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Yield challenge<br />
Seeking clearer skies<br />
Butterfly effect<br />
Inspiring moment<br />
Interim results reveal<br />
pressure on income<br />
Interview with Director Flight<br />
Operations on pilot situation<br />
How small donations for<br />
Change for Good change lives<br />
Cathay people get ready for<br />
B-KOO’s round-the-world trip<br />
Page 3<br />
Page 4<br />
Page 8-9<br />
Page 13<br />
August 2016, Issue 244<br />
A magazine for the people and friends of Cathay Pacific Airways<br />
<strong>Freighter</strong><br />
<strong>Queen</strong><br />
Our 14th and final 747-8F<br />
at Boeing’s centennial<br />
Page 5
NEWS<br />
Message from the Chief Executive<br />
Ivan Chu<br />
In recent months we have talked a lot<br />
about the operating environment being<br />
“difficult” – and just how difficult it has<br />
been was brought into sharp focus in<br />
our interim results.<br />
We declared a modest profit,<br />
thanks largely to the contribution from<br />
subsidiary and associate companies,<br />
but the sharp fall in income resulted in<br />
an operating loss of HK$783 million – a<br />
big drop compared to the previous year.<br />
To see our passenger revenue decline<br />
by 8% and our cargo revenue plunge<br />
by 17% is of great concern, especially<br />
when volumes have been holding up<br />
quite well.<br />
While the second half of the year is<br />
usually better than the first, we believe<br />
that this year it will not be as strong as<br />
the second six months in 2015. We<br />
expect to see our business affected<br />
by the same adverse factors, including<br />
ever-stronger competition, pressure<br />
on yield, currency movements working<br />
against us, general economic weakness,<br />
and the impact of security concerns.<br />
So what we can do in the face of<br />
such challenges? We have shown we<br />
can react quickly to market changes,<br />
introducing the successful Vantage<br />
Pass promotion this summer to<br />
make up for the shortfall in corporate<br />
premium traffic. We will need to<br />
continue to be smart and nimble as our<br />
sales teams face up to the challenge<br />
of getting the right balance between<br />
market share and yield.<br />
On the cost side we should still<br />
benefit from low fuel prices, while our<br />
unit cost per ATK excluding fuel has<br />
been trending downwards thanks<br />
to a great effort from the team. The<br />
measures that we announced earlier<br />
in the year to curtail costs and improve<br />
productivity will remain in place, and I<br />
ask all of you to keep this as a key focus<br />
through into 2017.<br />
Whatever challenges we face in the<br />
short- to medium-term, our robust<br />
financial position will enable us to keep<br />
making the investments needed to<br />
retain our competitive edge and deliver<br />
on our promise of a Life Well Travelled.<br />
With the help of our superb team, I feel<br />
confident that we can weather this<br />
storm and come out stronger on the<br />
other side!<br />
Farewell to the <strong>Queen</strong><br />
Emotions run high as we get set to say goodbye to our passenger 747s<br />
• Three 747-400s left in our passenger fleet<br />
• Fleet to retire in October; last revenue flight on 1 October from Tokyo Haneda<br />
• Staff can participate in special farewell flight on 8 October over HK airspace<br />
It’s going to be a sad moment for many colleagues when the final Boeing 747-400<br />
passenger aircraft leave the fleet in early October.<br />
Among the three remaining “<strong>Queen</strong> of the Skies” in operation, B-HUJ, B-HUI and<br />
B-HKT, one will end revenue service on 30 September.<br />
On the same day, the other two 744s will operate as overnight flights to Haneda<br />
and Taipei, getting ready for their last commercial flights back to Hong Kong.<br />
On 1 October, the last 747-400 departing Taipei Taoyuan Airport will operate as<br />
CX469, scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong at 12:10pm.<br />
The last 747-400 out of Tokyo Haneda will operate as CX543, arriving at 2:10pm.<br />
“If all goes according to plan, that CX543 service will be our last-ever 747<br />
commercial flight for passengers,” says Tony Britton, Aircraft Project Manager -<br />
Lease, Return & Dispense.<br />
The intention is to operate that service with B-HUJ, which has a significant place<br />
in Cathay history.<br />
“It is was the last of our 747 passenger aircraft delivered to Cathay in May 1995.<br />
It also operated Polar 1, the very first transpolar non-stop flight from New York to<br />
Hong Kong, which was also the first commercial flight to arrive at Chek Lap Kok on<br />
the morning of 7 July 1998,” Tony explains.<br />
“It seems fitting that this aircraft should be used for the last 747 revenue flight and<br />
also the special flight on 8 October (see right).”<br />
All three aircraft will undergo pre-retirement maintenance, including engine swaps<br />
and work to retain certain components, before being ferried to a yet-to-be-decided<br />
final retirement destination.<br />
“Sadly, once we have completed our parts salvage, the aircraft will be deregistered<br />
and ultimately broken down,” Tony says.<br />
A flight to remember<br />
The last ever flight for B-HUJ will be Special Farewell Flight CX8747, which will cruise over the skies of<br />
Hong Kong on 8 August carrying upwards of 300 of our people, together with some special guests.<br />
There was a great response to a competition run on IntraCX, which asked people to recall their special<br />
memories of the 747 to win one of 20 guaranteed places on CX8747.<br />
More than 250 of the seats on the flight will be opened up to other colleagues, who will be asked to pay<br />
a minimum of HK$747 to enjoy a very memorable day out.<br />
Look out on Daily News on 26 August for the chance to get your place on the flight!<br />
Performance index<br />
60<br />
50<br />
40<br />
30<br />
Mar16<br />
Fuel price<br />
Rolling 6 months<br />
Sing Jet Kerosene<br />
ICE Brent<br />
Aug16<br />
80<br />
70<br />
60<br />
50<br />
40<br />
30<br />
20<br />
Feb 16<br />
On-time<br />
performance<br />
Within 15 mins<br />
On-the-dot<br />
71.9%<br />
41.5%<br />
Jul16<br />
Traffic vs capacity<br />
(CX + KA)*<br />
Passengers carried 3,070,815 2.9%<br />
Passenger load factor 87.0% 0pt<br />
ASKs (000) 12,723,458 2.6%<br />
Freight carried 158,022 7.1%<br />
Cargo load factor 64.7% 2.9pt<br />
ATKs (000) 2,644,617 1.8%<br />
* Figures for Jul16<br />
Publisher Tom Owen<br />
Managing Editor Mark Tindall<br />
Editor Kawai Wong<br />
Produced by the People Department<br />
8/F North Tower, Cathay City, HK<br />
PNL#COM@cathaypacific.com
CX WORLD<br />
Interims highlight income drop<br />
Intense competition, pressure on premium business and currency impact all took a toll on revenue<br />
and yield in our interim results. What can be done to address the problem?<br />
• Group announced a reduced profit in 2016 interim results, with passenger and cargo revenues declining<br />
• Revenues “most intensely impacted through pressure on yield” says COO<br />
• Teams looking for opportunites to grow yield in highly competitive environment<br />
John Cheng<br />
The challenges faced in the first six months<br />
of the year were highlighted on 17 August<br />
when the Group announced a reduced profit<br />
of HK$353 million its interim results.<br />
The bigger underlying story was the<br />
HK$783 million loss in the airline’s core<br />
business, with earnings buffeted by factors<br />
ranging from intense competition to the<br />
impact of currency fluctuations.<br />
In briefings for our people, Chief Operating<br />
Officer Rupert Hogg said the headline story<br />
was the fall in revenue “which was most<br />
intensely impacted through pressure on yield”.<br />
So where does this pressure come from,<br />
and what can we do to address the situation?<br />
Passenger business<br />
In the first six months of 2016, passenger<br />
revenue fell by almost 8%, largely as a result<br />
of a 10% decline in yield – the average fare<br />
paid per passenger kilometre.<br />
Revenue Planning Manager Frank Wong<br />
says the sharp yield decline was a reflection<br />
of the current fragility of the global economy<br />
and intensified competition.<br />
“In view of the uncertain economic<br />
situation, large corporates have been<br />
reducing business travel. The share of<br />
premium passengers has been under<br />
pressure which has impacted our average<br />
yield,” says Frank.<br />
Another issue is that additional capacity<br />
is being pumped into the market.<br />
“For example, Chinese carriers took<br />
delivery of 171 new aircraft during the<br />
first half of 2016, of which 23 were widebodies.<br />
As a result, we have seen significant<br />
increases in seat capacity in some markets<br />
- a 43% increase in seats between Mainland<br />
China and Australia, for example, and a 23%<br />
increase between the Mainland and the<br />
US,” says Frank.<br />
Other factors at play include the greater<br />
reliance on lower-yield connecting traffic;<br />
exchange losses resulting from the<br />
depreciation of certain currencies; and the<br />
suspension of the fuel surcharge.<br />
These same pressures will continue in<br />
the second half of 2016, “but we will not<br />
lose heart,” says Frank.<br />
“Our focus will be on trying to boost<br />
leisure traffic in the premium cabins while<br />
corporate demand remains weak, and to<br />
maintain market share through tactical<br />
promotions and swift responses to<br />
developments in the market.”<br />
Cargo business<br />
Cargo revenue fell by 17% in the first six<br />
months, with yield declining by around<br />
the same amount. The main reason was<br />
the big drop in fuel surcharges collected<br />
across the network, says John Cheng,<br />
Manager Cargo Sales & Distribution.<br />
Another major issue is that the lowfuel-price<br />
environment has encouraged<br />
carriers to bring older aircraft back into<br />
service.<br />
“We’ve seen a big increase in capacity<br />
that is not in sync with demand,” says<br />
John. “And it’s not just freighters – there<br />
has been an increase in belly capacity, too,<br />
Frank Wong<br />
especially from the Middle East carriers.”<br />
The capacity issue affected transpacific<br />
routes in particular, with yield down 20%<br />
year on year.<br />
On the positive side, tonnage stabilised<br />
from the second quarter and the Cargo team<br />
saw growth into India, where yield has been<br />
less of an issue than on transpacific services.<br />
Yield depends on the dynamics between<br />
supply (capacity) and demand, and John<br />
says the team is “cautiously optimistic” of<br />
a pick-up in demand in the fourth quarter.<br />
“We will put a stronger focus on the<br />
diversification of our higher-yield special<br />
products and do our best to upsell once<br />
we hit the peak,” he says.
