Terminal on track for 2013 opening

A magazine for staff and friends of Cathay Pacifi c Airways

Anniversary in the air Special livery marks Dragonair’s 25 years

Dragonair

New partners for frequent � yers

Animal anticsElephants and more in Bali sanctuaries

travel

MPO benefi ts bonanza

news

Lovina shows o� her dance moves

Fancy footwork

who, what, where

Page 7 Page 10 Page 14 Page 16

PRINTED ON 100% RECYCLED PAPER

June 2010, Issue 171

Salute for service starsThe extraordinary acts of ser-

vice performed by Cathay Pa-ci� c and Dragonair sta� were shared with the rest of Hong

Kong as newspapers gave extensive cover-age to the 2010 Betsy Awards.

This year’s Betsys, held at Cathay City on 2 June, honoured 16 frontline sta� whose

stories all made im-pressive, and often

touching, reading. The Betsy stories

helped to highlight the special attention to ser-vice that’s embedded in the culture of both air-lines, with Chief Execu-tive Tony Tyler calling the winners “an inspira-tion to us all”.

• See pages 8-9

TO RUSSIAWITH LOVE

Print and online campaign in Moscow is selling Cathay Paci  c’s service ahead of July launch.

• See page 4

The 11-hectare vacant site adjacent to the cargo apron at Hong Kong In-ternational Airport will soon begin a transformation, in three years’ time becoming one of the world’s most sophisticated airfreight facilities.

Construction work on the HK$5.5 billion Cathay Paci� c Cargo Termi-

nal has already begun and cranes will begin to tower over the site from August.

The same month sees the site o� ce open, with the construction team from CX and Cathay Paci� c Services Ltd (CPSL) – the wholly owned subsidiary that will build

and operate the terminal - joining the team from the Gammon/Hip Hing consortium that won the main building contract for the project.

“The construction of the termi-nal – together with our continued investment in new freighters – un-derscores Cathay Paci� c’s long-

term commitment to the Hong Kong air cargo hub,” says Director Cargo Rupert Hogg.

Cargo Terminal Programme Man-ager Peter Lee says it’s full-steam ahead for the project with nomi-nated subcontracts for everything from electrical and mechanical � ttings to � re protection, security systems and lifts being awarded by the end of June.

“By that stage everything that can be awarded will have been awarded,” says Peter.

The contract for the key element of the terminal, the materials han-dling system (MHS), was awarded to Siemens in 2007, even before the bid to the Airport Authority was submitted.

“Essentially, the terminal is all about the MHS – the building is just to a shell to accommodate it,” says Peter.

• See page 11

2

Preparations begin for Haneda fl ightsMore central airport will provide greater convenience for travellers

The latest annual management ma-noeuvres produced a few surprises, with some signi� cant changes at Director level.

On the 9th Floor, current Director Sales & Marketing James Barrington will take up Ian Shiu’s role as Direc-tor Corporate Development as the latter moves to become a Senior Director of John Swire & Sons (HK) Ltd, with a brief covering sta� mat-ters in Hong Kong and strategic de-velopments in Mainland China.

Cargo Director Rupert Hogg will ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Produced by CX’s Corporate Communication Department

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

Publisher: C K YeungManaging Editor: Mark Tindall

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

Email: ccd#sct@cathaypaci� c.com

Tony Tyler, Chief Executive

Message from the

Chief Executive

Think back to this time last year. We were parking aircraft, cutting back services, looking from all angles to save every cent we could, and facing up to yet another external threat in the form of the swine � u outbreak. Well, the wheel has turned – thank goodness – and I’m happy to have plenty of positive things to talk about.

At Cathay Paci� c we are building our new cargo terminal, adding new services, starting a cargo joint ven-ture with our strategic partner Air China (which I’m con� dent will be formally approved soon), opening a new lounge in London (with some interesting new developments to fol-low at HKIA in the near future), and work is under way to look at our fu-ture product developments and air-craft needs. We recently announced the sale of shares in HACTL and HAECO that will help to provide the money to fund all these important developments.

Over at Dragonair the situation is equally encouraging with our sister airline winning world-class awards, celebrating 25 years of growing to become one of Hong Kong’s most respected brands, and enjoying a surge in business on the back of the Shanghai Expo and the strong Chi-nese economy.

Exciting times indeed, and un-derpinning everything we do is the special brand of service that helps to make both Cathay Paci� c and Drago-nair stand out from the pack. Service has been made the focus of a good number of our strategic action items and we are currently exploring how to take our service o� ering to the next level through the Service Lead-ership Forums which are currently under way.

But nothing can say as much about our service as the individual acts of kindness, compassion and sheer de-termination to help passengers that were highlighted in our recent Betsy Awards. The stories we heard from 16 sta� from the two airlines were ex-traordinary, ranging from helping the elderly and in� rm to sifting through aircraft waste in the hope of retriev-ing a lost wedding ring.

The Betsy Awards highlighted ev-erything that’s great about our two airlines and I’d like to send our sincere thanks to all the winners. You are an inspiration to us all!

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Performance Index

59.2%

84.1%Within 15 minsIndustry standard

on-the-dot CX standard

On-time performance

Passengers carried 2,183,623 12.0%

Passenger load factor 81.3% 5.5pt

ASKs (000) 9,618,587 2.8%

Freight carried 158,600 30.0%

Cargo load factor 79.1% 10.9pt

ATKs (000) 2,046,038 11.5%* Figures for May 2010

Traffi c/capacity (CX + KA)*

take up the Director Sales & Mar-keting role and his shoes will be � lled by current Director Flight Op-erations Nick Rhodes.

Taking over from Nick will be current General Manager Aircrew Richard Hall.

