br />
and downs over the past five years. What<br />
is important now is that we continue to pull<br />
together as one team, that we continue to<br />
provide our passengers and shippers with<br />
great products and services so that they<br />
keep choosing to fly and to ship with us,<br />
and that we work hard to make <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong><br />
more productive and more efficient.<br />
As we have before, we will get through<br />
these difficult times and we will be well-positioned<br />
to take advantage of the improvement<br />
in the world economy when it comes.<br />
More cost-cutting measures introduced to preserve cash, boost revenue<br />
With the end of 2012 fast approaching, Chief<br />
Operating Officer Ivan Chu has called on<br />
the team to push to reduce costs further as<br />
business continues to stall.<br />
Despite a small pick-up in the cargo<br />
market, driven by shipments of high-tech<br />
products out of the Mainland, the overall<br />
situation is still worrying, Ivan told staff in the<br />
Friday Telex.<br />
“The cost-management initiatives we<br />
announced back in May have been making<br />
a positive impact. Unfortunately, we haven’t<br />
seen much improvement in the underlying<br />
business trends,” he said.<br />
“Compared to the same time last year,<br />
we are a bigger airline with more staff, more<br />
passengers and more assets – yet our<br />
revenues are in decline. That’s obviously<br />
not a sustainable situation, especially in a<br />
continued high-fuel-price environment.<br />
“We cannot allow costs to rise faster than<br />
capacity or revenue, so we must look very<br />
carefully at how to do things more efficiently<br />
and more economically,” he said.<br />
In a memo to department heads, the<br />
COO stressed that more needs to be done<br />
on the cost side.<br />
“If you have had any doubts on the need<br />
to contain costs, let me lay those to rest here<br />
and now. This is proving to be an extremely<br />
difficult year,” he wrote.<br />
He told the senior management team<br />
that a number of “difficult, but necessary”<br />
decisions had been made, including:<br />
•<br />
•<br />
•<br />
Not holding the management<br />
conference this year<br />
Further restrictions on duty travel in<br />
place, with a recommendation for<br />
“minimum or no cost” to the company<br />
Not using company funds for festive<br />
gatherings<br />
•<br />
•<br />
Entertainment expenditure reduced<br />
to a bare minimum, even if already<br />
budgeted<br />
Stricter enforcement of the current<br />
headcount freeze<br />
“It is never pleasant to have to resort to<br />
such restrictive measures, but they reflect the<br />
negative operating climate in which we find<br />
ourselves,” Ivan said.<br />
He urged the team to look for new sources<br />
of revenue and ways to further manage costs<br />
that don’t impact safety or our customer<br />
proposition.<br />
3
Premium<br />
Economy<br />
revenue<br />
on the rise<br />
Revenue from the Premium<br />
Economy cabin has grown<br />
steadily since its introduction on<br />
selected <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong> flights in<br />
April this year.<br />
The Premium Economy<br />
product has been progressively<br />
introduced on Southwest<br />
<strong>Pacific</strong>, North America and<br />
Europe flights since its launch.<br />
“London is the network’s<br />
star performer with regards to<br />
Premium Economy sales, with<br />
recent load factors up to 80%,”<br />
says Revenue & Route Planning<br />
Manager Manuel Tsang.<br />
“Frankfurt is performing<br />
the best out of the continental<br />
Europe routes. There is also<br />
healthy demand for Premium<br />
Economy travel to and from Los<br />
Angeles,” he adds.<br />
Pickup in India, the Middle<br />
East and South Africa is<br />
comparatively slow as Premium<br />
Economy is still a new product<br />
in these markets.<br />
However the Revenue<br />
Department anticipates an<br />
increase in bookings as the<br />
rollout continues across those<br />
routes.<br />
The team is looking forward to<br />
a buoyant demand for Premium<br />
Economy travel before the<br />
Christmas peak.<br />
“Business looks promising<br />
on ultra long-haul routes such<br />
as London, the United States<br />
and Canada, where we have<br />
advance load factors above<br />
40% in the beginning of<br />
November.<br />
“Australia routes are also<br />
expected to be busy,” Manuel<br />
adds.<br />
<strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong> will have 48<br />
aircraft installed with the new<br />
product by the end of this year,<br />
and 87 by the end of 2013.<br />
Cargo site gets a lift<br />
Improved interface and a better user experience adds to appeal<br />
Extensive input from the market was<br />
incorporated into the design and<br />
structure of the new <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong><br />
Cargo website which relaunched on<br />
4 November.<br />
Cargo Distribution Manager Clera<br />
Lam says: “We have been working<br />
on the entire project for the past 26<br />
months and the brief was quite simply<br />
to rebuild the whole site, from<br />
content and functionality to layout<br />
and design.<br />
“We particularly looked at the<br />
user experience. The former site<br />
was very operation oriented with<br />
the ‘track and trace’ and ‘availability’<br />
areas getting the highest hit rates at<br />
more than 80%,” she adds.<br />
“The new layout pulls the focus<br />
to the centre of the page with new<br />
icons and more images providing<br />
a more visually pleasing look. We<br />
also wanted the site be more of a<br />
marketing tool so more information<br />
about cargo products such as PharmaLIFT<br />
are now easily accessible<br />
on the landing page,” Clera says.<br />
Based on input from users, a<br />
‘check loadability’ section has been<br />
200 – and still going strong!<br />
The November CX World celebrates<br />
a milestone for the publication<br />
– 200 issues of keeping staff<br />
and friends of <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong> up to<br />
date with everything happening in<br />
the airline.<br />
CX World started out as a biweekly<br />
publication, taking over<br />
from The Weekly on 3 April 1998.<br />
The name was chosen because<br />
“we’ll bring you news and information<br />
about every aspect of <strong>Cathay</strong><br />
<strong>Pacific</strong>’s world” – and that still<br />
holds true today.<br />
Fourteen years ago CX was a<br />
smaller but fast-changing airline,<br />
Joint pledge to cut building emissions<br />
TAKING THE PLEDGE: CX’s Mark Watson (front row, fourth left) joins other signers.<br />
and all the latest developments<br />
were documented in Issue 1 (below<br />
right).<br />
The second daily flight to Los<br />
Angeles was splashed on the<br />
front page along with details of the<br />
airline’s new IT system, GalaCXy.<br />
A whole page was documented<br />
to the latest CLK trial with CX’s<br />
move to its new home at Hong<br />
Kong International Airport just four<br />
months away.<br />
On the lighter side, pictures from<br />
department spring dinners featured<br />
everything from a bunch of<br />
engineers doing a striptease – not<br />
added, allowing customers to see<br />
whether their cargo can be loaded<br />
onto a particular aircraft.<br />
“They simply input the dimensions<br />
and select the aircraft type, so<br />
it’s a very user-friendly tool,” Clera<br />
says.<br />
“We also included an e-rate in the<br />
members-only area which allows<br />
the individual customer to access<br />
the rate on offer for their particular<br />
company. CX is the one of the first<br />
airlines in the industry to offer this<br />
feature,” she adds.<br />
Assistant Manager Cargo Distribution<br />
Daniel Chan says the overall<br />
idea was to enhance the site to<br />
make it more user friendly.<br />
“For instance, the highly utilised<br />
‘track and trace’ area received special<br />
attention. The shipment movement<br />
information is very comprehensive<br />
and shipment location can<br />
be easily identified.<br />
“The content can also be emailed<br />
directly from the website which allows<br />
cargo agents to forward that<br />
information easily and quickly to<br />
their customers,” he says.<br />
a pretty sight! – to directors showing<br />
off a wide variety of skills.<br />
CX World became a monthly<br />
publication in January but its focus<br />
remained the same – documenting<br />
the developments,<br />
the<br />
highs and<br />
lows, and<br />
the everchanging<br />
face<br />
of Hong<br />
Kong’s<br />
home airline.<br />
<strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong> has joined 16 other leading Hong Kong companies<br />
in a pledge to reduce carbon emissions in their buildings.<br />
An initiative of the Business Environment Council (BEC) and<br />
Climate Change Business Forum (CCBF), the pledge requires<br />
companies to annually publish progress against reduction targets<br />
in their CSR or related reports. Head of Environmental Affairs<br />
Mark Watson represented CX at a signing event held on 25<br />
October.<br />
“We have been running energy-saving initiatives such as automatic<br />
lighting, air-conditioning control systems, and motion<br />
sensors in conference rooms at <strong>Cathay</strong> City,” says Building &<br />
Facilities Manager Jerry Tam.<br />
“We have also been trialling different products for special and<br />
general lighting in the Flight Training Centre and offices, which<br />
can help reduce electricity consumption by 423,400 kWh per<br />
year upon implementation,” he adds.<br />
A detailed energy audit is also in progress, the findings of which<br />
will feed into the energy-efficiency improvement programme.<br />
SITE SENSE: Cargo’s Clera Lam, Stephen Ip and Daniel Chan highlight the<br />
new design features and functionality of the site.<br />
Win a hotel stay with CX Cargo!<br />
To celebrate the launch of the new <strong>Cathay</strong>pacificcargo.com website, the<br />
Cargo team and CX World are holding a special lucky draw.<br />
The first prize winner will receive a two-night stay in a superior room for<br />
two with daily breakfasts at Hong Kong’s Regal Airport Hotel. The second<br />
prize winner will receive two-nights’ accommodation at the Headland Hotel.<br />
To enter, answer the following question: How many different cargo<br />
products (eg PharmaLIFT) can be found on the new website?<br />
Send your answer in an email with the subject line “Cargo website” to<br />
CCD#SCT by noon on Friday 21 December.