NEWS<br />
Brand Design<br />
column<br />
“Simplicity is about subtracting<br />
the obvious and adding the<br />
meaningful.”<br />
John Maeda, designer, computer<br />
scientist and the author of The<br />
Laws of Simplicity: Design,<br />
Technology, Business, Life<br />
90% of information transmitted<br />
to the brain is visual, and visuals<br />
are processed 60,000 times<br />
faster in the brain according to 3M<br />
Corporation and Zabisco.<br />
Therefore, when we design<br />
our content and collaterals such<br />
as a backdrop, a PowerPoint<br />
presentation, a notice, or signage,<br />
we need to bear in mind that<br />
people nowadays are looking for<br />
well-crafted, eye-catching visuals<br />
rather than readymade graphics<br />
such as the notorious clip art.<br />
Below are some graphics which<br />
are used all too often in our noncustomer<br />
facing communications.<br />
Looking for clearer skies with<br />
the Hong Kong pilots’ association<br />
The background to the discussions held with the HKAOA and the road forward<br />
• A big effort was made earlier this year to finally resolve some outstanding issues with the HKAOA, an association that represents our Hong<br />
Kong- and New Zealand-based pilots<br />
• Although an agreement was reached with the association’s General Committee, it was unfortunately voted down by its members by a narrow<br />
margin in July<br />
• CX World caught up with with Anna Thompson, Director Flight Operations, to get the background and find out about the next steps<br />
Life Well Travelled should not<br />
be a promise for the external only.<br />
When we design for our internal<br />
customers – i.e. our people –<br />
do you think these graphical<br />
elements reflect our brand? Do<br />
they add any value?<br />
Well-designed materials help<br />
maintain our brand image and<br />
visually communicate our message.<br />
Using low-grade clip art and<br />
superfluous graphics is often<br />
viewed as dated, amateur and<br />
unprofessional.<br />
Next time when you are about<br />
to design a piece of work, before<br />
you tap into the clip art bank, or<br />
download a random graphic from<br />
the internet, try browsing our<br />
current photo library on IntraCX<br />
via: Brand Team> Content><br />
Resources> Photos, and see if<br />
there’s anything suitable.<br />
Alternatively, you could consider<br />
using icons, accessible via Brand<br />
Design> Iconography, should you<br />
wish to add some simple graphic<br />
elements to spice up your content<br />
and reinforce the messaging.<br />
If you have exhausted these<br />
options but still struggle to find<br />
the right graphic or image, the<br />
Brand team is always here to help.<br />
Feel free to contact us at brand@<br />
cathaypacific.com.<br />
Anna Thompson<br />
Director Flight Operations<br />
What are the outstanding<br />
issues between Cathay and the<br />
HKAOA?<br />
Two of the major issues are<br />
Rostering Practices, which are<br />
the set of rules for how pilots<br />
are rostered, and also the Hong<br />
Kong Pilots’ Allowance (HKPA)<br />
which many Hong Kong-based<br />
pilots receive.<br />
Some of the issues have<br />
remained unresolved for more<br />
than a year and during this<br />
time the HKAOA has banned<br />
its members from applying for<br />
Training Captain positions.<br />
Why haven’t the issues been<br />
resolved?<br />
A lot of work has gone into<br />
resolving the issues in relation<br />
to Rostering Practices and the<br />
HKPA over the past 12 months,<br />
and earlier this year the Cathay<br />
and HKAOA negotiating teams<br />
spent more than six weeks in<br />
discussions.<br />
A Tentative Agreement was<br />
finally reached with the HKAOA’s<br />
Negotiating Committee; was<br />
endorsed by the HKAOA’s<br />
General Committee and Cathay<br />
management; and then went to<br />
HKAOA members to vote on. It<br />
was unfortunately narrowly voted<br />
down – 46% to 53%.<br />
What is the HKAOA’s Training<br />
Captain ban all about?<br />
As we have been unable to resolve<br />
the outstanding issues, the HKAOA<br />
placed a ban on its members<br />
applying for Training Captain<br />
positions more than a year ago,<br />
and this makes it more difficult<br />
for us to have the right number of<br />
pilots across all fleets and ranks.<br />
This can be a problem for us as<br />
we need more pilots to operate<br />
as we receive our order of A350s.<br />
The HKAOA uses the Training<br />
Captain ban as a measure to<br />
try to limit our growth, which<br />
would have a negative impact<br />
on our airline, and as a means to<br />
pressure Cathay into resolving<br />
the issues.<br />
Where to now, given the<br />
agreement was voted down?<br />
Making sure Flight Operations<br />
supports Cathay’s growth, by<br />
having the right number of pilots<br />
across all fleets and ranks as we<br />
receive new aircraft, is crucial.<br />
As the HKAOA’s ban on its<br />
members applying for Training<br />
Captain positions remains in<br />
place, we are using different<br />
means to train pilots and boost<br />
numbers across all ranks more<br />
quickly.<br />
This initially includes<br />
assistance by some of our<br />
training resources across the<br />
Cathay Group airlines including<br />
Dragonair and Air Hong Kong,<br />
and hiring First Officers directly<br />
from other airlines.<br />
Further, the transfer of some<br />
aircraft and routes to Dragonair<br />
will help reduce our training<br />
demand.<br />
As these measures are<br />
introduced, our training<br />
standards, safety and operational<br />
excellence remain as priorities.<br />
What’s the next step with the<br />
HKAOA?<br />
We aim to negotiate an<br />
agreement with the HKAOA<br />
in the future; however, given<br />
the amount of time and effort<br />
that was put into reaching the<br />
Tentative Agreement with the<br />
HKAOA’s General Committee,<br />
that was then voted down, our<br />
immediate priority is to focus on<br />
growing our operations.<br />
The HKAOA are in the<br />
process of electing new General<br />
Committee members and a<br />
person to fill the Chairman’s<br />
position, and we hope that this<br />
will provide an opportunity to<br />
begin negotiations again.<br />
Do you see any changes<br />
for Cathay as a result of the<br />
ongoing Training Captain ban?<br />
We don’t foresee there being any<br />
notable disruptions to services<br />
or our growth at the Group level<br />
at this point.<br />
What about the agreements<br />
with our pilots who are located<br />
in other parts of the world?<br />
Our Flight Operations Employee<br />
Relations team and the<br />
Associations have recently<br />
worked to put agreements in<br />
place with the associations that<br />
represent our pilots who are<br />
based in Canada, the United<br />
States and Australia, and we<br />
are working to negotiate an<br />
agreement with the association<br />
that represents our pilots who<br />
are based in Europe.<br />
4
CX WORLD<br />
I Can Fly participants graduate!<br />
This year’s six-month long I Can Fly<br />
programme has drawn to a close, with all<br />
300 participants throwing their hats in the<br />
air at the graduation ceremony held at BP<br />
International on 10 July.<br />
The participants were joined by their<br />
parents and teachers, our staff volunteers,<br />
Hong Kong CAD Deputy Director-General of<br />
Civil Aviation Victor Liu and former Director<br />
Corporate Affairs and now Dragonair Acting<br />
CEO James Tong, as the teenagers charted<br />
their five-month journey of classroom<br />
studies, ground school training, social<br />
service activities and site visits.<br />
“I started out as an aviation newbie and<br />
now I know a lot more about aviation,” said<br />
17-year-old Cherry Lau.<br />
See how the youngsters became miniaviation<br />
experts in the next CX World.<br />
New freighter, more opportunities<br />
Cathay’s 14th and final Dash 8 will bring more flexibility to cargo operations<br />
• New 747-8F freighter, B-LJN, was centrepiece at<br />
Boeing’s centennial celebration in Seattle<br />
• Delivery coincides with news on Portland launch<br />
Before B-LJN officially became part of our freighter fleet,<br />
this brand new 747-8F was already making headlines at<br />
the Boeing’s centennial celebration, as she took centre<br />
stage at the “707 to 787” aircraft parade outside the<br />
Museum of Flight in Seattle.<br />
With this new addition, Cargo will have more flexibility<br />
to capture business opportunities. “A freight carrier can’t<br />
create market demand,” says General Manager Cargo<br />
Planning Cecilia Leung. “What we can do is to be as agile as<br />
possible with capacity and offer a comprehensive network<br />
and frequencies to cater for any changes in demand.”<br />
Cecilia says her priority is to make sure Cathay can fill<br />
its freighters and maximise loadings in the bellies of its<br />
passenger planes.<br />
The arrival of our last -8F coincided with news of the<br />