On the IT side, Director Informa-tion Management Ed Nicol is retir-ing after 35 years with the Swire group and stepping into the role is the current General Manager IMT Tomasz Smaczny.

The following changes were an-

nounced at General Manager/De-partment Head level:• Ronald Lam – GM Information

Management • Angus Barclay – General Man-

ager Europe • Arnold Cheng – General Man-

ager International A� airs • Sten Kroutil – General Manager

Aircrew • James Woodrow – General Man-

ager Cargo Sales & Marketing • Clarence Tai – General Manager

Sales & Distribution

ON TRACK: Haneda’s international terminal opens on 21 October.

• Steve Tunstall – Head of Corpo-rate Risk Management

• Alex McGowan – Head of Prod-uct (retitled)Meanwhile, two current General

Managers will be moving away from Cathay Paci� c.

GM Europe Philippe de Gen-tile-Williams is heading to CPCS as Chief Executive O¤ cer while GM Corporate Risk Management Philippe Lacamp becomes Head of Sustainable Development for Swire in Hong Kong.

James Barrington Ian ShiuEd Nicol Nick Rhodes Richard Hall Rupert Hogg Tomasz Smaczny

Changes at the top in latest manoeuvres

Cathay Paci� c is back on track to � y to an airport it previously oper-ated to more than 50 years ago.

The airline announced last month it will launch a twice-daily service to Tokyo’s Haneda – an airport it last � ew into in 1958 before switching to Narita.

The new international terminal at HND is on track for completion on 21 October with CX and a number of other major carriers commenc-ing � ights from 31 October.

Haneda is very convenient for access to central Tokyo with an e¤ cient monorail service whisk-ing passengers to and from Ham-mamatsucho station, close to the heart of the city, in just 20 minutes.

“For those travelling on business, this represents huge time and cost savings in comparison to Narita,” says Country Manager Japan Si-mon Large, citing the wide range

of domestic connecting � ights into and out of Haneda as another ad-vantage.

The Tokyo team is now getting ready for the move to a double operation from Haneda and Narita airports.

The port’s Town O¤ ce will move to a new location close to Ham-mamatsucho station in August and the team will set up a small o¤ ce in Haneda airport itself and begin the process of recruiting a ground-handling team.

“We will have two � ights a day – likely a morning and afternoon turnaround – with a lot of front-end business, so we need to man-age this properly,” says Simon.

“Some of the passenger-han-dling team are likely to be recruited from our Narita operations, so they will have a lot of previous CX expe-rience.”

The cargo business will be rela-tively small so this will almost entirely be handled by the Narita team.

Engineers will likely have to work across both Narita and Haneda at the outset, “but we’ll review this af-ter we start up,” says Simon.

“Finding the most e� ective model to balance e¤ ciency with-out in any way compromising safety and service in two major airports in one city is an unusual situation,” he adds.

“We’ll be working hard to make sure we get it right.”

3

HACTL, HAECO share sales to fund future investments

n New profit share schemeChief Executive Tony Tyler an-nounced a new profit-sharing scheme for staff last month that will be effective from 2010 through to 2012.

“This is an important step for the company because it gives us the opportunity to share the fruits of our success with the people who help make it happen – the whole team,” he said in a message to staff.

The principle and policy of the new scheme remain much the same as before, though there have been some changes in the formula and some of the terms used. Full details can be found at Policy Online on IntraCX.

n Fuel surcharge upPassenger fuel surcharge Increases of around 19.5% for short-haul services and 20.7% for long-haul services were approved by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department last month, rising to HK$110 and HK$524 respectively.

n More awards for CXAnother clutch of awards came the airline’s way in recent months, including one of Hong Kong’s top environmental honours.

CX took the Silver Award in the Sectoral Awards – Transport and Logistics at the 2009 Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (HKAEE). The airline received the Bronze Award the previous year.

Other awards to come CX’s way included the Best Transpa-cific Airline honour in the annual Skytrax Awards, winning in the Airline Category and receiving a Top 3 Emotive Brand Award in the Yahoo! Emotive Brand Awards 2009-2010, and an Outstanding Brand Award from the Economic Digest.

n Board changeMerlin Swire was appointed a Non-Executive Director of Cathay Pacific with effect from 1 June.

He replaces Robert Woods, who resigned due to a reassign-ment of work duties within John Swire & Sons Limited, of which he is a Director.

Merlin is a Director and shareholder of John Swire & Sons Limited and Swire Pacific Limited and a HAECO Director.

Briefs

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

people from schools or community organisations visited Cathay City on tours in 2009

6,214

Around the world ... in 44.5 hours!New freighter service to feature first CX transatlantic crossingMonths of preparation went into putting together a groundbreaking new freighter flight – a round-the-world service that will offer cargo customers an even wider choice.

The twice-weekly service will launch on 9 July and will fly from Hong Kong to Chicago, Amsterdam and Dubai before returning to the home hub.

Including a tech stop at Anchor-age and ground time in each city, the flight is expected to take 44.5 hours using a Boeing 747-400 freighter.

The flight is an extension of Ca-thay Pacific’s existing service to Chi-

First ‘Dash 8’ takes shape This picture from the Boeing plant in Seattle shows that Cathay Pacific is one significant step closer to taking its freighter fleet to a new level.

The shot shows B-LAJ, the first of 10 new-generation Boeing 747-8Fs which will be delivered over a two-year period starting January 2011.

The aircraft moved into the final assembly stage in late May and is expected to roll out of the factory in the second week of July to go into the paint shop.

It will then spend approximately one month on the flight line being completed and tested.

FAA certification of the -8F is expected to run through to December when the first aircraft will be delivered to Cargolux.