Very special delivery<br />
from Cebu to Rome<br />
<strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong> had special cabin baggage onboard on 17 October when the image of<br />
Blessed Pedro Calungsod flew from Cebu to Rome, via Hong Kong, for a canonisation<br />
ceremony.<br />
Thousands lined the streets as the three-foot high image was taken from Cebu’s<br />
cathedral to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport. CX staff also had a<br />
chance to view and touch the image to share the blessing before it was<br />
carefully packed in a case for transport.<br />
The image travelled in the passenger section next to the image’s<br />
official custodian, Father Charles Jayme (inset).<br />
Manager Cebu Grace Ho says: “It was an honour for CX to support<br />
this significant event. It took great teamwork not just within the Cebu<br />
team but across different departments in the CX network to ensure the<br />
image was safely secured inside the cabin for the journey to Rome.”<br />
NZ deal to deliver<br />
customer benefits<br />
Strategic agreement with Kiwi carrier on HK-Auckland route<br />
A ground-breaking strategic agreement<br />
with Air New Zealand is set to deliver a wide<br />
range of benefits for consumers, ranging<br />
from more routing choices and better-coordinated<br />
flight schedules to increased opportunities<br />
to “earn and burn”.<br />
The new arrangement was announced<br />
on 5 November and Chief Executive John<br />
Slosar said it will “open up a vast range of<br />
potential opportunities for the two airlines to<br />
maximise synergies and better meet customers’<br />
needs”.<br />
The key element of the agreement, which<br />
will become effective from 31 January next<br />
year, will be a code-sharing arrangement<br />
on CX and NZ services between New<br />
Top spot for Inflight Sales<br />
<strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong> was named Best Inflight<br />
Retailer of the Year at the 28th Frontier<br />
Awards held on 24 October in Cannes.<br />
This is the third time the airline has won<br />
the top honour, previously winning in 2010<br />
and 2008.<br />
Inflight Sales Operations Manager<br />
Jessica Wan represented CX at the event.<br />
Zealand and Hong Kong.<br />
The flight schedules of the two airlines will<br />
be better aligned in order to increase connection<br />
opportunities out of both Hong Kong<br />
and Auckland.<br />
Consumers will see a wider choice of fares<br />
between the gateway cities of Auckland/<br />
Hong Kong, while top-tier members from Air<br />
New Zealand’s Airpoints and the Marco Polo<br />
Club will enjoy reciprocal benefits when trav-<br />
She says innovation in the sector is<br />
required as competition grows and economic<br />
uncertainty means passengers spend less<br />
than before.<br />
“Our strategic partner ISG has formed a<br />
dedicated product innovation team to look<br />
for the finest and most popular brands<br />
around the world – for instance, in spring<br />
elling on code-share flights.<br />
The strategic agreement does not extend<br />
to the airlines’ cargo businesses.<br />
In terms of the impact on CX’s New<br />
Zealand team, the airline says that the arrangement<br />
“demonstrates our commitment<br />
to AKL and the team is encouraged to fully<br />
leverage on this new opportunity and capitalise<br />
on it”.<br />
In response to questions about partnering<br />
with a Star Alliance carrier, CX stresses<br />
that “oneworld encourages flexibility for<br />
members to pursue bilateral relationships<br />
with carriers beyond alliance members”<br />
and that there is no change in the airline’s<br />
commitment to oneworld.<br />
we’ll welcome Qeelin and Giorgio Armani<br />
beauty products onboard,” she says.<br />
“The home delivery service expanded in<br />
July to cover more regional destinations,<br />
and we continue to groom our Elite Sales<br />
Force, ensuring they are well equipped with<br />
product knowledge and selling techniques,<br />
and suitably rewarded,” Jessica adds.<br />
STOP PRESS<br />
More awards for airline<br />
Just as CX World went to <strong>press</strong>, <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong><br />
heard that it had won two honours in the 2012<br />
Business Traveller China Awards – Best Airline<br />
in the World and Best Airline First Class.<br />
The awards were presented at a ceremony in<br />
Shanghai on 15 November.<br />
“These latest awards for our airline are very<br />
meaningful because they were voted for by the<br />
travelling public, and are a real tribute to the<br />
dedication and professionalism of our whole<br />
team,” said Chief Executive John Slosar.<br />
5
n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n<br />
Star letter<br />
New life given to glass bottles<br />
It was great to see the story in CX<br />
World about the effort being taken<br />
to recycle inflight bottles.<br />
I wonder, given the lack of glass<br />
recycling for the public in Hong<br />
Booting out<br />
Why is it that the CX desktop PCs<br />
are set to boot from external media?<br />
Almost all security experts suggest<br />
that switching off this autoboot<br />
option is the most basic, frontline<br />
step that an owner can take to avoid<br />
virus infection.<br />
It’s very easy to forget and leave a<br />
memory stick or a CD in a machine<br />
at power-off.<br />
Under IMT’s current settings the<br />
PC will then attempt to boot from<br />
whatever executable programmes it<br />
can find on that media.<br />
Maybe other protections will do<br />
their best to mitigate that threat<br />
– but it’s still a danger and there’s<br />
no apparent benefit from leaving this<br />
“door” open.<br />
Name withheld<br />
James Lockett, Infrastructure<br />
Support Manager, replies: Steps<br />
are being taken to minimise security<br />
threats to CX/KA assets including<br />
PCs and laptops.<br />
In Hong Kong, IMT has deployed<br />
USB Management Tool that will disable<br />
.exe (executable programs) to<br />
run from USB media. This is also being<br />
extended to outports.<br />
Over a two month period, 8,832<br />
out of 9,929 USB Management<br />
Tools have been deployed.<br />
Kong, is there any way that a collection<br />
bin can be placed in <strong>Cathay</strong><br />
City so that staff can join in the recycling<br />
effort?<br />
I personally have many bottles at<br />
IMT’s goal is to provide a secure<br />
working PC/laptop environment<br />
with minimal service disruption to<br />
the CX business units. In the coming<br />
months more security features<br />
will be deployed as part of the IMT<br />
Security Strategy to reduce risk and<br />
threats to the workplace.<br />
Extending<br />
Wi-Fi reach<br />
I was wondering why it is possible to<br />
have Wi-Fi access on The Street at<br />
<strong>Cathay</strong> City and in meeting rooms as<br />
well as in the Headland Hotel, but not<br />
in the office areas?<br />
These days with so many staff using<br />
iPads and laptops to work with,<br />
wouldn’t it be more convenient to<br />
provide Wi-Fi in the office rather<br />
than force them to go down to The<br />
Street?<br />
David McIntyre<br />
CCD<br />
home that I don’t want to throw in<br />
the rubbish bin as I know they will<br />
end up in the landfill. A place to recycle<br />
them would be welcome!<br />
Please consider adding this service<br />
as it would be a nice complement<br />
to our current battery, CD’s,<br />
paper and other recycling bin.<br />
Name withheld<br />
Evelyn Chan, Environmental<br />
Projects Manager, replies: Glass<br />
is not very widely recycled in Hong<br />
Kong at the moment, and only a<br />
handful of facilities handle this.<br />
We have been exploring this<br />
idea for a while now, and with the<br />
help of the Property & Services Department,<br />
a glass bottle collection<br />
point has been set up in <strong>Cathay</strong><br />
City at the entrance of The Galley<br />
near the recycling areas for batteries<br />
and CD cases.<br />
For safety reasons, a number of<br />
shallow containers will be provided<br />
and we will be monitoring this process<br />
in the coming months.<br />
These containers will then be<br />
delivered to the Headland Hotel,<br />
where they will join the glasses and<br />
bottles collected from the hotel, Dakota<br />
and the restaurants, and be<br />
sent off to the contractor.<br />