latest addition to our cargo network – Portland in the<br />
USA. This service, which launches in November, will<br />
take advantage of our freighter’s idle ground time in Los<br />
Angeles, and will operate a Hong Kong - Anchorage - Los<br />
Angeles - Portland – Anchorage routing every Thursday<br />
and Saturday.<br />
Find out more about the business opportunities that<br />
Portland will bring in the September CX World.<br />
A taste of aviation life<br />
A group of students with an interest in aviation had a summer holiday to remember<br />
when they arrived for a two-day visit to Cathay in late July.<br />
Under the Exposure to Workplace programme, part of the “Life Buddies” scheme<br />
launched by The Commission on Poverty, 30 secondary school students from<br />
underprivileged families were given a broad introduction to Hong Kong’s aviation<br />
industry, and Cathay was happy to be part of the experience.<br />
The youngsters got a full tour of Cathay City, including the Flight Training Centre and<br />
cabin mock-ups, with CSO Maggie Cheng, Flight Attendant Tammie Lau and Junior<br />
First Officer Leo Chan on hand to talk about career opportunities.<br />
“I had an invaluable opportunity to meet pilots, cabin crew and airport ground staff<br />
in person, who were so eager to share insightful tips on aviation careers from their<br />
firsthand experience,” student Leung Pu-miao said after the visit.<br />
5
FEEDBACK<br />
Letters to the editor<br />
North-South divide<br />
Star letter winner<br />
Engineering staff<br />
Win a Business<br />
Class wine!<br />
Many years ago, during one of the industry downturns, a cost-study<br />
exercise was initiated to evaluate how the lifts in Cathay City could<br />
be better utilised with the goal of saving energy.<br />
Apart from closing out lifts, it was decided to experiment between<br />
the North and South Towers. South Tower lifts were to continue<br />
serving all floors; and North Tower lifts would be split to serve odd<br />
and even floors.<br />
I notice that Cathay City guests firstly get confused with our North<br />
and South Tower lifts, for there is no clear indication of North and<br />
South. Secondly, the discrepancy in lift operation between the North<br />
and South Towers certainly bemuses many, especially for those who<br />
cannot get out of the floor they intended to reach!<br />
My question is, how was this study concluded?<br />
Irene Ip, Head of Property & Services, replies: Thanks for<br />
raising this question. The matter of lift patterns at Cathay City has<br />
generated considerable interest and discussion.<br />
A review was done in 2011 in regard to the existing settings, with<br />
particular focus on the North zone. The study showed that an oddeven<br />
configuration could maximise the overall efficiency of lift usage<br />
within Cathay City.<br />
Since 80% of staff were either satisfied or neutral about the<br />
current configurations, it was agreed that there was no immediate<br />
need to make changes regarding the lift patterns. Management<br />
has therefore decided to adhere to the existing arrangements until<br />
further notice.<br />
ISD offers a bottle from the Business<br />
Class selection every month for the<br />
Star Letter prize winner. This month,<br />
the prize is a bottle of Borsao Tres<br />
Picos DO Campo De Borja 2012<br />
made from Garnacha (Grenache)<br />
grapes.<br />
Got any suggestions, questions or<br />
interesting observations to share<br />
with CX World?<br />
Write to PNL#COM!<br />
Prime position<br />
Letter from Karen Lok, Senior Purser<br />
Parking pain<br />
Letter from a cockpit crew<br />
Desktop din<br />
Letter from an Airports colleague<br />
With reference to ID travel, why are the more<br />
senior staff assigned seats further back in the<br />
cabin?<br />
Kayse Ng, Assistant Manager, Business<br />
Solutions, AHQ, replies: The system logic for<br />
seat assignment always starts from the rear.<br />
The seat assignment is controlled by individual<br />
customer value. Staff have lower value than<br />
revenue customers, meaning the available<br />
seats for selection are limited.<br />
If passengers are not satisfied with the autoassignment,<br />
they can request for a seat change<br />
through online check-in or at the counter.<br />
I hope the following may explain why staff<br />
travellers with higher priority may sometimes<br />
get seats towards the aft of the aircraft:<br />
• Flight open – lower priority staff may have<br />
checked in first and request a seat in the front<br />
• Flight full – the departure control system will<br />
automatically perform “acceptance”, followed<br />
by “seat assignment”, which guarantees<br />
staff with a higher priority are accepted first.<br />
However, the system also assigns seats from<br />
the rear by default, so the last-accepted staff<br />
will be assigned a seat nearer the front.<br />
Please be reminded that the front seats are<br />
used for Advanced Seat Reservation (ASR) by<br />
revenue customers and will only be released<br />
if the customer hasn’t shown by the time the<br />
counter is about to close.<br />
I see more and more undercover car<br />
parks at Cathay City being labelled as<br />
“Reserved”. Not so long ago it was only the<br />
directors’ vehicles that had this privilege<br />
but now there seems to be at least as<br />
many reserved without specifying a<br />
registration mark.<br />
Can anyone explain why there are fewer<br />
car park spaces available undercover<br />
to the many staff who pay for monthly<br />
parking?<br />
Irene Ip, Head of Property & Services,<br />
replies: Thanks for your enquiry.<br />
According to the car park policy at Cathay<br />
City, which was established in 1999 when<br />
we moved over from Kai Tak, all directors<br />
and Level E staff are eligible for a reserved<br />
parking space.<br />
The car parking spaces designated for<br />
directors are marked with the company’s<br />
car plate numbers, while those parking<br />
spaces for Level E staff are marked as<br />
“Reserved” only because they are not<br />
using company cars.<br />
The desktop wallpaper featuring the 24-<br />
hour Charity Pedal Kart Grand Prix 2016<br />
was so colourful that I found it hard to look<br />
for my desktop icons.<br />
I understand that after upgrading to<br />
Windows 8.1, we cannot change the<br />
wallpaper anymore, so can we at least<br />
choose to use a background in a simple<br />
solid colour, or can we turn the fonts on<br />
the icon to bold and black?<br />
It really impacts my daily work when I<br />
cannot even find the correct icon I need to<br />
use on my desktop.<br />
Jessica Wong, Assistant Manager,<br />
Training Systems & Projects, PNL,<br />
replies: Thanks for your feedback. We<br />
understand your concerns and have<br />
contacted Microsoft about the issue.<br />
As Windows 8.1 has preset font<br />
combinations, we are not able to make<br />
adjustments for the time being. We<br />
apologise for any inconvenience caused<br />
and have taken into account your<br />
valuable feedback for our next wallpaper<br />
designs.<br />
6
CX WORLD<br />
Service<br />
Straight<br />
from the Heart<br />
Game of<br />
phones<br />
Change is coming!<br />
Teams begin countdown to the launch of Cathay Dragon on 21 November<br />
In a landmark announcement on 28<br />
January, the Group revealed that Dragonair<br />
would be rebranded as Cathay Dragon<br />
later in 2016, bringing it into much closer<br />
alignment with Cathay Pacific.<br />
Since the announcement, work has been<br />
going on across different departments to<br />
prepare for the transition, with the official<br />
launch date for Cathay Dragon now<br />
confirmed as 21 November.<br />
The operating crew of CX271 on 20<br />
June and the Airport and Engineering<br />
teams from Amsterdam received<br />
recognition from a passenger after<br />
an incident involving a missing phone.<br />
The Business Class passenger<br />
pressed the call button when<br />
breakfast was served, recalls Inflight<br />
Services Manager Alice Wong<br />
(above).<br />
“It turned out that his mobile phone<br />
had gone missing after he went to<br />
sleep,” Alice says. “We understood<br />
how distressing this would be, so the<br />
whole Business Class cabin crew<br />
pitched in to help.”<br />
Alice, together with Senior Purser<br />
Doris Chan, Flight Pursers Scarlet Ho<br />
and Suga Sze, and Flight Attendant<br />
Tony Mok, searched around the<br />
passenger seat. Tony even bent down<br />
on hands and knees peering into all<br />
the corners using a torch, right until<br />
Excellent cooperation<br />
between flight crew,<br />
ground staff and engineers<br />
won heartfelt appreciation<br />
from a passenger...<br />
the captain made an announcement<br />
for crew to be seated for landing.<br />
“Despite our efforts we failed to<br />
locate the phone,” Alice says. “We<br />
suspected it must have slipped into<br />
the gap by the side of the seat.”<br />