The new freighter will be 5.6 metres longer than the 747-400F and have a maximum payload of 140 tonnes and a range of 8,130 km.

The advanced design will offer a number of environmental benefits and lower operating economics.

cago, which it currently serves with eight flights per week.

Cargo Manager, Midwest USA Doug Wahl says the Chicago team is excited about the new service, as is the North American market.

“We are now bringing Asia, Europe and the Middle East closer to Chica-go than another other single carrier operating out of O’Hare,” he says.

The flight from Chicago to Amster-dam marks the first time for Cathay Pacific to ever operate a transatlan-tic service, with most of the freighter space expected to be taken up by shipments from Chicago to Dubai.

Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing Vivian Lo says the new flight is a per-fect example of commercial merits matching with operational needs.

“The round-the-world operation gives us an ideal opportunity to cap-ture high-yield shipments on a much less competitive routing. This means we can fully utilise the value of our return capacity, while taking advan-tage of the operational benefits of flying ‘with the wind’,” says Vivian.

Line Operations began its prepa-rations for the new Chicago to Am-sterdam sector in March. Aircraft navigation databases have already

been updated and new Jeppesen charts ordered.

North Atlantic airspace is very busy and the North Atlantic Orga-nized Track System imposes plan-ning restrictions to regulate traffic, says Bill Seymour, Deputy Manager Line Operations.

“The NAT Tracks system imposes many procedural requirements so Line Operations is preparing brief-ing materials to assist crews in un-derstanding the requirements, “he says. “Work is ongoing but we are confident of being ready for the first flight.”

Cathay Pacific has entered into agreements to sell its entire stakes in two subsidiaries in a move that will help to fund future investments and boost the airline’s working capi-tal.

On 25 May, CX and Swire Pacific both announced they would sell their entire interests – 10% and 19.998% respectively – in Hong

Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (HACTL) and HACTL Investment Holdings Limited (HIHL).

Through the sale of its assets in HACTL – valued at HK$640 million – Cathay Pacific fulfils an undertak-ing made to the Airport Authority Hong Kong in March 2008 when it was awarded, through its subsidiary Cathay Pacific Services Limited, the

franchise for the new cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport (see story on page 1).

On 7 June, the airline entered into an agreement to sell its 15% stake in Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (HAECO) to Swire Pacific – a transaction which will net a profit of around HK$1,829 million.

Chief Operating Officer John Slo-

sar said proceeds from the HAECO sale would help fund investments ranging from new aircraft and the cargo terminal to enhancements in products and services.

At the same time, Cathay Pacific remains HAECO’s biggest customer “and our longstanding operational relationship will remain unchanged,” John said.

4

Moscow getting readyStaff onboard, promotional ads running for latest service launch

Cathay Paci� c is an international airline and I love to travel.

Noel Chan

I am looking forward to exploring the world – I would love to travel to Europe.

Merry Luk

CX is an interna-tional company with a good reputation and I like to have a job that is away from the o� ce.

Dewey Hung

I love to travel and I love to help people. I think this job will provide an op-portunity to help passengers.

Joyce Lee

I like working in customer service and the dynamic aviation � eld. I hope to gain some passenger handling skills.

Denise Lo

I am looking forward to meeting people from di� erent countries and learning about customer service and safety.

Teddy Tam

New cabin crew inductees tell us what

they hope to gain from their Cathay

Pacifi c careerCathay Paci� c ads have appeared all over Moscow as the Russia team gets ready for the 13 July service launch.

New faces have also appeared in the Moscow Town O� ce with Julia Borodovskaya joining as Chief Ac-countant alongside new Personnel & Admin Executive Natalia Nevero-va, while Katya Bykova has joined as Airport Services Manager.

Country Manager Russia Patrick Garrett says they are working closely with the GSA sta� , including Sales & Marketing Manager Elena Pyatikop who is leading a team of three sales executives.

“We also have ground handling sta� and the sta� of a supervision company at the airport who will be wearing the Cathay Paci� c uniform,” Patrick says.

An inaugural airport ceremony is being planned for 13 July in Mos-cow with a gala event being held later in the year.

The ads that have appeared throughout Moscow highlight the promotional fares, with the � rst print ads appearing on 21 May with online banners following on 24 May.

“A temporary Cathaypaci� c.com site in Russian has also been created with basic information about the new service,” says Marketing Man-ager Grace Cheung.

“In May-June, the ads will con-centrate on the promotional pack-ages and from July onwards we will switch to the brand phase.

“This will concentrate on telling the customer who we are, highlight-ing the Cathay Paci� c service,” Grace adds.

Cathay Paci� c Holidays is o� er-ing a two-day three-night City Chic package to Moscow as well as two special private guided tours.

The � ve-day, three-night Mos-cow Private Guided tour is available from 13 July to 30 December and in-cludes visits to key tourist spots with an English-speaking tour guide.

The other private guided tour takes customers on a three-day tour of Moscow and a four-day tour of St Petersburg.

EXCITEMENT BUILDING: Patrick Garrett and the Moscow team (above) are preparing for the July launch with print ads and a Russian CX website.

A new era of online staff travel beckonsThe introduction of the new Passenger Services System (see page 11) is going to bring a wholesale change to sta� travel procedures in both Cathay Pa-ci� c and Dragonair.

Once PSS comes online all processes for sta� travel – from ticketing to listing and check-in – will go on-line and be available 24/7, and there will no longer be separate processes for Hong Kong and outports.

A number of developments have already taken place, with registration and check-in for sta� travel in HKG and outports now widely in use.

The latest change – adjusted boarding priorities for CX and KA – was introduced with e� ect from 7 June.

Previously the priorities for Cathay Paci� c sta� trav-ellers was 26/27 for Cathay Paci� c � ights and 28 for Dragonair � ights, but now both airlines are aligned at 26/27.