Sam Kynaston, Head of IM, Corporate<br />
& Back Office, replies: Rolling<br />
out Wi-Fi to more office areas<br />
in <strong>Cathay</strong> City and overseas ports<br />
has been included in the plan of the<br />
overall IT infrastructure renewal programme.<br />
However, due to the adverse economic<br />
situation, the rollout has been<br />
on hold.<br />
We will pursue such a rollout as<br />
soon as funding allows in conjunction<br />
with other key components of<br />
our core network infrastructure.<br />
A new look<br />
for cockpit<br />
crew?<br />
I see from CX World, that Dragonair<br />
staff are getting new uniforms. However,<br />
as with <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong>’s uniform<br />
project, it looks as if the cockpit crew<br />
uniforms have not been included in<br />
the project.<br />
Clearly it would be cheaper for<br />
the company to have uniforms redesigned<br />
by the same person and then<br />
made at the same time.<br />
As we are all supposed to be part<br />
of the same team, can I ask why the<br />
cockpit crew were not included in the<br />
uniform redesign?<br />
Send us your feedback<br />
We welcome feedback from anyone in the CX network on any issue affecting the airline or the industry.<br />
Please email your letters to CCD#SCT. Not all letters will be published but those that are will be edited for<br />
length and to comply with the CX World style.<br />
Star letter prize<br />
The winner of the CX World<br />
Star Letter wins a pair of<br />
decidedly quirky Quarkie<br />
earphones from the UK.<br />
Quarkie earphones were<br />
created by a British and<br />
Asian design team of music<br />
lovers, marrying striking<br />
sound with eye-catching<br />
designs.<br />
This month’s winner wins<br />
a pair of striking Chameleon<br />
Eye phones featuring British<br />
studio-monitor sound quality.<br />
Find Quarkie at Sogo,<br />
HMV, CD Warehouse and<br />
other outlets in Hong Kong.<br />
Are there any plans to redesign<br />
the cockpit crew uniforms for CX/KA<br />
in the future?<br />
Name withheld<br />
Dave Lomax, Manager Basing<br />
Companies, replies: Currently, an<br />
exercise is underway to review the<br />
contract for the supply of pilot uniforms.<br />
There is no plan to change the<br />
design of the CX cockpit crew uniform<br />
at the moment; this is simply a<br />
review of the supplier of the uniforms<br />
and the quality of the production process<br />
and end result.<br />
While we will not rule out the possibility<br />
of reviewing the style and fabric<br />
of the uniform in the future, this is<br />
not the intent at present.<br />
Jenny Ho, Head KA Uniform<br />
Project, replies: The scope of the<br />
Dragonair new uniform project only<br />
covers ground staff and cabin crew<br />
and there are no plans to change the<br />
cockpit crew uniform.<br />
Throughout Hurricane<br />
Sandy,<br />
Reservations staff<br />
in Hong Kong and<br />
North America<br />
received many<br />
written and verbal<br />
compliments<br />
for their service<br />
recovery efforts.<br />
Here are some<br />
examples:<br />
“Owing to my husband’s<br />
medical condition, I<br />
was prepared to take<br />
the risk of letting him fly<br />
home alone if a seat was<br />
available earlier than<br />
our confirmed flight on 4<br />
November.<br />
A CX staff called with<br />
the good news that all of<br />
us could fly home together<br />
on 1 November. We were<br />
ecstatic.<br />
Thank you so much<br />
– this is one of the many<br />
reasons why we always fly<br />
<strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong>.”<br />
“Your staff all worked<br />
so hard to accommodate<br />
passengers, taking<br />
the time to reach out to<br />
customers and always trying<br />
to find the best flight<br />
schedule for passengers.<br />
And best of all not charging<br />
a change fee!”<br />
“The staff we spoke to<br />
was absolutely amazing<br />
to deal with. She was so<br />
helpful, so knowledgeable<br />
and so kind.<br />
Not sure what I would<br />
have done if I was travelling<br />
on a carrier other<br />
than <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong>.”<br />
“The CX staff are very experienced<br />
and helpful.<br />
I was so upset due to<br />
the weather situation in<br />
New York and the person<br />
I spoke to made me feel<br />
much better in a difficult<br />
situation.<br />
Every time I call in I<br />
find your staff so helpful<br />
and well trained.”<br />
“<strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong> handled<br />
this trying situation<br />
wonderfully… you are the<br />
best airline!”
Yangon route opens up myriad possibilities<br />
Dragonair’s newly announced service to<br />
Yangon is exciting news for those who have<br />
always wanted to visit Myanmar.<br />
Starting 9 January, Dragonair will operate<br />
four flights a week to Myanmar’s largest city<br />
using an Airbus A321 aircraft.<br />
Dragonair joins a host of airlines that have<br />
shown interest in Myanmar after sweeping<br />
socio-political changes in the country last<br />
year, including the abolition of a five-decade<br />
tourism boycott.<br />
It is widely believed that the opening up of<br />
the country will attract investors and tourism<br />
to Yangon, whose economy and infrastructure<br />
has been lagging behind other major<br />
Southeast Asian cities.<br />
The new Dragonair service capitalises on<br />
the anticipated surge of inbound visitors in<br />
the years to come.<br />
“Travel demand for Yangon from Hong<br />
Kong will likely come from leisure travellers,<br />
who are drawn to Yangon’s rich historical<br />
and religious background. We also expect<br />
business traffic as Hong Kong is a key<br />
market of exported Myanmese stones and<br />
jade,” says Route and Revenue Planning<br />
Business focus at staff forum<br />
Even in the present volatile economic<br />
climate, CX and KA are in the right<br />
part of the world, with passenger<br />
traffic to and from China key to the<br />
future growth of the Group, according<br />
to CX Chief Executive and KA<br />
Chairman John Slosar.<br />
John was speaking at a staff forum<br />
held on 22 October at Dragonair<br />
House.<br />
He was joined by Dragonir CEO<br />
Patrick Yeung, Manager Airline<br />
Planning Vickie Yue and General<br />
Manager HKIA Paul Loo in updating<br />
staff on the Group’s development.<br />
“Ultimately, the most important<br />
thing for CX and KA is to get the most<br />
out of their combined networks,” said<br />
John in his opening remarks.<br />
“I don’t think there’s any other air-<br />
Manager Manuel Tsang.<br />
The Southeast Asia Games, which will<br />
be held in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw<br />
in 2013, is expected to cause a spike in<br />
government and leisure travel. The 2014<br />
ASEAN Summit, which will be chaired by<br />
Myanmar, is also anticipated to help sales.<br />
Labour traffic from Yangon bound for<br />
Southeast Asia, Taipei and the Middle East<br />
will likely be another key market.<br />
Advanced bookings for Yangon in January<br />
and February are slowly picking up.<br />
Hong Kong ticket sales are anticipated to<br />
account for 75% of January bookings, while<br />
offline sales in Europe and North America<br />
will contribute the remaining 25%.<br />
line in the world that has the breadth<br />
of network that we have, and the ability<br />
to connect passengers between<br />
China and the rest of the world – at<br />
the same time with our service and<br />
style,” he added.<br />
John highlighted the two airlines’<br />
premium products and services as<br />
the unique selling point over Mainland<br />
carriers.<br />
Patrick thanked the Dragonair<br />
team for their hard work in a year of<br />
unprecedented growth. “Our front-<br />
line staff, as well as the teams supporting<br />
our operations, have done<br />
a lot to ensure not only excellent<br />
service delivery and safety, but also<br />
the generation of value across the<br />
Group,” he said.<br />
Staff also received an update on<br />
the performances of the six new<br />
destinations opened or resumed<br />
since April.<br />
“The results are varied. Chiang<br />
Mai is the star performer, Xi’an is<br />
performing reasonably well and<br />
Taichung and Jeju are showing improvement,”<br />
Vickie said.<br />