As the flight touched down at<br />
Schiphol Airport, the passenger had<br />
to disembark right away as he had<br />
a connecting flight to catch. Alice<br />
hadn’t given up, however, and paged<br />
for the ground handling agent and an<br />
engineer to come on board to help.<br />
The AMS third party engineer<br />
quickly dismantled the seat and<br />
fortunately the phone was spotted.<br />
“I recalled that the passenger had<br />
mentioned he would be in the BA<br />
lounge until the next flight,” Alice<br />
says. “So our ground staff tried his<br />
luck to dash over to the lounge,<br />
managing to hand the phone to the<br />
passenger in person, just in time!”<br />
The passenger was very pleased<br />
to be reunited with his phone. “This<br />
is great and remarkable service,”<br />
he wrote in a complimentary letter.<br />
“Please pass on my thanks to the<br />
flight crew, ground staff, and the<br />
engineer!”<br />
The background<br />
Cathay Dragon was born out of a need to create a closer alignment<br />
between the Group’s airlines in the face of growing competition on<br />
many routes.<br />
There was a feeling that people still viewed Cathay and Dragonair<br />
as distinct airlines, with new customers in particular not knowing<br />
that Dragonair was part of the Cathay Group.<br />
By creating Cathay Dragon, “we will align our two airline brands<br />
closer together, enabling us to provide greater convenience and a<br />
more seamless travel experience for our passengers,” said Chief<br />
Executive Ivan Chu.<br />
The rebranding is about much more than a new livery and logo.<br />
“This is about sharpening our competitive edge and capturing<br />
the fast-growing passenger flows across our two carriers… it will<br />
allow us to become stronger than the sum of our parts.”<br />
The rebranding is designed to capitalise on Cathay Pacific’s<br />
worldwide reputation while leveraging Cathay Dragon’s<br />
connectivity in Mainland China and the region.<br />
Helping to make it happen<br />
Among those most deeply involved in the Cathay Dragon project – and most excited<br />
about its launch – is Henry Ng, who for the past 10 months has been working as<br />
Planning & Development Manager in the Project Management Office (PMO).<br />
PMO is the team that was set up to coordinate between the Cathay Dragon<br />
steering committee and the different work streams involved in the launch<br />
of the rebranded airline – from brand and communications to IT and staff<br />
engagement.<br />
“It’s been our job to make sure everything is going according to the agreed<br />
timeline and budget, taking key decisions back to the steering committee for<br />
endorsement,” says Henry.<br />
“We’ve also been involved in stakeholder management, helping to<br />
coordinate cross-department dependencies, unearth risks and resolve issues;<br />
essentially helping to ensure the implementation of project activities.”<br />
Most of the major decisions have been taken now and Henry is looking<br />
forward to 21 November.<br />
“It’s all finally coming together – this will be a real milestone moment for our<br />
airlines,” he smiles.<br />
The brand thinking<br />
The Cathay Dragon brand shares much of the same ethos with the<br />
Cathay Pacific brand because “we want people to start thinking<br />
about these two brands together – the relationship to one another<br />
and the resultant seamless travel experience – rather than two<br />
completely separate brands,” says Manager Brand Ruaraidh<br />
Smeaton.<br />
Both airlines have brand pillars based on Heartfelt Warmth,<br />
Considered Simplicity and Joy of Discovery, while the fourth pillar<br />
differs; for Cathay Dragon it is Contemporary Chinese while Cathay<br />
Pacific has Contemporary Asian.<br />
“We saw an opportunity here for Cathay Dragon to have a different<br />
feel from Cathay Pacific, emphasising its strong connections with<br />
China, which will be reflected in various aspects of the inflight<br />
experience,” says Ruaraidh.<br />
“When positioning the brand, we were very careful not to alienate<br />
those who were familiar and already loved the brand – including the<br />
airline’s people.”<br />
What will stay the same<br />
Cathay Dragon will still be a premium carrier offering the best<br />
products and services to its customers. It will have its own crews<br />
operating its own fleet of aircraft across its extensive network in<br />
Asia, and Mainland China in particular.<br />
What will change?<br />
Some changes are already apparent, with the new Cathay Dragon<br />
livery – featuring the distinctive Cathay brushwing on a red tail –<br />
already appearing on three aircraft. It will be painted onto seven<br />
aircraft by transition day.<br />
The majority of changes will be introduced on 21 November,<br />
the day the Cathay Dragon identity is launched. These range from<br />
uniform accessories to airport signage; from a single website<br />
for the two airlines to new sales and marketing collaterals; from<br />
baggage tags to boarding passes; and from our people’s name<br />
cards to stationery items.<br />
Find out more about the Cathay Dragon journey in coming issues<br />
of CX World.<br />
7
FEATURES<br />
Every little helps<br />
Our people spent five days in Nepal to see how Change<br />
for Good donations can make a big difference<br />
Health & hygiene<br />
• Cathay people joined UNICEF tour to see how fundraising programme improves lives<br />
• Projects in Nepal aim to improve hygiene, empower girls and rebuild lives after the<br />
2015 earthquake<br />
Crystal Durie, Inflight Service Manager, ISD<br />
I am impressed with how UNICEF goes about<br />
their programmes in the local community,<br />
working to address issues such as sanitation,<br />
education, and child trafficking. They spread messages<br />
about basic health and hygiene practices through<br />
songs and dances, making them easier to remember<br />
and accept by children and families. Through this, they<br />
have laid a strong foundation that will continue from<br />
grassroots to government.”<br />
Every day, Cathay Pacific cabin crew hand out thousands of envelopes as part of<br />
UNICEF’s Change for Good programme – and every day, entire communities are<br />
impacted by this seemingly simple gesture.<br />
Each flight has the potential to collect funds that will forever improve the future of a<br />
child, a home, a village or even a whole nation.<br />
To help understand the importance of the Change for Good partnership, UNICEF<br />
hosted a field trip for 11 of our people in July, during which they witnessed first-hand<br />
how each coin becomes an achievement.<br />
Representing different departments, our colleagues spent five days in Nepal, and<br />
were given an in-depth look at the aftermath of the disastrous earthquakes in 2015.<br />
Days were tightly packed with activities and visits that aimed to cover three main<br />
subjects: health and hygiene, empowering girls and women, and post-earthquake<br />
recovery efforts. Here’s a snapshots of the group’s experiences.<br />
Karen Ng, Flight Purser,<br />
ISD (in Cathay cap)<br />
The Nepalese people’s<br />
enthusiasm and hope for life has<br />
impressed me. The donation from<br />
Change for Good has helped to<br />
make an impact in their lives.”<br />
Empowering women and children<br />
Temporary Learning<br />
One of the key programmes aimed at<br />
empowering girls provides classroom<br />
training for hand sewing sanitary pads<br />
and encouraging gender-friendly<br />
toilets at schools. This allows girls to<br />
continue to attend classes throughout<br />
the month. The team joined one of the<br />
classes and learned that this simple craft<br />
is responsible for keeping many young<br />
women in school.<br />
In conservative rural societies, a<br />
simple game of football can help<br />
to break down stereotypes and<br />
traditional gender bias. With sport,<br />
young girls can build confidence<br />
and team spirit – both very evident<br />
when our people joined them for a<br />
friendly match.<br />
Anita Ngai, Revenue<br />
Analyst, REV<br />
In many places, educatio<br />
is granted and compulsory – sadl<br />
many children in Nepal suffer<br />
the chance of being deprived of<br />
schooling. Yet, it is amazing to see<br />
that they all have enthusiasm in<br />
learning, despite their poor living<br />
environment.”<br />
8
CX WORLD<br />
Juliana Ong, Training Specialist, ISD<br />
During the visit, our staff were guests of<br />
honour at a village celebrating being Open<br />
Defecation Free (ODF).<br />
“The ODF campaign is part of the social sanitation<br />
movement to reach the national goal of universal<br />
sanitation. It promotes that every house should have<br />
toilet, to eliminate open defecation. This field trip<br />
was a big eye-opener, giving me an opportunity to<br />
experience life at the extreme.”<br />
Capturing a colourful lifestyle<br />
Roy Yu, Supervisor Trainee,<br />