Coming soon with be the introduction of e-ticket-ing with more oneworld partners and other interline carriers.

“With all the changes coming in the next 18 months or so, we’re encouraging all sta� to get used to a new way of doing things,” says Employee Services Manager Bob Nipperess, pictured right with the sta� travel au-tomation project team.

New amenity kits brighten up Business ClassBusiness Class passengers are now enjoying the products from two leading US skin care companies – Murad and Dermalogica – contained in new trendy designs by renowned French fashion brand agnès b.

The female bag comes in red or black and features the iconic Ei� el Tower, while the male signature bag comes in black with either the

brand’s stylish lizard logo or the signature “b.” symbol.

For � ights departing Hong Kong, the travel kits contain skincare prod-ucts from Dermalogica.

These include the Multi Vitamin Power Firm for eyes and lips and the Pure Night treatment cream.

Kits on � ights to Hong Kong will continue to carry skincare products

from top-selling clinical skincare range Murad.

The products include the Pome-granate Lip Protector SPF 15 for dehydrated lips and Pomegranate Body Lotion.

The female kits have been avail-able onboard since mid-May while the male travel kits have been avail-able since June.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

5

■ Infl ight sales recordIn� ight sales reached a new high in April, beating the previous monthly record set in December 2009.

Sales showed a 35.5% year-on-year growth in April, driven by a customer-oriented merchandising strategy.

■ Mexicana code-shareHot on the heels of the code-share launch to Santiago with LAN, CX has teamed up with another oneworld partner to add more new destinations.

With e� ect from 14 June, pas-sengers will be able to � y to two cities in Mexico – Mexico City and Guadalajara – under a new code-share with Mexicana Airlines.

The arrangement will be e� ec-tive between the two Mexican cit-ies and San Francisco, Los Angeles and Vancouver.

Briefs

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

89■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Leadership forums providing valuable feedback for future action

Service in the spotlight Gathering together 1,100 In� ight Service Managers and Airport Ser-vice Managers from around the network in a series of forums over a six-month period is a mammoth undertaking.

But it is one General Manager In-� ight Services Charlie Stewart-Cox thinks is worthwhile as the Service Leadership Forums are key to mov-ing forward with two service strat-egy projects.

Although the projects – ensuring service sta� know what the CX brand stands for and senior management taking ownership for and commit-ment to service delivery – are from di� erent strategic insights, they are really two sides of the same coin.

“Rather than have two projects which would end up bumping into each other because they overlap, we decided it was easier just to bring it all into one.

“They are both about service cul-

ture from the top down, both about people understand-ing what the service proposition is, where it has come from and how we support our teams to deliver it,” Charlie says.

The � rst Service Lead-ership Forum was held on 18 May and a total of 25 will be held by mid-October.

A major aspect is the attendance of directors and senior managers, in-cluding Chief Operating O� cer John Slosar and Director Service Delivery Ivan Chu, at as many of the forums as possible.

“We not only give presentations but also take part in the discussions and really get involved,” Charlie says.

The forums begin with John and Ivan talking to sta� on key initiatives such as the service delivery strategic direction.

staff have received a Betsy Award since the reward programme started in 2005.

Obituary – Stuart Barton

Colleagues were saddened to hear of the death of Stuart Barton last month. He passed away in the UK on 16 May following a battle with lung disease.

Stuart – or Stu, as he was more commonly called – came to Hong Kong in 1990 and joined Drago-nair Engineering as a “� ying span-ner” on the B737-200.

He moved across to CX Engi-neering in 1991, joining as a Maintenance Control Engineer and later becoming IOC Mainte-nance Support Manager with the move to CLK.

He retired from the company in 2008 and took up a short-term position with TAECO in Xiamen.

Dennis Hui, Manager Main-tenance Support says Stu was a “vastly experienced” engineer.

“He de¤ ned the standard in Maintenance Control, and his drive and attention to detail was an inspiration to the sta� he led,” says Dennis.

“He lived and breathed Cathay Paci¤ c and will be greatly missed.”

“We also have detailed discussions about two

important strategy actions – getting customer informa-tion to frontline sta� and proactive

service recovery,” Charlie says. The presentations

are deliberately interac-tive to allow sta� to provide

their input. “Rather than just saying ‘this is

what we want, now implement it’, we want to know whether there are other areas that need work and what they need to make the project work successfully,” Charlie says.

Charlie says the initial feedback was about wanting more time for sta� participation and building a module for the ground-air interface.

“In the � rst forum, while we had airport leaders and ISMs together, it

was clear we had not given enough time to building understanding and discussing the issues on the ground and in the air,” Charlie says.

“So we built a new module for a ground-air discussion which is now about two hours long. It’s proved to be very successful and useful and gives sta� a chance to raise issues and ask about processes,” he adds.

After the � nal forum, the top is-sues will be identi� ed for future ac-tion.

“We’ll be able to categorise the key areas that we can work on and discuss how we make things better,” Charlie says.

ISM-speci� c forums are also on the drawing board.

“It’s not often they get to sit around and discuss issues, skills and learning with their peers. We want to give them a chance to compare notes on how they tackle problems when they arise,” Charlie says.

HK$5 million boost for earthquake reliefSta� from the Cathay Paci¤ c Group generously donated around HK$1 million to aid the victims of the Qinghai earthquake which hit the western China province on 14 April.

Passengers on Cathay Paci¤ c and Dragonair � ights from 23 April to 7 May were also asked to contribute via the UNICEF Change for Good in� ight fundraising programme. Around HK$1.5 million was collected through in� ight donations.

Sta� donations were matched by Cathay Paci¤ c Group while the Swire Group Charitable Trust matched the passenger contribution, boosting the total donation amount to HK$5 million.