“Guilin, a seasonal destination, is<br />
doing well, but Clark has been underperforming,”<br />
she added.<br />
Paul updated the team on the situation<br />
at Hong Kong airport, pointing<br />
out that air traffic is near saturation<br />
and parking bays are fully occupied.<br />
“The team also battled a historic<br />
number of weather disruptions this<br />
year, particularly typhoons that seriously<br />
affected flights in and out of<br />
HKIA,” he said.<br />
“Solutions have included improving<br />
coordination with air traffic<br />
control and apron control, and the<br />
implementation of more self-service<br />
channels, such as online check-in<br />
and mobile boarding passes.”<br />
FROM THE TOP: John Slosar (above) and Patrick Yeung (left) both took<br />
questions from Dragonair staff during the forum.<br />
While excited about his new post<br />
and responsibilities as Manager<br />
Sanya, Kevin Gao said he will<br />
definitely miss Changsha, where<br />
he began his career with KA<br />
more than 12 years ago.<br />
Kevin was born and brought<br />
up in Changsha, and joined KA<br />
right after graduating from Hunan<br />
University in 2000.<br />
“I was attracted to work for the<br />
airline because of its great reputation.<br />
My first international flight<br />
was with KA when I flew to Hong<br />
Kong in 1996,” says Kevin.<br />
Kevin started his career at KA<br />
as a Customer Services Officer<br />
and rose through the ranks to<br />
become Changsha’s Airport Services<br />
Manager.<br />
“My experience in Changsha<br />
allowed me to have a better understanding<br />
of the different operations<br />
in the company.<br />
“Working with the Dragonair<br />
team and the local ground handling<br />
agent allowed me to develop<br />
communication and management<br />
skills, which I hope to put to<br />
On the move<br />
good use in Sanya,” says Kevin.<br />
“I will definitely miss my family,<br />
colleagues and friends in Changsha.<br />
I grew up in there and like the<br />
warmth of the people – and I will<br />
miss Hunan food too!” he adds.<br />
Kevin recommends those visiting<br />
his hometown to try local delicacies<br />
such as the double pepper<br />
fish head and kouwei shrimp.<br />
Top scenic spots Zhangjiajie and<br />
Fenghuang County are also not to<br />
be missed, Kevin adds.<br />
Looking ahead, Kevin is confident<br />
that he and his new team will<br />
continue to build the KA brand that<br />
attracted him so long ago.<br />
“My motto is to be passionate<br />
about the job, focus on communication,<br />
and carry out one’s duties<br />
with an open mind,” he says.<br />
n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n
Keeping<br />
our coast<br />
clean<br />
Around 70 staff and family<br />
members joined Director Service<br />
Delivery Philippe de Gentile-Williams<br />
and Director Corporate<br />
Affairs Chitty Cheung on 20 October<br />
to take part in the Coastal<br />
Cleanup Campaign.<br />
They cleared away trash and<br />
debris from the Tong Fuk rocky<br />
beach on Lantau Island, leaving<br />
it in close to pristine condition.<br />
The group cleared 50 bags<br />
of rubbish – equivalent of 500<br />
kilograms – from the site.<br />
Items found include stray pieces<br />
of polystyrene foam, broken<br />
flip flops, plastic bottles, mangled<br />
wire netting and even a flag.<br />
CX has been taking part in this<br />
event since 2009 and during this<br />
time more than 2,800 kilograms<br />
of debris has been collected.<br />
“This was a great effort by our<br />
staff volunteers and I thank them<br />
all for giving up their free time to<br />
take part,” Chitty says.<br />
1. ‘Hidden Smile’, Flight<br />
Attendant Ari Kusumawardana.<br />
Judge’s comment: “Nice<br />
lighting with great composition.<br />
Captures the little boy’s<br />
shyness in his eyes.”<br />
2. ‘Happy Kids in Mongolia’,<br />
Flight Attendant Carol Kwok.<br />
Judge’s comment: “Special<br />
moment that captures the<br />
essence of kids being kids.”<br />
3. ‘Hey...’, HKIA Supervisor Joe<br />
Li.<br />
Judge’s comment: “Good eye.<br />
Captures a cute moment from a<br />
different angle.”<br />
CX World Photo Competition<br />
Hundreds of photos from around the network flooded in when the CX World<br />
Photo Competition launched in August.<br />
A total of 1,397 images were received over the one-month contest period for the<br />
two categories of People and Places.<br />
It was then over to the judging panel of CCD photographer David McIntyre,<br />
CX Camera Club organiser Samuel Lo, one of Hong Kong’s premier wedding<br />
photographers and ex-CX staff Rosa Tseng, and Yung’s Harmony Photography owner<br />
and CX staff Karen Yung – to provide a shortlist of 10 photos in each category.<br />
Staff were then asked to vote for their favourite with more than 1,000 individual votes being<br />
cast over the two-week period. The winner in the People category received more than 30% of the<br />
votes, while the Places winner received just over 28% of the votes cast.<br />
Displayed here are the final winning photos as well as the other images which made the shortlist.<br />
Thank you for your participation!
1. ‘Buffalo on the Move’, Loyalty<br />
Marketing & Corporate Sales<br />
Support Officer Shirin Koh.<br />
Judge’s comment: “Captures a<br />
nostalgic experience and it’s been<br />
presented like a lovely Chinese<br />
Ink painting. A stunning magical<br />
moment!”<br />
2. ‘Magnificent Sculpture - Hani<br />
Terraces’, Cabin Crew Operations<br />
Supervisor Carmen Pang.<br />
Judge’s comment: “Striking image.<br />
Creative way to show the sunset.”<br />
3. ‘Antelope Canyon’, Senior First<br />
Officer Paul Adams.<br />
Judge’s comment: “Strong framing<br />
and composition helps the colours<br />
really stand out.”<br />
CX World would like to thank the<br />
following companies for their generous<br />
prize sponsorship:<br />
- <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong> Holidays<br />
- The Upper House<br />
- Rosa & Daniel Photography<br />
- Intercontinental Shanghai Puxi<br />
CX World will not be responsible for any claims or<br />
complaints against infringements of rights or<br />
damages from third parties relating to entries.<br />
Exercise puts<br />
CARE team<br />
to the test<br />
About 50 members of the CARE<br />
Team took part in a Family Assistance<br />
Centre (FAC) exercise organised<br />
by Airport Authority Hong Kong<br />
and held at the Regal Airport Hotel.<br />
These bi-annual exercises help<br />
test the operation of the FAC and allow<br />
care teams from airlines to take<br />
part in the whole process, from family<br />
registration to the completion of<br />
reunion.<br />
Some 300 volunteers played the<br />
role of passengers and family members,<br />
and external agencies such as<br />
the Red Cross were also activated.<br />
Crisis Response Manager Carrie<br />
Shiu says the chance to practice the<br />
skills they learnt in the classroom is<br />
useful for the CARE Team members.<br />
“Specifically, they use the skills<br />
of handling distressed passengers,<br />
undergo the process of reconciliation,<br />
and get to work with different<br />
authorities. They also learn how to<br />
do manual reconciliation without<br />
Einstein [CX’s crisis communications<br />
system] and manage the various<br />
FAC areas,” she says.<br />
While a proper wash-up will be<br />
held later, Carrie says she made<br />
several observations during the exercise<br />
including the need to improve<br />
the overall coordination and signage<br />
at the hotel.<br />
“The CARE Team members may<br />
not be able to memorise the hotel<br />
setup and where all the meeting<br />
rooms are. During an exercise, we<br />
have time for a pre-exercise briefing<br />
and a walk through, but in reality<br />
they might be deployed to an<br />
outport where they would need to<br />
get acclimatised in a hurry,” Carrie<br />
says.<br />
“That said, I would prefer the<br />
CARE team concentrate on providing<br />
humanitarian assistance and be<br />
patient with things they have limited<br />
information on, or things that they<br />
have to learn right away such as the<br />
logistic arrangements,” she adds.<br />
Carrie says more than 80% of the<br />
reunion cases were successfully<br />
carried out.<br />
“As this was done manually in<br />
less than three hours it was a very<br />
good result,” she says.