Operations, CPCS<br />
This was my first glimpse of<br />
a child with malnutrition in one of the<br />
affected districts, which struck me the<br />
most during the trip.”<br />
New book tells interesting tales from our cabin crew’s lives<br />
• Stories Straight from the Heart features stories from 33 cabin crew<br />
• Tales of inspiration, anecdotes and heartwarming episodes on the wing<br />
• Proceeds from book sale to go to Sunnyside Club<br />
n<br />
y<br />
Centre<br />
Bijaya Regmi, Airport<br />
Services Officer, AKL<br />
It is amazing to see how a<br />
dollar coin donated can bring such<br />
a big change including happiness in<br />
the faces of many children living in<br />
poverty.”<br />
A wakeboard athlete, comic illustrator, makeup<br />
artist and singing queen. Unplanned excursions,<br />
shopping around the world, building homes<br />
for the poor, entertaining the unprivileged on a<br />
community flight …<br />
Our cabin crew are a talented bunch, and their<br />
working lives offer some unique and rewarding<br />
experiences – as outlined in a recently published<br />
book.<br />
Stories Straight from the Heart is a bilingual<br />
book penned by 33 crew members of all ranks<br />
from the crew community.<br />
It features a compilation of heartwarming stories,<br />
inspirational tales, memorable anecdotes and<br />
exciting adventures that highlight the fascinating<br />
nature of the work and the talents behind the<br />
people who deliver excellent service.<br />
The book also includes practical information<br />
about the cabin crew profession in Cathay, from job<br />
requirements to uniform and grooming standards,<br />
from training programmes to the career path.<br />
Kate Hui<br />
Flight Purser<br />
I read Chinese language at<br />
university and being an author has long<br />
been my dream. To fulfill this dream as a<br />
cabin crew is beyond my expectations!<br />
It gave me a lot of pleasure to see the<br />
stories I have written being converted into<br />
a real book.”<br />
Kristy Chan<br />
Flight Attendant<br />
I am honoured to be one of the<br />
cabin crew authors. One of my two stories<br />
in this book is about my first skydiving trial<br />
in Auckland. This extraordinary experience<br />
would not have been possible if I were not<br />
a cabin crew. I hope my story can help our<br />
readers to get a glimpse of the different<br />
aspects of our colourful lifestyle.<br />
Stories Straight from<br />
the Heart is available in<br />
bookstores citywide.<br />
All proceeds from<br />
the sale will go to the<br />
Sunnyside Club to<br />
help put smiles on the<br />
faces of disadvantaged<br />
youngsters.<br />
Judi Puentespina<br />
Inflight Service Manager<br />
Writing is nothing new to me - I was<br />
Editor-in-Chief of the student newspaper at<br />
my alma mater and also the newsletter for<br />
my church. Contributing to the new book<br />
has been amazing because we are never<br />
short of stories to tell in this wonderful job.<br />
9
NEWS<br />
The man behind our new menu to North America<br />
Our Hong Kong to North America routes<br />
are now featuring a new inflight menu<br />
specially designed by celebrity chef<br />
Daniel Green for First and Business Class<br />
passengers.<br />
CX World: Daniel, can you tell us a little bit<br />
about yourself?<br />
I’ve never tried to be this Michelin-starred<br />
chef; I just try to make really good choices<br />
of lightening food up. You know there are<br />
many diet trends going full circle, but my real<br />
philosophy is about low fat, which helped<br />
me to lose weight many years ago.<br />
CX World: Isn’t fat an essential ingredients<br />
in tasty meals – cheese, cream…<br />
I’d never believed when you hear chefs say<br />
fat is flavour. If you have some bad food and<br />
you can sure throw some cream and cheese<br />
in it and say fat is flavour. My counterexample<br />
is that if you have tom yum gong<br />
soup – that’s flavour.<br />
CX World: This leans towards the Asian<br />
styles of cooking which rely more on<br />
seasonings, herbs and spices…<br />
If you are doing a Thai curry, you can really<br />
make it like a Thai curry, you don’t have to<br />
tone it down. And Cathay is quite authentic<br />
to let you have a free rein with that, so I<br />
think if you were a European<br />
airline you might be a little<br />
bit more restricted. I<br />
think Cathay has taken<br />
cuisine very well, you<br />
can make it exactly<br />
how you want to.<br />
Daniel Green’s exclusive menu of<br />
three salads, two power drinks and five<br />
main courses will be featured onboard<br />
selected flights from Hong Kong to North<br />
American destinations from August.<br />
And in the outports...<br />
Many exceptional stories are created across the<br />
network every day, and our outports are putting their<br />
own spin into the Work Well Done campaign.<br />
Here’s a taste of what they have been doing.<br />
Japan<br />
Clockwise from left: Managers<br />
in Tokyo put on aprons to<br />
serve breakfast to surprised<br />
colleagues. Fukuoka engineers<br />
celebrated with sandwiches! At<br />
Narita Airport, staff cut a special<br />
cake featuring B-LAK with a cute<br />
nose!<br />
Living and breathing<br />
Work Well Done<br />
Two of our great Work Well Done stories from around the network... visit our Recognition Wall for more<br />
Amazing can-do spirit &<br />
excellent camaraderie<br />
Total dedication &<br />
drive to succeed<br />
Kaohsiung Airport Services Team<br />
Lead Consultant Employee<br />
Experience Sandy Tang<br />
Dubai<br />
Thank-you cupcakes<br />
coated with gold butter<br />
cream were given<br />
to staff as token of<br />
appreciation by the<br />
local management<br />
team.<br />
Auckland<br />
The Town Office team<br />
have created their own<br />
physical Recognition<br />
Wall to keep the spirit of<br />
WWD going!<br />
Johannesburg<br />
Department heads<br />
cooked up a feast for<br />
their team. Manager<br />
People SAMEA Neil<br />
Andrade says: “It’s great<br />
to see such initiatives in<br />
our region!”<br />
Kaohsiung Manager on Duty Lily Lu wrote<br />
on the Recognition Wall: All flight services<br />
at Kaohsiung were suspended from the<br />
afternoon of 8 July to 9 July, when Taiwan was<br />
hit by super typhoon Nepartak.<br />
By the morning of 10 July, more than 1,400<br />
of our passengers were stranded in the<br />
departure hall, with very long queues waiting<br />
behind our check-in counters.<br />
The situation was tough, but the Dragonair<br />
Airport team tried their best to help the<br />
disrupted passengers, assisting them to<br />
rebook seats on the earliest available flights,<br />
so that they could continue their journeys as<br />
soon as possible.<br />
Our Airport Services Manager helped to<br />
supervise crowd control and gave passengers<br />
on-hand assistance. Colleagues who were on<br />
leave also volunteered their help.<br />
By the end of the day, as colleagues<br />
stepped down from the counters, they were<br />
so exhausted that they just slumped on chairs,<br />
although feeling fulfilled and heartened.<br />
Our Baggage Services team also worked<br />
diligently with limited manpower, to serve<br />
1,441 arrival passengers.<br />
A big thank to the KHH Airport team!<br />
Director People Tom Owen wrote on<br />
the Recognition Wall: Sandy is doing<br />
a remarkable job in the Employee<br />
Experience team, working long hours on<br />
building the soon-to-be-launched new<br />
Performance Management System.<br />
There is significant complexity on<br />
the systems side and problems and<br />
inconsistencies in organising the data,<br />
which has meant a significant amount of<br />
extra work for Sandy. But she is quietly<br />
achieving, and creating a new system<br />
which will bring tremendous benefits to<br />
the company and its people ahead.<br />
Thank you Sandy for the amazing<br />
commitment you are showing which<br />
will make such a positive difference to<br />
properly managing performance in the<br />
future.<br />
Have you nominated recently? It only takes two minutes www.cathaypacific.com/workwelldone<br />
10
CX WORLD<br />
A350 ready for longhauls<br />
Work is going on at full throttle to train<br />
crews and engineers in anticipation of long-haul ops<br />
• Cathay has taken delivery of three A350-900s, fourth arrives on 26 August<br />
• Sufficient pilots trained and Engineering is ready for Gatwick and Düsseldorf<br />
• Business Class seats for some A350s will be fitted in Hong Kong<br />
Following the arrival of our first A350-<br />
900 (B-LRA) on 29 May this year, Cathay’s<br />
newest fleet has now grown to four<br />
aircraft with the addition of B-LRB, B-LRC<br />
and B-LRE.<br />
Following the arrival of the second<br />
aircraft in July, the A350 network has<br />
expanded beyond the launch destinations<br />
of Taipei and Manila to include Bangkok,<br />
Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore. With<br />