On 27 May, Director Corporate A� airs Quince Chong visited the Hong Kong UNICEF o ̈ ce to present the cheque to representatives from the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF.

Quince thanked sta� and passengers for their generous support. “We are pleased to be able to support UNICEF’s important work to provide relief to those living in earthquake-a� ected areas,” she said.

ture from the top down, both about people understand-

ership Forum was held on 18 May and a total of 25 will

“We also have detailed discussions about two

important strategy actions – getting

service recovery,” Charlie says. The presentations

are deliberately interac-tive to allow sta� to provide

Staff from around network honoured at airport awards

HELPING HAND: Quince Chong (left) presented the cheque to (from left) Chairman of the Regular Fundraising Committee Corina Wong, Council Member Dr Maggie Koong and Chief Executive Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF Irene Chan.

Twenty seven airport sta� from HKIA and outports were honoured on 1 June at an award ceremony to recognise their customer service excellence.

This is the second time AHQ and HKIA have held a joint sta� recognition event with HKIA presenting 13 Outstanding Sta� Awards and AHQ recognising 14 Service Excellence Award winners from six outports.

General Manager Airports Peter Langslow kicked o� the event with a welcome speech before being joined on stage by Director Service Delivery Ivan Chu and General Manager HKIA Algernon Yau to toast the winners.

Director Personnel William Chau and Dragonair CEO James Tong were also there to help present the awards and thank sta� for their outstanding performance.

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

6

Service withheart

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

■

Letters to the Editor

“I took CX162 from Sydney to Hong Kong and unfortunately I lost my laptop at Sydney airport after I passed the x-ray scan-ning. This was terrible as the laptop is my company’s property and many important documents were stored on it.

I did not realise I had lost it until after the plane took off and I reported the loss to Senior Purser Karena Ho who informed the Cathay Pacifi c op-eration centre.

I was quite depressed throughout the 10-hour fl ight but the crew members were constantly kind and thoughtful to me.

Once we landed in Hong Kong, Karena took me through the ar-rival hall and explained the prob-lem to Baggage Services Offi cer David Tang, who took me through the procedure to help me get the laptop back if it was found in Sydney.

To my surprise, only one day later, I was informed by David that the laptop had been found and was already in Hong Kong air-port. It is unbelievable for me to get it back after only two days.

I was so touched by the great support and fantastic effi ciency of the staff, and would like to express my appreciation espe-cially to Karena and David.”

unless there are reasons for the mileage being rejected.

These could include the mem-bership number not being prop-erly quoted at the time of reserva-tion, a name mismatch between the membership card and the ticket name, or the fare not being eligible for mileage.

Family discount?I was asked by a relative looking to purchase tickets to Paris for a group of 16 people whether I could get a discounted fare.

I contacted the sta� discount fare hotline, “Firecracker”, and the price was almost 1.5 times the cost quoted by the travel agent.

Why can’t sta� buy discounted tickets for friends and relatives?

With more than 12,000 sta� around the world that’s a lot of business for the airline.

Alwin Chow, FOP

Bob Nipperess, Employee Ser-vices Manager, replies: Cathay Paci� c makes discounted tickets available to its employees and their nominees. These discounts vary from standby to bookable tickets with prices and availabil-ity driven by overall commercial activity.

On the matter of Firecracker fares, these special bookable fares o� er the certainty of book-ing and refund without penalty and are set at levels which enable us to o� er reasonable availability to employees and their friends and relations.

Another increasing trend is for airlines to o� er the lowest fares direct to customers online.Seat availability for these fares is generally in short supply and the prices o� ered usually means these tickets carry restrictions on refunds and rebooking.

We are able to o� er these spe-cial prices because we are deal-ing with the customer direct with online booking and payment.

That’s why the terms and pric-ing is cheaper than using more traditional outlets like travel agents.

I should add that the sta� trav-el scheme is designed to provide opportunities for our sta� and their family and friends to travel at discounted prices. It is not de-signed to o� er group discounts to other passengers.

Language needsCathay Paci� c is increasingly car-rying more Putonghua-speaking passengers who may not fully un-derstand Cantonese or English.

Other public transport systems and our sister airline Dragonair make announcements in English,

Miles to gainI discovered that the miles I have earned from travelling on partner airlines are not updated automat-ically in my Asia Miles account.

Can the process be simpli� ed?Name withheld

Steve Rackstraw, CPLP Man-ager Member Services, replies: Cathay Paci� c and Dragonair mileage is updated into mem-bers’ accounts automatically but it takes longer to credit mileage earned from partner airlines be-cause there is no direct system link between CX and our partner airlines.

As soon as we receive mem-bers’ travel records from partners we immediately update their ac-counts with the relevant mileage

Cantonese and Putonghua. Are there any plans to make in-

� ight announcements in all three languages and make this a stan-dard for all � ights?

Also, CX’s in� ight announce-ments tend to be inconsistent – in some cases only English an-nouncements are made in� ight.

Name withheld

Pom Komutanont, Manager In� ight Services Development & Standards, replies: Cathay Paci� c’s passenger announce-ment language requirements are based on the “Customer Proposi-tion De� nition” as set out by the Product Department.

It is our policy that English and Cantonese announcements are made on all � ights with addition-al languages on speci� c routes only. This is based on passen-ger demographics on particular routes. For example, Putonghua would be the third language on the Hong Kong-Taipei service.

The number of mandatory an-nouncements are also kept to a minimum to ensure interruptions to passengers are minimised.

Speci� c details on the policy and guidelines for its implemen-tation can be found in the Cabin Crew Policy Manual.