First real test begins<br />
Teams begin full-scale trial of operations as opening date gets ever closer<br />
The construction is complete, the<br />
systems are installed – and now the<br />
first real test of the <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong><br />
Cargo Terminal has begun.<br />
On 29 October, the first of three<br />
operation trials commenced in the<br />
facility, with all the systems in operation<br />
and ULDs – the unit load devices<br />
that carry cargo – moving around<br />
the building for the first time.<br />
The terminal will open in three<br />
stages and operation trials, each<br />
lasting approximately two months,<br />
will take place before the launch of<br />
each stage.<br />
“The trials will ensure we’re ready<br />
at every stage,” says Stephen Luk,<br />
Head of Operations & Services<br />
with <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong> Services Ltd<br />
(CPSL).<br />
“We need to test that all the right<br />
procedures are in place and assess<br />
our level of confidence before letting<br />
the management team know that<br />
we’re ready to go.”<br />
The first stage will focus on the<br />
shipment of valuables, transit civil<br />
mail and interface transfers – that<br />
is, freight with tight connections between<br />
aircraft.<br />
Some 200 staff from CPSL and<br />
other stakeholders – including CX<br />
Cargo, HAS, government departments<br />
such as Customs & Excise<br />
and Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation,<br />
and sub-contractors – are<br />
participating in the trial, which runs<br />
every Monday, Wednesday and Friday<br />
through to late December.<br />
“It took us more than a year to develop<br />
the trial plan and we are asking<br />
every person taking part to follow<br />
a specific script,” says Stephen.<br />
“We’re doing a full test of the flow<br />
and procedures, and after each day<br />
of the trial we conduct a full assessment<br />
of how it went. The findings<br />
are fed back to the working team so<br />
we can fine-tune things for the next<br />
day of the trial.”<br />
Stephen says that a big emphasis<br />
is being placed on safety throughout<br />
the trial.<br />
“We have new staff, new handling<br />
procedures and new technologies<br />
employed in the terminal, so safety<br />
is paramount,” he says.<br />
The early stages of the trial have<br />
been going according to plan and<br />
Stephen says the team has been<br />
encouraged by the progress.<br />
“It’s a challenging and exciting<br />
event for all of us. There’s a lot to<br />
understand and a lot to follow up,<br />
but we are on track so far,” Stephen<br />
says.<br />
Boneyard airfield tests flying skills<br />
The traditional destination<br />
for retiring aircraft has been<br />
Victorville in the United States,<br />
but the latest Boeing 747-400<br />
passenger aircraft to leave the<br />
fleet have gone to Kemble Airfield<br />
in the UK .This has posed a<br />
challenge to pilots as the visual<br />
approach is carried out on a very<br />
short runway.<br />
The latest 747-400 to retire<br />
departed Hong Kong on 22<br />
October following the salvage of<br />
its cabin equipment.<br />
At the controls of B-HOX was<br />
Captain Peter Lees and he was<br />
joined in the cockpit by Senior<br />
First Officers Paul Aubert and Ben<br />
Haigh-Smith and Second Officer<br />
James Robinson.<br />
Once the decision had been<br />
made to phase out the aircraft<br />
and it became clear there was no<br />
market for either selling or leasing<br />
instead, a procurement exercise<br />
was launched by the Aircraft<br />
Trading team to find an agent that<br />
could extract the maximum value<br />
from the breakdown, marketing and<br />
sale of the salvaged spare parts.<br />
“GA Telesis were chosen as they<br />
have a strong reputation and track<br />
record in the business of parting<br />
out and marketing aircraft spare<br />
parts and offered the best solution<br />
for extracting maximum value,”<br />
says Manager Aircraft Projects<br />
Robert Taylor.<br />
“Kemble in fact, is only one of<br />
five facilities used by GA Telesis.<br />
1. The Stage 1 Operation Trial commenced<br />
in October with staff and<br />
contractors working closely together<br />
to simulate the operations.<br />
2. The terminal is equipped with extensive<br />
Wi-Fi services to facilitate the<br />
use of handheld devices.<br />
3. The first piece of trial cargo gets<br />
moving in the materials handling<br />
system.<br />
4. Stakeholders and business partners<br />
were also involved in the trial.<br />
5. The Terminal Control Centre (TCC)<br />
monitors and governs all activities on<br />
the ground.<br />
They also have facilities in the<br />
US, which include Victorville, and<br />
future aircraft retirements may go<br />
there depending upon capacity<br />
and where the demand is for the<br />
inventory at the time,” Robert adds.<br />
After a short delay due to bad<br />
weather over Kemble, Captain Lees<br />
successfully landed the aircraft on<br />
25 October on an airfield he last<br />
saw in the 1980s.<br />
“I have landed in Kemble before<br />
when I was in the Royal Air Force,<br />
but the last time I landed there was<br />
in 1986 and that was in a Hawk not<br />
a 747!,” he says.<br />
“The challenge posed by<br />
Kemble is that not only are there<br />
no approach aids, there is also no<br />
approach lighting – both things that<br />
RETIREMENT READY: B-HOX’s crew<br />
in Hong Kong before the aircraft’s final<br />
flight.<br />
we are used to having in normal<br />
day-to-day operations. Additionally,<br />
there’s no air traffic control as<br />
such, only a flight information<br />
service,” Captain Lees adds.<br />
B-HOX is the third 747-400 to be<br />
retired from the fleet early as part<br />
of the airline’s efforts to employ<br />
more fuel-efficient aircraft on longhaul<br />
routes.<br />
Six more of the aircraft will be<br />
retired in 2013.
Spend a day with CX staff<br />
Behind-the-scenes videos show life in the air and on the ground<br />
Hundreds of CX Facebook fans<br />
had the chance to go behind the<br />
scenes of the lives of three CX<br />
staff through a series of People<br />
and Service videos in October.<br />
The first video, which launched<br />
online on 9 October, was with Flight<br />
Attendant Grace Hui (pictured<br />
above left) as she prepared to fly<br />
from Hong Kong to Sydney. The<br />
second video focused on Airport<br />
Service Leader Sammy Yeung,<br />
while the third showed a typical<br />
day in the life of Senior First Officer<br />
Richard Clausen (pictured above<br />
right).<br />
To increase engagement, there<br />
were lucky draws with CX-branded<br />
items as prize or fans could leave a<br />
question for the staff with the most<br />
interesting ones receiving a reply.<br />
“The filming was like a reality<br />
show and I had to remember that<br />
every single thing I said was being<br />
recorded,” Grace says.<br />
“I have been flying for four years<br />
now and flying has become a<br />
normal activity. The video brought<br />
me back to the feeling I had when<br />
I first started flying and everything<br />
Teams gear up for Oxfam Trailwalker<br />
For the ninth consecutive year, Asia Miles will be the logistics sponsor of the annual Oxfam<br />
Trailwalker. Once again, several staff will be taking part, and some are pictured above.<br />
Asia Miles is donating one million miles as a fundraising prize, with teams who raise more<br />
than HK$30,000 entering the draw.<br />
Asia Miles is also supporting six teams this year including Pari Passu, captained by<br />
Employee Services Manager Bob Nipperess (far right), who will be competing in his 13th<br />
trailwalker event.<br />
The teams will take on the challenge of the 100-kilometre MacLehose Trail from Pak Tam<br />
Chung to Yuen Long from 16-18 November to raise funds for Oxfam’s charitable projects.<br />
More in the December CX World.<br />
was so new, so I tried my best to<br />
explain as much as I could. It was<br />
actually like bringing my friends<br />
and family to work for a day!” she<br />
adds.<br />
Richards says he was amazed<br />
at how a full day of video shooting<br />
was able to be condensed into a<br />
short five-minute clip.<br />
“I enjoyed meeting the filming<br />
crew and seeing behind the scenes<br />
of their own operation,” Richard<br />
says, adding he wished filming on<br />
the flight deck had been allowed,<br />
but regulations unfortunately do<br />
not permit it.<br />
The videos<br />
attracted hundreds of comments<br />
from fans with several saying it<br />
gave them a greater appreciation<br />
for what CX staff do. They also<br />
asked many questions ranging<br />
from how the crew stay awake on<br />
overnight flights to whether there is<br />
time to enjoy the view.<br />
“There were some really<br />
interesting questions. My favourite<br />
would have to be the one about<br />
the decision on who answers a<br />
passenger’s call light and whether<br />
it’s always the most junior crew.<br />
It made me realise how our<br />
passengers pay attention to details<br />
like this,” Grace says.<br />
New status board at HKIA<br />
A new electronic flight status<br />
board has been installed behind<br />
the staff standby counter<br />
at HKIA, allowing staff travellers<br />
to view their flight number, destination,<br />
the acceptance status<br />
for three classes and departure<br />
times.<br />
The board also features<br />
reporting times so staff know<br />
when to go back to the counter.<br />
It also tells them the area where<br />
they can check in directly if the<br />
flights are open.