four A350s in operation by September,<br />
we will be ready to launch our first longhaul<br />
destinations to London Gatwick and<br />
Düsseldorf.<br />
To date, the A350s have been flying an<br />
intense pattern of regional sectors. “Our<br />
A350s have flown close to 400 revenue<br />
sectors so far,” says Head of A350 Project<br />
Bob Taylor. “Their technical dispatch<br />
reliability is in line with expectations bearing<br />
in mind ours have been working very hard!”<br />
From Flight Operations’ perspective,<br />
sufficient numbers of flight crew have<br />
already been trained for long-haul<br />
operations to begin in September.<br />
Deputy Flying Training Manager<br />
(Airbus) Tim Burns says: “By the end<br />
of August we will have 146 crew who<br />
have completed their training. So from<br />
a crewing perspective we are ready. Our<br />
next challenge is rostering all our New<br />
Zealand-based pilots an extended period<br />
in Hong Kong to complete their training in<br />
anticipation for the A350 Auckland service,<br />
which will commence in October.”<br />
On the Engineering side, a similar story<br />
of intense training has been taking place<br />
with around 50 Cathay Line Engineers<br />
now fully qualified to handle the A350. Bob<br />
says: “Engineering will be ready to support<br />
the launch of long-haul operations –<br />
B-LRC arrives into HKIA<br />
although it’s not without its challenges.”<br />
For example, the original plan for London<br />
Gatwick and Düsseldorf was to utilise<br />
established third-party providers. “But a<br />
regulatory hurdle means that we need to<br />
support the early European operations<br />
using Engineers from regional Cathay line<br />
stations,” Bob says.<br />
As for the third delivery, B-LRE is<br />
currently in HAECO having its Business<br />
Class seats fitted.<br />
Due to the initial delivery delay with<br />
the Business Class seats, the seat-fitting<br />
programme has been jolted out of sync with<br />
the Airbus production line flow. Christine Chu,<br />
Lead Cabin Projects Engineer says: “We’re<br />
flying some of our A350s to Hong Kong to<br />
fit the Business Class seats to avoid further<br />
delays in the production line in Toulouse.”<br />
Cathay will receive seven more A350s<br />
before the end of year.<br />
Benjamin Hari<br />
First airside electric vehicle!<br />
Our Engineers had been eyeing an all-electric car fleet long before electric<br />
vehicles became all the rage.<br />
Now, with enhanced charging facilities at HKIA, steps are being taken to<br />
launch an EV fleet, with the first Nissan Leaf arriving on the airside very recently.<br />
“Every petrol car operating in the airport is required by the Airport Authority<br />
to be replaced every nine years,” says Head of Planned Maintenance Tim Hau.<br />
“Since Line Maintenance Operations has one car due for replacement in 2016,<br />
we took this opportunity to replace our old petrol car with an electric one.”<br />
Not only is an EV more environmentally friendly, there is no need for<br />
replacement after nine years, either!<br />
The Singapore team pulled out the stops to welcome the first A350 into Changi<br />
11
OUTPORTS<br />
Station updates<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
1 KATHAMANDU<br />
Demonstrating the Cathay caring spirit<br />
In April 2015, Nepal experienced an earthquake that claimed more than 8,000 lives.<br />
While the Cathay family in Nepal were lucky not to have suffered any fatalities, most of the team<br />
were impacted to varying degrees. The worst-affected colleague was one of our longest-serving<br />
staff, Surendra Rajthala, whose house – where 10 of his family members resided – was reduced to<br />
rubble in the quake.<br />
Our team in Kathmandu quickly came to the aid of Surendra and family to organise temporary<br />
accommodation for them.<br />
FunCX – a South Asia Cathay employee club that organises staff activities – drove a series of<br />
fundraising activities under the banner of “V love Nepal”.<br />
What started out as a regional initiative quickly saw funds coming in from UAE, Bahrain, South<br />
Africa, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and Europe.<br />
On the other hand, a project team headed by Country Manager Nepal Parthenia Lai worked to<br />
help Surendra rebuild his house.<br />
A little over a year after the earthquake, Surendra and his family have finally moved into their<br />
new home.<br />
Manager People South Asia, Middle East & Africa Neil Andrade said: “I would like to thank<br />
everyone who played a part to ensure Surendra and his family have a roof over their head!”<br />
2 JOHANNESBURG<br />
Happy 25th anniversary!<br />
From the first customer checked in to the last to board the flight, the JNB team celebrated their<br />
25th Anniversary in style. With colourful balloons, surprise chocolates and Cathay souvenirs,<br />
customers and crew were invited to party!<br />
“It feels great to be part of a team who have been serving our customers for 25 years!” says<br />
Managers on Duty Trevor Grist, Katharine Rangayah and David Ren. “Growing from strength to<br />
strength, the team always give their very best even in the face of challenges.<br />
“Our efforts are rewarded by our customers’ appreciation and continued sharing.”<br />
Zanele, Customer Services Agent, shares more: “As we express our gratitude, we must never<br />
forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them!”<br />
3 BEIJING<br />
Friendly footy<br />
Two Cathay Service Delivery football teams were in Beijing in June for a friendly football<br />
tournament with Air China Ground Service and AMECO Ground Service.<br />
A total of 23 cabin crew, five ISD colleagues, five HKIA people and one Dragonair staff joined the<br />
game, with Director Service Delivery James Ginns taking to the field.<br />
James also presented an A350 model to Mr Gong from Air China Ground Service and Mr Teng<br />
from AMECO Ground Service.<br />
Outport people<br />
INDIA<br />
Senior Purser Deepika Kumar<br />
Mrs India Classic<br />
Deepika saw the contest as an opportunity to learn<br />
and grow. “It’s my belief that people should step out<br />
of their comfort zone to try something different, or<br />
you will never know what you are capable of.”<br />
“The pageant was a wonderful experience –<br />
winning was great, and I walked away with plenty of<br />
life lessons, and the memories and friends I<br />
have made are invaluable,” she says.<br />
As the incumbent Mrs India Classic,<br />
Deepika will spend as much time as<br />
possible associating herself with<br />
meaningful charitable causes in the<br />
coming year.<br />
“I hope to make a difference in<br />
other people’s lives in any small way I<br />
can,” she smiles.<br />
MALAYSIA<br />
Flight Attendant Wendy She<br />
Mrs Malaysia Universe<br />
Wendy says she took part in the pageant for a very<br />
good cause.<br />
“I hoped my exposure in the pageant would help<br />
to raise awareness of children suffering from rare<br />
genetic diseases,” says Wendy, a certified Genetic<br />
Counsellor who practices part-time at a clinic in<br />
Hong Kong.<br />
“I ‘ve come across many families with<br />
children suffering from rare genetic<br />
diseases. They often lack support<br />
from the public and the government.<br />
Medical assistance and rehabilitative<br />
therapies are essential to improve<br />
their quality of life.”<br />
Wendy took third spot in the<br />
pageant, saying it was “inspiring to<br />
meet so many great personalities from<br />
different walks of life!”<br />
INDIA<br />
Flight Purser Mukta Chopra<br />
Mrs Asia International Universe<br />
Mutka was invited to join the Mrs Asia International<br />
Universe after coming in the top five in the Mrs India<br />
pageant in 2014 and winning Mrs India Beautiful eyes.<br />
Having caught the travel bug at a very young age,<br />
with her family moving to different cities in India,<br />
Mukta says that becoming cabin crew “seemed a<br />
perfect fit”.<br />
“With strong support from my husband,<br />
family and friends, I feel that my two<br />
decades’ experience in Cathay has<br />
given me the confidence and poise<br />
required to excel in the pageant.”<br />
After winning Mrs Asia, Mukta<br />
is now busy preparing for the Mrs<br />
Universe being held in Guangzhou next<br />
month, “and I look forward to meeting<br />
gorgeous women from around the<br />
world!”<br />
12
CX WORLD<br />
Karen Yung<br />
Network gets ready for B-KOO<br />
People across the Cathay network help<br />
Hank Cheng achieve a life-long dream<br />
• A seven-year journey culminates in a three-month round-the-world<br />
trip for Captain Hank Cheng and the Inspiration team<br />
• Plane to visit several Cathay ports, including San Francisco<br />
Inspiration – Hong Kong’s first home-built and locally registered singleengine<br />
aircraft – made history in November as it took to the skies above<br />
HKIA. The Van’s RV8 is about to embark on the journey it was built for: a<br />