Call number clarifi cationRegarding the article in May CX World (“Emergency mode”), if the MPO Service Centre only handled 2,900 calls during a major service disruption, then CX would really have something to worry about. Not enough loyal customers for a start!

In fact, 2,900 “outbound calls” were made by 11 services execu-tives during the eight-day vol-canic ash disruption period.

On top of this, the team was also busy handling the huge number of inbound calls.

Steve RackstrawManager Member Services, CPLP

Send us your feedbackWe welcome feedback from anyone in the CX network on any issue a� ecting the airline or the industry. Please email your letters to CCD#SCT. Not all letters will be published but those that are will be edited for length and to comply with the CX World style.

The sender of the star letter each month will win 3,000 Asia Miles. The Feedback page is sponsored by Asia’s leading travel reward programme.

Jerry Tam, Building & Facilities Manager, replies: We have spo-ken with the catering operator and a series of environmental ac-tivities has been planned for the second quarter of the year.

These include using recyclable containers and introducing an in-centive scheme to encourage us-ers to bring their own containers.

Boxed inWhile Cathay Paci� c proudly promotes its environmental activities, many sta� still use polyfoam boxes for takeaway food from The Galley at Cathay City, especially during breakfast time.

Would it be possible to ask the operator of The Galley to o� er a more environmentally friendly option? Or could the charge for the boxes be in-creased from HK$1 to HK$5 with a donation to an appropri-ate environment group?

This would also hopefully in-crease the motivation for sta� to use their own lunchboxes.

Name withheld

Boxed in

Star letter

A passenger travelling on CX162 from Sydney to Hong Long praised cabin crew and baggage handling staff for the help they gave when he lost his laptop.

The online pollLast month we asked: “Which IntraCX search function do you use the most?” You answered:

0 10 20 30 40

Content search

People search

Both content and people search

I have never used either search function

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

“Sheila was working at the staff standby counter. She watched us waiting for several Taipei fl ights and then, completely un-prompted, she came over to us and said that she had watched us waiting for fi ve hours.

She offered to book us on the next fl ight which would allow us to take the kids out of the airport for a few hours. That was real SSFTH. It was much appreciated by us and the kids!”

A passenger travelling on CX470 from Hong Kong to Taipei on 6 April expressed his appreciation to Custom-er Services Offi cer Sheila Chan for the help she gave him and his family.

With more than 12,000 sta� around the world that’s a lot of business for the airline.

Bob Nipperess, Employee Ser-vices Manager, replies:Paci� c makes discounted tickets available to its employees and their nominees. These discounts vary from standby to bookable

While Cathay Paci� c proudly promotes its environmental activities, many sta� still use

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Anniversary dragon fl ying highThe most exciting aspect of Dragonair’s 25th anni-versary celebrations was unveiled to the world on 10 June with a special golden dragon curling along one of its aircraft.

The unveiling of KA’s anniversary livery, which features on an Airbus A330-300, was hosted by Dragonair Chairman Tony Tyler and Chief Executive Officer James Tong with Financial Secretary John Tsang as officiating guest.

More than 200 guests including government of-ficials, aviation and travel trade partners as well as local and overseas media attended the special oc-casion.

In his welcome speech Tony highlighted the growth Dragonair has experienced over the past quarter century.

“Dragonair has developed to become one of the most recognised brands in Hong Kong with a strong network of 29 destinations in Mainland Chi-na and Asia,” Tony said.

“Dragonair is a young, dynamic airline that has already come a long way, and I believe we have a very exciting future ahead of us,” he added.

The livery design features a 36-metre golden dragon stretching along the length of the fuselage with elaborate Chinese calligraphy that reflects KA’s connections with Hong Kong and its aspira-tions to fly high in the future.

The anniversary livery features 10 dragons in total and also carries the new “Brand Hong Kong” logo.

KA staff and families were later invited to have a firsthand look at the gleaming aircraft.

Passengers put airline among world’s bestDragonair was named the World’s Best Regional Air-line at the 2010 World Airline Awards by Skytrax, the � rst time for the category to be included in the annual event.

CEO James Tong was on hand in Hamburg to receive the award on 20 May from Skytrax Chairman Edward Plaisted, and he paid tribute to the dedication of the Dragonair team.

“I am delighted to receive this award on behalf of all the sta� at Dragonair without whose hard work and commitment this award would not have been possible,” James says.

The Skytrax awards are the largest and most re-spected independent awards for the airline industry. Winners are decided based on questionnaires � lled out by passengers and more than 17.9 million air travellers from over 100 di� erent nationalities took part in the 10 month survey, between July 2009 and April 2010.

Dragonair received the Skytrax award for Best Airline – China for six consecutive years from 2002 to 2007 and was named Best Regional Airline – Southeast Asia in 2008.

A few familiar faces will be on stage at the Dragonair 25th anniversary sta� party in Au-gust, when local band Soul Traders entertain the crowd.

Manager Line Operations Jonathan Rebbeck will be playing the saxophone for the eight-man band while fellow pilot Captain Vladimir Mikic will be on keyboards.

The band was formed about a year ago and performs a mix of soul, latin, R&B and jazz styles.

“I have been playing musical instruments since I was a child, mainly the clarinet and saxo-phone,” Jonathan says.

A professional musician be-fore embarking on an avia-tion career, Jonathan’s work includes TV and radion work with the BBC, being a saxo-phonist with the Halle Orchestra and playing with the Apollo Saxo-phone Quartet with whom he won the 1992 Tokyo Interna-tional Cham-ber Mu-sic Com-petition.

phonist with the Halle Orchestra and playing with the Apollo Saxo-phone Quartet with whom he won the 1992

Soul manKA PEOPLE

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

DRAGON’S DEN: Dignitaries with the A330 featuring Dragonair’s special 25th anniversary livery.