Direct sales<br />
on a growth<br />
spurt in the<br />
Philippines<br />
2012 has been a rewarding year for the Philippines<br />
Sales, Marketing and Direct Sales teams.<br />
“Around three to four years ago, the Direct Sales<br />
team focused mainly on servicing passengers and<br />
taking new bookings as well as rebooking existing<br />
ones, but less on the selling,” says Direct Sales Manager<br />
Marnic Adriano.<br />
But when the focus changed to emphasise more of<br />
a sales perspective, the direct sales revenue started<br />
to improve.<br />
In previous years, the Direct Sales team were more<br />
conscious of the number of calls answered per hour.<br />
“But since last year, each person was given a sales<br />
target and we also started a recognition programme<br />
for staff who were able close group bookings from<br />
telephone sales. These proved to be very effective as<br />
everyone’s mindset changed from plain servicing to<br />
sales generating,” Marnic says.<br />
The CX/HSBC tieup in 2011 which offered CX/KA<br />
tickets for credit card spend, also boosted sales.<br />
“To say it was a success is an understatement. It<br />
was dubbed the ‘promotion of the century’ in terms of<br />
the revenue generated as well as the exposure it gave<br />
the CX/KA brands.<br />
“We reaped the rewards until well into 2012 and it<br />
also gave us the opportunity to practice our upselling<br />
skills by introducing our Premium Economy and Business<br />
Class to this market,” Marnic says.<br />
The team also started to do callouts to prospective<br />
direct corporate accounts including embassies,<br />
churches and manufacturing companies.<br />
“From July to August, the team visited 10 companies<br />
and presented the corporate proposition, with<br />
three already signing contracts,” he adds.<br />
A “race” incentive was also implemented with the<br />
team taking part in a Pilipinas Grand PriCX staff campaign.<br />
“The Grand PriCX is aimed at tapping into the selling<br />
skills of all Philippines-based staff wherein each staff<br />
would run a race and a driver would move forward<br />
by referring friends or relatives. The Grand PriCX will<br />
run for six months, with the top driver winning a grand<br />
prize,” says Marnic.<br />
Marnic proudly says the days “when we just waited<br />
for passengers to call the reservations line” are over.<br />
“One of the things that we instilled in the minds of<br />
all direct sales officers are the words proactive selling.<br />
Whether it is doing callouts, offering alternative routes,<br />
upselling or looking for other ways to sell. The bottom<br />
line is that we have to do things differently to grow<br />
revenue now while ensuring that service level targets<br />
are continuously surpassed,” he says.<br />
REAPING REWARDS: An increased sales focus has<br />
helped the Philippines team boost revenues.<br />
INDIA<br />
SRI LANKA<br />
GERMANY<br />
AMSTERDAM<br />
Celebrating launch of new products on Delhi route<br />
The India team held a <strong>press</strong> briefing for local media on<br />
17 October to announce the introduction of the airline’s<br />
award-winning new Business Class cabin and its new<br />
Premium Economy Class cabin on the Delhi route.<br />
From 29 October, <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong> aircraft operating<br />
between Hong Kong and Delhi have been featuring<br />
a three-class configuration – new Business Class,<br />
Premium Economy Class and the new long-haul<br />
Economy Class seats.<br />
General Manager South Asia, Middle East & Africa<br />
Tom Wright was joined by Area Sales Manager<br />
– North India Abhijit Abhyankar and Regional Sales<br />
& Marketing Manager – South Asia Rakesh Raicar to<br />
meet the <strong>press</strong>.<br />
Selected journalists from major newspapers such as<br />
the Asian Age and travel trade titles including Trav Talk<br />
and Aviation Times attended the event to learn more<br />
about the new products.<br />
Painting smiles in Colombo<br />
The Colombo team took part in a CSR project on 1 August,<br />
by visiting the Vajira Sri Children’s Development Centre in<br />
Pitakotte.<br />
The centre provides both refuge and education for more<br />
than 150 disadvantaged children between the ages of two<br />
and 18.<br />
The staff, including those who were on duty at the airport<br />
the previous night, volunteered to devote their mid-week<br />
Poya Day holiday to upgrading the dormitory facilities for the<br />
boys aged 16-18.<br />
The day’s work included colour washing the dormitory and cupboards<br />
and fixing the lighting system to give the area a refreshed look and feel.<br />
The team also had snacks for the children, who put on a performance to<br />
celebrate the visit. The day ended with a cricket match.<br />
747 farewell<br />
On a cold autumn morning,<br />
the CX team in Amsterdam<br />
said goodbye to the last passenger<br />
flight to the city operated<br />
by the Boeing 747-400.<br />
The day also marked exactly<br />
26 years of service by the 747.<br />
The final flight carried 379 passengers<br />
from Hong Kong.<br />
An Airbus 340-300 will operate<br />
the Hong Kong-Amsterdam<br />
route until the Boeing 777-300<br />
takes over later in the year.<br />
Traditional welcome for new faces<br />
The India team held a special<br />
welcome event for Charlie Stewart-<br />
Cox and Samantha Horn on 21<br />
September.<br />
Charlie will shortly be taking over<br />
from Tom Wright as General Manager<br />
South Asia, Middle East & Africa, with<br />
Samantha as his assistant.<br />
The evening began with Tom giving<br />
a speech followed by few words from<br />
Charlie and Samantha. Financial<br />
Services Officers Shobha Gowda<br />
and Nita Shah performed a traditional<br />
Indian welcome ceremony and<br />
Samantha and Charlie both received<br />
flower garlands.<br />
Charlie wore a turban and a dupatta<br />
to perform a short Bollywood-style<br />
dance, with Customer Sales Agent Tina<br />
Naidu and Reservation Sales Agent<br />
Claudia Dsouza assisting him with the<br />
steps.<br />
Trying out Premium Economy<br />
Since 1 September, passengers<br />
have been able to<br />
fly in Premium Economy<br />
Class from Frankfurt to<br />
Hong Kong, and staff from<br />
the Frankfurt Town Office<br />
had a chance to sample the<br />
new product for themselves<br />
during an airport visit.<br />
The staff walked around<br />
the cabin trying out all the<br />
different features, noting the wider seat and the extra legroom.<br />
As there are several staff on the team who are taller than<br />
1.80m, the extra space and legroom came in very handy for<br />
them.
Business Class campaign blitzes London<br />
Customers and business commuters alike celebrated the launch of the<br />
new <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong> Business Class cabin on the London to Hong Kong<br />
route at a three-day event.<br />
Set against the spectacular backdrop of the iconic dome of St Paul’s<br />
Cathedral and offering panoramic views of London, the team invited people<br />
working in the area to experience the seat. Exclusive events were held for<br />
valued travel partners, Marco Polo Club members and media to soak up the<br />
new Business Class environment over a glass of champagne and canapés<br />
The campaign was supported by an outdoor advertising campaign in key<br />
business sites throughout the Square Mile, including 12-sheet posters at<br />
Bank, St Paul’s and Mansion House and the landmark site at Bank Station<br />
above the Central Line escalator.<br />
In addition, two transvision screens at Liverpool Street Station were also<br />
used along with 41 screens across 21 buildings in the nearby vicinity.<br />
‘Liking’ the JATA tourism fair<br />
The Tokyo team participated in the JATA Tourism Forum & Travel Showcase 2012<br />
from 21-23 September with giveaways, a lucky draw and Facebook fan activities.<br />
The showcase is held annually by the Japan Association of Travel Agents and<br />
is the largest sightseeing event in Asia with a variety of exhibitors including travel<br />
agencies, foreign and domestic travel tourism bureaus and airlines.<br />
The CX team offered giveaways including special ballpoint pens and pin<br />
badges to those who signed up for CX Specials.<br />
The new subscribers went into a lucky draw to win Asia Miles, luxury hotel<br />
stays in Hong Kong or a voucher to try the collagen-rich set menu at T’ang<br />
Court at the Langham Hotel Hong Kong. Over the three days, more than<br />
1,400 new subscribers were signed up.<br />
The CX Japan Facebook page was also a highlight. Visitors who “liked”<br />
the page when they visited the booth were given an airplane key chain. More<br />
than 300 “likes” were recorded and the number of CX Japan Facebook fans<br />
was boosted to more than 10,000.<br />
20 years celebrated in Adelaide<br />
When CX105 touched down at Adelaide<br />
International Airport on 4 October, it<br />
was not only the 3,578th <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong><br />
flight to arrive in the city; it also marked<br />
the 20th anniversary of flights to South<br />
Australia.<br />
A crowd of almost 100 people gathered<br />
to celebrate <strong>Cathay</strong> <strong>Pacific</strong>’s two<br />
decades of flights into Adelaide including<br />
General Manager Southwest <strong>Pacific</strong><br />
Dominic Perret, Adelaide Airport’s Vince<br />
Scanlon and South Australian Tourism<br />
Commission’s Karyn Kent.<br />