three-month round-the-world trip.<br />
“We’re very happy that the Hong Kong CAD issued Inspiration a<br />
Permit to Fly so that we can circumnavigate the world using the B-KOO<br />
registration,” says Captain Hank Cheng.<br />
B-KOO was temporarily de-registered while it was conducting the<br />
necessary flight testing in Australia. After 40 hours of flight, Inspiration<br />
was piloted back to Hong Kong via Bali, Kota Kinabalu and Clark, where<br />
staff were happy to offer their expertise and assistance to the RV8 team.<br />
Henry Ming, our Engineer in Bali, says: “Some of<br />
our staff came into the office on their day off<br />
just to see Inspiration’s arrival. They wanted to<br />
show their enthusiasm!”<br />
The local teams went beyond their call<br />
of duty to help this Cathay people project,<br />
organising security permits and other<br />
engineering needs by liaising with local<br />
authorities.<br />
Bali Airport Services Manager Yaniarti<br />
Yaniarti said: “We’re very happy to see<br />
this aircraft! After seven years of work, big<br />
congratulations go to this excellent team!”<br />
“We’re super thankful for the help that each<br />
outport is offering,” says Hank. “In fact, there are many<br />
Cathay people in Hong Kong who are supporting this endeavour.”<br />
Gary Tat, the first engineer to join Hank on the Inspiration<br />
project, adds: “The Inspiration Operations Centre in Cathay City follows<br />
the plane in real time to make sure both Hank and the aircraft are safe.<br />
Our team came in on their days off or even on their birthday to volunteer!”<br />
“It was wonderful to see the passion that our people have for planes,”<br />
says Assistant Manager AV Unit & Photographer Karen Yung, who was<br />
there to see Inspiration’s arrival in Bali. “RV8 bonds our people around<br />
the network and people are building a good rapport around this great<br />
project!”<br />
Inspiration begins its journey on 28 August and will fly to approximately<br />
50 destinations, many of which are Cathay or Dragonair ports. Stay<br />
tuned to IntraCX, Yammer and CX World for more Inspiration updates.<br />
55,000km in distance<br />
466L fuel tank capacity<br />
>50 destinations including Greenland &<br />
Hawaii<br />
HK$3 million is required for the<br />
trip (visit inspiration.bkoo.hk to buy<br />
merchandise in support of this trip)<br />
Red Bull and Energy Bars are the<br />
meals served onboard<br />
Immersion suit will be worn on journeys<br />
over water<br />
Clockwise from top: Hank landed at<br />
HKG on his homecoming journey from<br />
Australia; the Bali team was excited<br />
to see Inspiration on its approach to<br />
DPS; Inspiration with Kota Kinabalu’s<br />
Cathay team; CE Ivan Chu charts the<br />
beginning of Inspiration’s journey.<br />
Watch out for a video featuring our people<br />
collaborating with the Inspiration team on Yammer and IntraCX!<br />
One minute with... Chris Kempis, General Manager Flying<br />
1. How did you get involved in the annual pedal<br />
kart race?<br />
I was a First Officer at the time and one of the Captains<br />
I flew with was a keen cyclist. He invited me to<br />
attend a Pedal Kart selection trial in early 1996 …<br />
the rest is history!<br />
2. What has kept you motivated for more than<br />
20 years?<br />
Like many people, I find it gratifying to do something<br />
that is both exciting and meaningful. Pedal<br />
kart grows on you the more you participate.<br />
3. What makes the event so exciting?<br />
Very few of us in the competitive teams can claim<br />
to ‘enjoy’ the intensity of the 30 minute stints<br />
we do, but the atmosphere, camaraderie and<br />
fantastic support we receive all make the event<br />
something I love being part of.<br />
4. How many trophies have you won through<br />
the years?<br />
My regular team, the Cathay Jumbos, has won at<br />
least one trophy every year. The “heavyweight”<br />
trophies are Winning Team and Fastest Lap, which<br />
the Jumbos have won on several occasions - and<br />
I’m sure would have done without me!<br />
5. How are you preparing for the race?<br />
I train by cycling a lot. Close to the race I spend<br />
some time on the recumbent cycle in the gym as<br />
well.<br />
6. What is your practicing route?<br />
I cycle from my home to Bride’s Pool Rd, where<br />
many cyclists train; alternatively, I do a circuit of<br />
some part of the New Territories. I count myself<br />
lucky if I get out twice in a week so I target 60-<br />
90km on each ride.<br />
7. What is your fastest lap by far?<br />
I don’t consider myself to be the ‘fast guy’. I leave<br />
that to the younger sprinters. I aim for very quick<br />
changeovers and consistent lap times.<br />
8. Does the Cathay team have any specific tactic?<br />
Our main aim is to keep going for 24 hours, avoid<br />
crashes and minimise technical problems. We are<br />
extremely fortunate to have outstanding support<br />
from pit crews and helpers.<br />
9. Any expectation for this year’s race?<br />
It’ll be another win for the men – and I’ll be supporting<br />
the women as they defend their championship.<br />
10. Do you take part in other sports?<br />
A hike or gentle run on one of the trails near my<br />
home in Tai Po Kau is high on my favourites list.<br />
13
WHO WHAT WHERE<br />
Cathay Club<br />
Bush adventure<br />
Pilot takes on driving challenge in Zambia<br />
• Mawgan Grace will put his offroading skills to the test in the Mudhogs team<br />
• Goal is to raise funds to help conservation efforts in Zambia<br />
Basketball<br />
The Cathay Ladies Basketball Team successfully defended<br />
the Inter-Hong Champion trophy, maintaining a strong winning<br />
streak over the two-month tournament.<br />
Cathay competed against PCCW, CLP, New World Sports Club,<br />
Standard Chartered Bank and Wayfoong Sports Club in the roundrobin<br />
event, with their win secured even before the final match.<br />
“We are very pleased with our performance, especially when<br />
so many of our players are on rosters, which made it even harder<br />
to maintain a strong squad,” says HKIA’s Helen Liu, a key player in<br />
the Cathay team.<br />
Tennis<br />
The Cathay Tennis Team were declared champions of this year’s<br />
Inter-Hong event after a tight final against Jardine Sports Club.<br />
“We lost the men’s and ladies’ singles in the best-of-five match<br />
so the situation wasn’t looking good,” says Fanny Nip, Tennis<br />
Team Organiser. “Thankfully we won all three doubles games to<br />
claim the championship.”<br />
Only eight players could actually take part, “but we had the full<br />
team showing up to support, which was fantastic,” Fanny says.<br />
“We have some talented new blood this year so we are pretty<br />
confident about the future!”<br />
Fencing<br />
The Cathay Fencing Club received a terrific response to its<br />
roadshow held at Cathay City back in June.<br />
“More than 60 signed up for our induction training,” says<br />
Allan Tang, the Fencing Club Organiser. “With more colleagues<br />
participating we really hope that this elegant sport can gain<br />
more publicity.”<br />
The fencing team holds regular practice sessions on Monday<br />
and Thursday evenings – contact Allan at FOPACT.<br />
On 30 September, Senior First Officer Mawgan Grace begins a three-day adventure that is going<br />
to test his stamina and resolve – and at the same time raise vital funds for conservation efforts in<br />
that country.<br />
The Elephant Charge is an annual event that sees teams complete a gruelling course through<br />
“unbelievably difficult terrain” in customised off-road vehicles and motorbikes.<br />
Mawgan is joining as part of the Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) Mudhogs team, run by a<br />
friend who has taken part in the event for the past few years.<br />
“I always wanted to get involved, and I jumped at the chance when invited by Mark Barrett, the<br />
Director of Flight Operations for Zambian airline ProFlight, who I’ve known since my university days.”<br />
Teams in the Elephant Charge are given a GPS grid reference early<br />
in the morning before setting out deep into the Zambian bush,<br />
traversing valleys, ridges and escarpments in what is called “a<br />
trial of driving, navigating and endurance”.<br />
The winning team is the one that completes a course of 10<br />
checkpoints in the shortest distance possible.<br />
Mawgan will be one of a team of six in the Mudhogs and will<br />
share tasks throughout the day, including driving.<br />
“I’ve driven in the bush a fair bit and have done a lot of offroading,<br />
but the Elephant Charge will be a whole new challenge,”<br />
he says.<br />
“The driving itself will be tiring – from 5am to 6pm – and at<br />
nighttime we’ll be camping out and dealing with hazards<br />
such as scorpions and snakes!”<br />
Underpinning Mawgan’s determination to do<br />
well in the Elephant Charge is the goal of helping<br />
conservation efforts in Zambia.<br />