8

Annual awards once again highlight the extra mile taken by staff to help passengers

Winners go beyond the call of duty

Airport Services Manager Karin Brady, ADLKarin had just � nished her duties in the terminal when she was approached by a passenger asking for help, as another passenger had fallen over in the airport lift.

The injured passenger was quite dazed and in pain, so Karin contacted the Adelaide

Airport Authority and arranged for a wheelchair and an ambulance. She also contacted the passenger’s husband.

When the ambulance arrived, Karin briefed the medics on what had hap-pened and, over the next few days,

followed up with the couple to check on the passenger’s progress.

Customer Services Offi cer Rainer Schickel, FRAUpon arrival at Frankfurt airport, a passenger reported a missing bag and Rainer helped him make a Property Irregularity Report.

After the passenger had left the coun-ter, the missing bag was found at the baggage belt and Rainer carried it to the station and tracked down the passenger.

On another occasion, a passenger was missing his bag when he arrived in Frankfurt in the middle of winter. Rainer o� ered his own coat to the passenger to allow him to travel home in comfort.

Customer Services Offi cer Paulry Tam, HKIAThe day before a family left for holiday they discovered their daughter’s passport would expire in four months.

The Immigration Department and the Thai Consulate were both unable to help them, so the couple left for the airport without their

daughter.When they arrived at the check-in

counter, Paulry took down the details of the girl’s passport and started calling

various parties, including the Thai Consulate, to ask for their help

Eventually the little girl was allowed to travel to Bangkok with

her very happy parents.

Customer Sales Offi cers Flora Wong and Sara Yeung, HKOAn elderly passenger took three hours to get from her home to the Hong Kong Ticketing O� ce. By the time she arrived the o� ce was closed but Flora and Sara welcomed her and helped to book her � ight to Singapore.

An hour later, Flora found the same cus-tomer wandering lost in a shopping mall.

She escorted her to the train station and made sure she knew how to get home.

The 10 Cathay Paci� c sta� winners were from In� ight Services, Airport teams around the network and, for the � rst time, Hong Kong O� ce.

Every story was remarkable in terms of the e� ort required, from clearing up visa and passport problems for anxious pas-sengers, to helping a customer � nd her way home and even volunteering to go through the waste area to look for a pas-senger’s wedding ring.

The top winner was Senior Purser Sonal Sud who was recognised for the help she gave an elderly couple who needed urgent medical attention.

As the couple only spoke Hindi, Sonal acted as translator and accompanied them to the hospital. She then went out of her

way to make sure they were comfortable and cared for as well as calling the family in San Francisco to keep them updated.

When the couple was cleared to � y again, she met them at the airport with some snacks for their journey.

As a � nal touch, she then contacted the operating crew to ensure they were given special handling during their � ight.

“CX has given me so much and opened many doors for me. I want to give my best to passengers too,” Sonal says.

In recognition of their service excellence, all the winners received a Betsy gold pin and certi� cate.

They will also have the opportunity to take part in a delivery � ight or UNICEF-or-ganised � eld trip.

The 6th annual Betsy Awards Presentation Ceremony held at Cathay City on 2 June was very much a family a� air as sta� and family members gathered to honour 16 frontline colleagues from Cathay Paci� c and Dragonair for their service excellence.

Chief Executive Tony Tyler kicked o� the ceremony and reiterated the importance of good service in sustaining the airlines’ busi-nesses. He also praised the Betsy winners for being an inspiration to colleagues.

“Our winners took immense pride in de-livering the highest standards of service to our passengers,” Tony said.

“They have shown how little it takes just to walk that extra mile, and what they have done speaks volumes about themselves and the airlines,” he added.

Customer Services Supervisor Andrew Yang, KA ShanghaiAndrew was approached by an Australian passport holder who had been denied land-ing because he didn’t have the right visa to enter China.

Andrew took the passenger to the visa o� ce and recalled that passengers had previously applied for a landing visa with a supporting invitation letter from a local institution. He called various organisations as well as the passenger’s local friends and colleagues and eventually was able to get the passenger a visa.

He assisted the passenger to contact the travel agent in Australia to rebook his � ight, contacted the baggage services agent to retrieve the luggage then escorted the passenger to the taxi stand to go to his hotel.

Chief Purser Ivis Lai, KA ISDIvis was informed a passenger’s iPhone had been left at the security check point at Beijing. She took the passenger’s information and started trying to � nd the phone.

When the aircraft landed in Hong Kong, Ivis called the Beijing o� ce and requested the local ground sta� to assist.

The passenger’s phone was found and � own to Hong Kong on the next � ight and returned to the owner.

Chief Purser Charmaine Ho and Senior Purser May Chan, KA ISDA full glass of red wine was accidently spilled onto a Business Class passenger who was wearing a white out� t.

May gave the passenger her own overnight garment to wear while she took the out� t away, but unfortu-nately was not able to clean it.

The passenger was transiting to

Baggage Services Offi cer Chu Ming-keung, HKIAA passenger dropped his wedding ring into the toilet and went to the Baggage Enquiry Desk for assistance. When MK heard about the situa-tion, he drove to the waste area with HAECO sta� to locate the ring.

They had to identify the location of the waste and then use bamboo sticks to go through the waste in what was a very unpleasant working environment

The search continued for an hour but the group did not have any luck in locating the ring. Even so, the pas-senger appreciated the e� ort involved in helping him.

Customer Services Supervisor Julie Lei, SFOWhen a � ight was cancelled and hotel accommodation was arranged for passengers, one disabled passenger opted to remain at the airport to wait for the connecting � ight.