In 1992 the first flight was captained<br />
by South Australian Trevor Burgess,<br />
and another South Australian, Captain<br />
Ben Briggs, was at the controls on 4<br />
October.<br />
On 4 October 1992, CX commenced<br />
flights to Adelaide with a weekly<br />
service to Hong Kong. Since that time,<br />
flights have increased from one to<br />
Farewell Daniel and<br />
hello to Brian<br />
Staff from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia gathered<br />
to bid farewell to Country Manager<br />
UAE & Oman Daniel Cheung and welcome<br />
his successor, Brian Yuen.<br />
Also present at the event were<br />
General Manager South Asia,<br />
Middle East and North Africa<br />
Tom Wright and his successor<br />
Charlie Stewart-Cox.<br />
Daniel was presented a<br />
dhow as a farewell memento<br />
to commemorate his time in the<br />
Middle East.<br />
Royal escort to Canberra<br />
Moving precious air cargo around<br />
the world is something <strong>Cathay</strong><br />
<strong>Pacific</strong> does well, so when called<br />
upon to ship Glorious: A Diamond<br />
Jubilee portrait of Her Majesty Queen<br />
Elizabeth II from London to Sydney,<br />
the airline rose to the occasion.<br />
The large painting, measuring<br />
seven per week, steadily increasing the<br />
carriage of passengers and cargo.<br />
Dominic also presented a 20-year<br />
long service coin to Airport Services<br />
Manager Karin Brady and a 15-year<br />
coin to Airport Services Officer Chris<br />
Stemper.<br />
262.3cm x 254.3cm, left London on<br />
22 September, connecting with CX029<br />
in Hong Kong to Sydney before being<br />
trucked to Canberra.<br />
Pictured with the painting are<br />
Business Development Manager NSW<br />
and ACT Richard Jones and Cargo<br />
Manager, Australia Nigel Chynoweth.<br />
SAUDI ARABIA UNITED KINGDOM<br />
JAPAN<br />
AUSTRALIA<br />
‘One whiff of the<br />
kerosene and I<br />
was hooked’<br />
A 34-year journey is about to reach its final destination<br />
for Allan Hine, Cargo Manager Victoria, Tasmania &<br />
South Australia, who retires from CX in December after<br />
a long and rewarding career.<br />
His roots in the business actually go back to 1961<br />
when he joined freighter forwarder Thomas Meadows<br />
in the UK, working out of Heathrow. He migrated to<br />
Australia two years later, but his career path was<br />
already cemented.<br />
“One whiff of the kerosene and I was hooked for life,”<br />
he smiles.<br />
He eventually got back into the industry in 1967,<br />
working for New Zealand National Airways in Wellington<br />
and then for Trans Australia Airlines in Melbourne.<br />
Later, he met Rex Swann, then CX Airport and Cargo<br />
Manager in Melbourne, who sold Allan the idea of<br />
working for the Hong Kong carrier.<br />
“It sounded interesting, different to what I’d been<br />
doing, and I took to it like a duck to water,” Allan says.<br />
When Allan joined in June 1978, CX had only been<br />
online to Melbourne for 18 months and there were just<br />
three Boeing 707 passenger flights a week to the city.<br />
A team of three staff handled every aspect of the whole<br />
operation, including cargo.<br />
Things developed fast and in 1983 the Airport and<br />
Cargo functions were separated and Allan was made<br />
Cargo Manager. His focus was to further build the cargo<br />
operation out of MEL.<br />
Life took another turn in 1990 when he got a call<br />
from Simon Heale from the Head Office Cargo team<br />
and found himself working as Manager Cargo Services<br />
at Kai Tak from July 1990 to December 1992 – a time<br />
when CX had only three or four freighters and the Cargo<br />
Services team numbered just 12 people.<br />
After returning to Melbourne, Allan saw the nature of<br />
the industry beginning to change.<br />
“It was becoming more mature and shippers were<br />
more willing to pay decent rates,” he says. “We began<br />
to see fewer perishables being moved and more<br />
specialised cargo – and CX has been able to capture a<br />
significant share of that business out of Melbourne.”<br />
He is leaving behind a much bigger and more<br />
sophisticated cargo operation, and says the thing he’ll<br />
miss the most is the people. “I’ve been happy to go to<br />
work every day,” he says.<br />
Allan will keep himself busy in retirement, travelling<br />
with his wife to places in Australia he hasn’t visited<br />
before, and indulging in a new passion, photography. “I<br />
did my first wedding recently and I’m pleased with the<br />
results!” he grins.<br />
CARGO<br />
CRAZY:<br />
Allan Hine is<br />
hanging up<br />
his hat after<br />
34 years.
Cebu<br />
Mechanic<br />
Jorge<br />
Bartolabac<br />
1. Earlier this<br />
year, you took part<br />
in the International Ironman<br />
70.3 race – what did you have<br />
to do?<br />
It started with a two kilometre<br />
swim, then a 90 kilometre bike<br />
ride and a 21 kilometre run in the<br />
hot sun.<br />
2. How did you do?<br />
I finished in six hours and 33<br />
minutes – not bad for a first time<br />
joiner!<br />
3. How gruelling was the training<br />
regime?<br />
I woke up at 5am and Monday,<br />
Wednesday and Friday were<br />
for swimming and running. On<br />
Tuesdays and Thursdays, I cycled<br />
for four hours.<br />
4. What was the most<br />
difficult part of training?<br />
The cycling, because I needed<br />
a lot of time and distance to do it<br />
properly.<br />
5. How long was the training<br />
regime?<br />
You should do four to six months<br />
of training but I couldn’t do it all<br />
because of work.<br />
6. What is your favourite discipline<br />
and why?<br />
The swimming. But it is also the<br />
most difficult of the three for me.<br />
7. Why is the swimming portion<br />
so hard?<br />
It’s very technical and you need to<br />
learn how to glide on water. Correct<br />
strokes are the most important<br />
thing.<br />
8. How did you get into triathlons?<br />
I did marathons and fun runs before<br />
I decided that I could do more.<br />
9.Would you encourage others<br />
to do triathlons?<br />
Yes, but remember that it’s an<br />
expensive sport because you need<br />
a good bike. And if you are a newbie,<br />
you need a coach, especially<br />
for the swimming part.<br />
10. What is your<br />
advice to new<br />
starters?<br />
Train hard, set<br />
goals, have a<br />
reason and an<br />
inspiration<br />
and<br />
strive<br />
hard.<br />
But<br />
make<br />
sure<br />
you enjoy<br />
yourself.<br />
When not in the air, Flight Purser Ruby<br />
Lee can generally be found gliding swiftly<br />
over water as the wakeboard fanatic<br />
works on improving her skills.<br />
Ruby, who holds a scuba-diving licence<br />
and used to own a jet ski, says she has<br />
always enjoyed water sports.<br />
But her main focus is now on wakeboarding,<br />
which she started about seven<br />
years ago.<br />
“It is just so cool!” Ruby grins. “I can still<br />
remember how euphoric I was the first time I<br />
managed to get up on the wakeboard on top<br />
of the water.”<br />
Wakeboarding is a combination of water skiing,<br />
snowboarding and surfing, Ruby explains.<br />
As she began to improve, she decided to become<br />
more serious about the sport.<br />
“I hired a private instructor and tried swapping<br />
some long-haul duties with colleagues to give me<br />
more time to practice in Hong Kong,” Ruby says.<br />
FLYING HIGH: Ruby in action<br />
“Certain tricks are extremely difficult and you need to<br />
on the water. Below right: Ruby<br />
practice them over and over again. Perhaps the reason I<br />
(centre) with her team mates in<br />
never get bored is because it’s so challenging.,” she adds.<br />
Hong Kong.<br />
In 2009, Ruby applied for nine months’ unpaid leave and went<br />
to Taiwan “to get a taste of how it’s like to be a full-time athlete”. She<br />
spent up to 12 hours a day wakeboarding including formal training, auxiliary<br />
exercises and cleaning up the boat and other equipment.<br />
Her arduous efforts have certainly paid off and she has become one of the<br />
most promising female members in the Hong Kong team. The difficult tricks such as<br />
the jump-up, turnaround and even somersaults have earned her medals over the years. This<br />
summer, she reached the final eight of the Asian/Australia Wakeboarding Championship,<br />
which is the best result attained by a Hong Kong athlete so far.<br />
“Wakeboarding has given me a lot of satisfaction and sense of achievement. And I would<br />
like to thank the company and my colleagues who have been very generous in ensuring<br />
that my roster does not clash with important contests,” Ruby says.<br />
United troops for WARR<br />
CX and KA presented a united front at the recent World<br />
Airline Road Race (WARR), held in Qingdao in October.<br />
Staff from various departments, some joined by family<br />
and friends, flew to the coastal city for the event, held in a<br />
national park close to Qingdao.<br />
As always, participants from airlines around the world<br />
flew in for the event, with around 300 taking part this<br />
year.<br />
Beyond the race itself, highlights included<br />
the famous T-shirt swap party, where airlines<br />
exchanged self-designed T-shirts with each other,<br />
and the gala dinner after the race.<br />
KA CEO Patrick Yeung flew in to cheer on the Hong<br />
Kong contingent and there was great local support from<br />
Manager Qingdao Sarita Chan.<br />
Next year’s WARR will be hosted by South African Airways<br />