Each team taking part needs to donate a<br />
minimum of US$800 and run their own fundraising<br />
drives, with the money going to support 10<br />
beneficiaries across the country.<br />
“I’ve been visiting Africa since 1995 and the<br />
poaching is getting out of control,” Mawgan says.<br />
“There’s an urgent need to stamp out poaching<br />
and the bush meat trade, and education is an<br />
important part of that.<br />
“I’m asking friends and family to support<br />
me, and any other help from the Cathay<br />
team, no matter how small, would be hugely<br />
appreciated!” he smiles.<br />
Find out more about the event at www.<br />
elephantcharge.org.<br />
Donate to support Mawgan at<br />
www.virginmoneygiving.com/clz, stating “car 13”<br />
on the online payment<br />
14
CX WORLD<br />
Memory board<br />
Thank you Maria Chow!<br />
45 years of service<br />
Looking at this photo of the ever-elegant and<br />
photogenic Maria Chow, who could have guessed that<br />
she has already been with us for 45 years?<br />
Maria joined Cathay in 1971, first as a cabin crew<br />
who operated our first pure jet, the Convair 880.<br />
Through various uniform changes, Maria rose to<br />
the position of Chief Purser before migrating to New<br />
Zealand with her husband in 1996, where she assumed<br />
the role as a part-time Customer Services Officer.<br />
She’s now Auckland’s Airport Services Supervisor.<br />
The Auckland team invited Maria and some<br />
Cathay retirees to join Mark Pirihi, Country Manager<br />
New Zealand & Pacific Islands, to celebrate Maria’s<br />
incredible milestone. For more about Maria, read the<br />
September issue of CX World!<br />
Win a trip to Gatwick!<br />
Flights and hotel stay for one lucky winner<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
To celebrate the launch of our new four-times-weekly service to<br />
London Gatwick on 2 September, CX World is giving away a free twonight<br />
trip to our latest destination.<br />
The prize includes a pair of return tickets (priority 16YB) for<br />
CX343/344, together with a two-night stay at the Sofitel London<br />
Gatwick with dinners and breakfasts for two.<br />
The Sofitel London Gatwick is a luxury hotel located within the hotel<br />
perimeter, directly linked to the North Terminal and minutes away from<br />
the South Terminal by monorail. The nearby Gatwick Express rail link<br />
takes you into the heart of London in just 30 minutes.<br />
The hotel features 518 guest rooms and facilities such as a gym and<br />
business centre which are open 24 hours a day. The four-star facility<br />
features three restaurants: La Brasserie offers a modern European<br />
menu; Gatwick Oriental Restaurant features Southeast Asian cuisine;<br />
and Le Café includes a terrace for guests to relax. You can also enjoy<br />
drinks at the Kua Bar.<br />
To enter the competition, answer the question below:<br />
1. America bade goodbye to the ever-positive and helpful Patrick Lai, who has been with Cathay for the past 43<br />
years! Vice President Sales & Marketing – Americas Eric Odone also presented pins to Lisa Manning (30 years)<br />
and Timothy Remedios (35 years). 2. The San Francisco Town Office held a baby shower for Vice President<br />
Marketing – Americas, Robecta Ma (centre). 3. The Frankfurt Airport team bade Tony Sham a fond farewell. The<br />
former Country Manager Germany is moving back to Hong Kong.<br />
Q. From which terminal at Gatwick will Cathay Pacific operate?<br />
Send the correct answer by email to PNL#COM with the title “Gatwick<br />
Giveaway” no later than 5pm (HK time) on Friday, 2 September. Correct<br />
entries will go into a lucky draw and the winner will be announced on<br />
Daily News. Good luck!<br />
Brushwingers...<br />
Say hello to some of our new people at Cathay!<br />
Oliver Oscar Setchell Kwan<br />
Airport Cargo Revenue Procurement Specialist Manager<br />
Although I grew up in Hong Kong, I love<br />
the countryside and places with beautiful<br />
natural scenery. I enjoy all sorts of outdoor<br />
activities such as swimming, jogging and ball<br />
games, so I’ll be sure to check out some Cathay<br />
Club events.<br />
As a Brushwinger, I find that people in Cathay<br />
City are friendly and helpful and it’s great to be<br />
able to work with such a cheerful team. As for my<br />
role, I provide support to our outport Cargo Sales<br />
teams, to help them maximise revenue for the<br />
network!<br />
Christi Choy<br />
Safety Training Specialist<br />
Before joining Flight Operations, I was a<br />
cabin crew with Emirates Airline in Dubai.<br />
Outside of work, I enjoy watching<br />
movies, snowboarding and cooking. I’ll definitely<br />
check out the organic farm on the Cathay City<br />
rooftop when I have chance!<br />
Also, I’m glad to see there are so many animal<br />
lovers in Cathay, I have one dog and one cat<br />
and both of them were adopted. Animals are so<br />
adorable and cute!<br />
I look forward to share more moments with all of<br />
you in Cathay.<br />
Michelle Heath<br />
Project Manager – Crew Management<br />
Programme<br />
Hello everyone! I am originally from New<br />
Zealand and moved to Hong Kong at the<br />
end of last year. I am a Project Manager<br />
on the Crew Management Programme.<br />
If you visit New Zealand make sure you<br />
experience driving around parts of the country to<br />
really enjoy the stunning scenery, fresh seafood<br />
and local wines – and of course the fresh air!<br />
15
TRAVEL<br />
Authentic tour of Asia<br />
Frankfurt’s Marketing Communications Officer – Digital Sales<br />
took the roads less travelled on her recent tour around Asia<br />
By Susanne Schirm<br />
CONTRIBUTE TO<br />
DISCOVERY<br />
Our inflight magazine Discovery is now<br />
looking for staff contributors!<br />
If you have a knack for writing or if you’re an<br />
amazing photographer, write to PDTSYS with<br />
some samples of your work.<br />
Your travel wisdom will be shared with our<br />
customers across the network to help them<br />
live a Life Well Travelled!<br />
Yammer photo log...<br />
Best shots from the<br />
Share Your Moments groups<br />
Hong Kong<br />
Hong Kong<br />
Arrive in Hong Kong in the early<br />
morning? Don’t hit the hay yet!<br />
Go hiking on Dragon’s Back. The<br />
beautiful trek will wake you up! And<br />
do visit Cheung Chau and see the<br />
Mini Great Wall, and do get lost<br />
on the island and find its hidden<br />
treasures.<br />
For food, always consult a local!<br />
They know the best non-cliché<br />
Taipei<br />
places. My thanks go to Alvin Lee<br />
from the Digital Sales team who told<br />
me where to find the best hot pot.<br />
Taipei<br />
You think Taipei 101 offers the best<br />
view of Taipei? Try hiking up Elephant<br />
Hill! It’s got a birds eye view of the<br />
city, including the aforementioned<br />
skyscraper. But be warned, the hike<br />
is very steep.<br />
Cebu<br />
Now, the Shangri-La on Mactan<br />
Island. What a hotel – it’s got a<br />
brilliant garden, beautifully trimmed,<br />
and you can see many curious<br />
animals at night: huge frogs, cute<br />
lizards and little crabs. What’s more,<br />
the hotel has its own house reef<br />
and it’s accessible from the private<br />
beach just a short walk away from<br />
your bedroom!<br />
Singapore<br />
Singapore is not just about the<br />
postcard perfection of Marina<br />
Bay Sands and Orchard Road.<br />
If you want to experience the<br />
real Singapore, go to MacRitchie<br />
reservoir and enjoy pure nature and<br />
wild monkeys. Do hit Chinatown and<br />
eat authentic Singaporean food.<br />
To ease digestion, take a walk in<br />
the Chinatown night market – the<br />
atmosphere is electrifying.<br />
Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in Central<br />
Asia are well-known stops along the Silk Road. I<br />
highly recommend an exploration of this beautiful<br />
and – most importantly – peaceful part of the world.<br />
Central Asia can offer natural scenery, draw-dropping<br />
architecture and hospitable people!<br />
Jonathan Yip, Flight Purser<br />
Cebu Singapore Macau<br />
HK$500 for every tale!<br />
Courtesy of ISD, every published travel story gets a<br />
HK$500 Discover the Shop voucher*.<br />
Send your 450-word travel tale and high res images to PNL#COM.<br />
Shop at www.cathaypacific.com/dutyfree<br />
*Excludes liquor and cigarettes<br />
Macau<br />
Macau Tower offers the best view of<br />
the territory – and you’ve got to see<br />
it at night. You have to try the Macau<br />
egg tarts, which are an adaptation<br />
of the Portuguese pastel de nata.<br />
Delicious!<br />
The ancient town of Hoi An in Da Nang is a charming<br />
old seaport. The houses and infrastructure were<br />
influenced by European, Chinese and Japanese cultures<br />
and have remained untouched for centuries.<br />
This delightful town was recognised by UNESCO as<br />
a World Heritage Site in 1999.<br />
Raunak Kothari, System Analyst<br />
16