in Cape Town – visit www.worldairlineroadrace.org<br />
n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n n
Steven says goodbye<br />
After more than 38 years, Cabin Crew Line Manager – FP & FA<br />
Steven Tsang said goodbye to the company that he first joined<br />
as a cabin crew in the 1970s.<br />
Steven joined CX in February 1974 and worked as cabin crew<br />
until 1990, when he joined the ground staff team and was appointed<br />
Cabin Crew Performance Officer.<br />
Steven has many happy memories of the many cabin crew<br />
wedding banquets, birthday parties and dinners for various crew<br />
ranks he has attended over the years, and looks back fondly on<br />
his time with the airline.<br />
“It has been good to see a change in culture; things are more<br />
open, the management team is very approachable and there’s a<br />
harmonious working atmosphere inflight,” he said in a final interview<br />
with Cabin Crew Newsletter.<br />
“When I first joined, I hoped that<br />
one day I would be able to be a part<br />
of this kind of change. It is one of my<br />
proudest achievements.<br />
“My life has been greatly enriched<br />
by the kindness and encouragement<br />
so many of you have shown to<br />
me. I will always be grateful for the<br />
colleagues and many friends I have<br />
made along the way,” he added.<br />
First prize this month is a mixed<br />
case of wine worth HK$1,200<br />
sponsored by Essential Fine<br />
Wines.<br />
Essential Fine Wines is a<br />
Hong Kong-based company<br />
specialising in providing<br />
boutique wines from around the world.<br />
Every wine is hand selected by the experienced team who<br />
make regular visits to Australia, France, Italy, New Zealand,<br />
South Africa and Spain looking for exciting new wines.<br />
Essential Fine Wines also supplies to hotels, clubs, restaurant and<br />
bars around the region.<br />
Visit www.efw.com.hk for more.<br />
The second prize winner will receive a Maxwell &<br />
Williams dim sum 22-piece set and an elemental<br />
five-piece kitchen condiment and grinder set.<br />
A fun and artistic product, the dim sum set<br />
includes four pairs of chopsticks, chopsticks<br />
stands, bowls, placemats and a bamboo steamer,<br />
while the condiment set consists of a glass<br />
pepper grinder, a glass salt<br />
grinder, a stainless steel<br />
storage caddy and two<br />
pieces of glass oil or dressing<br />
pourers.<br />
Maxwell & Williams started<br />
from humble beginnings in Melbourne but<br />
today is a global brand with a presence in<br />
over 30 countries around the world including the<br />
USA, the UK, Germany, Italy and Canada.<br />
For more information, go to www.<br />
maxwellandwilliams.com.<br />
To enter, visit the online quiz entry form on the CX World site.<br />
The deadline is noon on Friday, 14 December.<br />
HAPPY TOGETHER: The Swire Hotels-managed<br />
EAST Beijing welcomed its first CX crew on 22<br />
October. It is also the crew hotel for Dragonair.<br />
YEARS ADD UP: Abacus Hong Kong GM Winnie Lau<br />
(first row, third from right) and her team celebrate the<br />
23rd anniversary of the CX subsidiary.<br />
PIT STOP: Manila’s Simon Miranda takes a rest at a crater<br />
lake during the Mt. Pinatubo 50km trail ultramarathon.<br />
TOP SCORE!: The Bangkok Line Maintenance team had<br />
a fun football match with a team from Thai Airways.<br />
BABY TALK: ISD hosted a baby-crawling contest<br />
with more than 60 children taking part. Philippe<br />
de Gentile-Williams and Liza Ng were on hand to<br />
present the prizes.<br />
CHAIR-RAISING: Staff dressed in sorcerer/sorceress<br />
costumes took part in<br />
the sedan chair race around the peak<br />
in October, raising funds to support<br />
charitable organisations.<br />
DOING THE MOBOT: The London Corporate Sales<br />
Team ham it up at the Royal Parks Half Marathon.<br />
MATCH UP: The CX Tennis Team was third in the<br />
Interhong 2012 championship.<br />
FIRST DECADE: JNB’s Sharon Chen receives<br />
her 10-year service award from Country<br />
Manager Frosti Lau.<br />
COSTUME CULTURE: ISD staff wear Indian dress to farewell<br />
Charlie Stewart-Cox before he leaves for South Asia.
Regional Assistant Marketing<br />
Services Manager – South Asia<br />
Desiree Dubier soaks up the party<br />
atmosphere of the casino capital<br />
If you are looking for a crazy, fun holiday,<br />
then Las Vegas is the place for you.<br />
The Las Vegas strip is home to some of<br />
the most unbelievable hotels in the world –<br />
The Venetian, Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace and<br />
Luxor to name a few – and it’s a treat to walk<br />
through these pleasure palaces and take in<br />
their authenticity and grandeur.<br />
Many of the hotels are themed<br />
and each one has taken an<br />
idea and run with it – the<br />
Paris Las Vegas Hotel<br />
is built like the city of<br />
Paris, complete<br />
with a miniature Eiffel<br />
Tower, while the<br />
pyramid-shaped<br />
Luxor leaves the<br />
visitor in no doubt of the<br />
fact that Egypt was the inspiration.<br />
Casinos, of course, are<br />
the lifeblood of Las Vegas<br />
and it’s impossible not to<br />
try your luck.<br />
The best part is when<br />
you sit down at a slot machine<br />
– the drinks are free<br />
and if you pick up a drink in<br />
one hotel you can drop off<br />
your glass at another!<br />
Las Vegas is also known<br />
for its numerous shows with entertainers<br />
ranging from Criss Angel and David Copperfield<br />
to Celine Dion and Rod Stewart.<br />
The Cirque du Soleil shows are a must.<br />
Their performances combine acrobatics<br />
with music, dance and take creativity and<br />
imagination to a whole new level.<br />
The Bellagio, Mirage and Treasure Island<br />
hotels stage free shows practically<br />
every hour. The magical dancing<br />
VIVA LAS VEGAS: (Clockwise from top) The world at your fingertips;<br />
the Bellagio’s dancing fountains; and indulging in a shoe fetish.<br />
fountains at the Bellagio or the Fire & Water<br />
show at the Mirage are mesmerising.<br />
For the brave-hearted, try the rides at the<br />
Stratosphere Hotel which offer heart-pounding<br />
thrills high above the building.<br />
You can also experience a sky jump from<br />
the 108th floor or the X-Scream ride that<br />
propels you headfirst 27 feet over the edge<br />
of the 886 foot-tower.<br />
For me, Vegas was everything I’ve ever<br />
seen in the movies and much more.<br />
This month’s contribution comes from<br />
Systems Specialist Francesca Law and is a<br />
sunset shot of the Gaomei Wetland Preservation<br />
Area in Taichung.<br />
The wetlands have been set aside as a<br />
nature reserve and a wide variety of wildlife,<br />
including migratory birds, can be seen<br />
throughout the area.<br />
“We made a trip there over a long weekend<br />
and saw many different animals. There<br />
is also a windfarm with18 turbines and the<br />
view of the sunset there is amazing,” says<br />
Francesca.<br />
The area also has biking paths and hiking<br />
trails which enable visitors to go exploring.<br />
Southern stays<br />
The Indaba Hotel – Fourways<br />
in Johannesburg is offering<br />
CX staff special prices from<br />
810 ZAR (US$93) for a single<br />
room with breakfast.<br />
The 260-room country-style property<br />
is located north of Johannesburg and is<br />
nestled beneath the Magaliesberg Mountains.<br />
Guests can enjoy a range of massages<br />
and beauty treatments at the Mowana Spa<br />
before sitting down to a traditional African<br />
cuisine buffet of game meats at Chiefs<br />
Boma. The property also has an all-day<br />
dining venue called Epsom Terrace with<br />
international buffets available all day.<br />
More information on Travel Desk.<br />
It’s coming<br />
down<br />
Christmas<br />
The festive<br />
season is fast<br />
approaching<br />
and<br />
thousands of visitors will descend on the<br />
medieval Belgium town of Bruges for the<br />
annual Christmas Market.<br />
Running from 23 November to 1 January,<br />
the Christmas Market is held in the<br />
main square and forms a ring around an<br />
open-air ice rink.<br />
The festive stalls are crammed with<br />
elegantly packaged chocolates, brightly<br />
coloured sweets, unusual hand-made<br />
decorations and a range of toys.<br />
After a day of browsing, visitors can<br />
relax in one of the many bars and restaurants<br />
surrounding the square.<br />
Go to www.christmasmarkets.com for<br />
more.<br />
Lighting up the centre<br />
The 80th Rockefeller Center Christmas<br />
Tree will be lit by 30,000 energy efficient<br />
LED lights on 28 November and will remain<br />
on display until 7 January.<br />
The ceremony signals the start of the<br />
Christmas season in New York City and<br />
is loaded with live entertainment and<br />
celebrity glitz.<br />
See www.rockefellercenter.com<br />
SHOW US YOUR TIPS!<br />
CX World welcomes staff travel tips from<br />
across the network – email us at CCD#SCT<br />
Every month, CX World invites all CX staff<br />
to tell unusual, interesting or just downright<br />
quirky tales of travel moments around the<br />
world.<br />
Sponsored by Inflight Sales, the lucky<br />
sender of the main story receives HK$500<br />
worth of inflight sales<br />
products of their choice<br />
from the ever-changing<br />
collection of over<br />
260 items on offer<br />
(excluding liquor and<br />
cigarettes).<br />
Go shopping at<br />
www.cathaypacific.<br />
com/dutyfree