As it was late, no support sta� were available from the wheelchair vendor. Julie remained with the passenger, providing him with food and bever-ages and a blanket from the aircraft to make his wait more comfortable.

Julie worked over 16 hours to ensure all the customers were looked after. She then sent a message down-line to all ports to ensure the disabled passenger was taken care of and as-sisted during his transit in Hong Kong and Manila.

9

Annual awards once again highlight the extra mile taken by staff to help passengers

Winners go beyond the call of duty

Flight Purser Pearl Murzello and Senior Purser Neisha Sequeira, ISDA passenger put her handbag, which contained cash, her passport and important documents, in the overhead locker during her � ight from Dubai to Mumbai. But upon arrival she discovered

the bag was missing. Pearl and Neisha noticed the bag

had been taken by the lady sitting beside the passenger and informed

her. They then ran around the

airport, covering the immigra-tion area and toilets to try to � nd the thief and eventually the

stolen bag was recovered.

KA WINNERS: (from left) Stanley Wong, Ivis Lai, Charmaine Ho, May Chan, Annie Hui and Andrew Yang.

Helping kids polish their

English skills Since late 2007, the CX Volunteers have been helping students practice their English-speaking skills as part of the English on Air programme.

English on Air was launched with the aim of helping local students improve their conversational English and, at the same time, inspire them to forge a career within the dynamic aviation industry in Hong Kong.

Over the past three years, more than 1,100 secondary school students have been invited to meet and chat with pilots and staff volunteers at Cathay City. All seven secondary schools in Tung Chung have already benefi ted from English on Air.

The programme has grown to include activity days which allows students to tour Cathay City while taking part in a fun orientation game, and mock interview sessions for soon-to-graduate students to practice their interview skills. About 30 students will attend the next mock interview session on 26 June.

A regular column highlighting the airline’s commitment

to the community

Cathay Pacif iccares

Australia and was now unable to wear her out� t. Charmaine and May raced over to a clothing store at Hong Kong airport and bought clothes

for the passenger for her to change into before her � ight to Australia left.

Flight Purser Stanley Wong, KA ISDA passenger noticed his carry-on luggage was stolen during disembarkation in Hong Kong. Stanley remembered a suspicious drunken passenger opening and closing the nearby over-head locker and got permission to try and locate him.

The suspect was found at the immigration counter and a nearby team of policemen were called over to apprehend the suspect. Stanley was also commended by the police for his ac-tions that day.

Chief Purser Annie Hui, KA ISDWhen a � ight was delayed in Beijing due to a snow storm, the passengers were left inside the aircraft for almost eight hours. Despite the stress, Annie and her team remained calm and displayed the upmost professionalism.

Annie also took the time to look after an unaccompanied minor who was emotional over what was happening on board and contacted his father to talk to him.

When the � ight arrived in Hong Kong, Annie o� ered to chaperone the child home but

when she reached the baggage carousel, he was gone.

She contacted the father in Beijing to ensure his safety and con� rmed the child

had been picked up by relatives.

Customer Services Supervisor Andrew Yang, KA ShanghaiAndrew was approached by an Australian passport holder who had been denied land-ing because he didn’t have the right visa to enter China.

Andrew took the passenger to the visa o� ce and recalled that passengers had previously applied for a landing visa with a supporting invitation letter from a local institution. He called various organisations as well as the passenger’s local friends and colleagues and eventually was able to get the passenger a visa.

He assisted the passenger to contact the travel agent in Australia to rebook his � ight, contacted the baggage services agent to retrieve the luggage then escorted the passenger to the taxi stand to go to his hotel.

Chief Purser Ivis Lai, KA ISDIvis was informed a passenger’s iPhone had been left at the security check point at Beijing. She took the passenger’s information and started trying to � nd the phone.

When the aircraft landed in Hong Kong, Ivis called the Beijing o� ce and requested the local ground sta� to assist.

The passenger’s phone was found and � own to Hong Kong on the next � ight and returned to the owner.

Chief Purser Charmaine Ho and Senior Purser May Chan, KA ISDA full glass of red wine was accidently spilled onto a Business Class passenger who was wearing a white out� t.

May gave the passenger her own overnight garment to wear while she took the out� t away, but unfortu-nately was not able to clean it.

The passenger was transiting to

10

China focus for new adsA series of new Asia Miles online ban-ner ads was launched mid-May target-ing frequent leisure and business � yers in Shanghai, Beijing and the Pearl River Delta.

The aim of the campaign is to in-crease Asia Miles membership and build awareness of the frequent � yer programme concept which is still in the developmental stage in China.

“The Internet is an integral part of our target market’s daily life with re-markable audience and usage growth,”

StudioCX makes ‘Best of Asia’ listTime magazine’s annual guide to Asia’s “best experiences for mind, body and soul” had a special entry this year – Cathay Paci� c’s in� ight entertainment system, StudioCX.

Touted as the “best way to keep your sanity in Economy Class”, the reviewer travelled with his two-year-old daughter and man-aged to keep her amused thanks to the multitude of entertainment onboard.

“When it comes to keeping us both amused I have discovered an airborne helpmate better than any narcotic – and its name is StudioCX, the in-� ight entertainment system of Cathay Paci� c,” he wrote.

The reviewer praised the 100 movies, 350 TV shows, 888 CDs, 70 games and 22 radio channels which are available in nine languages from English to Hindi to Tagalog, as well as having the ability to “speak toddler.”

New lifestyle category enhances luxury rewards

More benefi ts with new MPO partners

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

says CPLP Marketing Communications Manager Grace Poon.

“This makes it a great medium to build brand awareness and customer interaction. It is also more cost e� ec-tive and the return on investment can be quanti� ed with conversions and en-gagement,” she adds

To complement the online banner ads, extensive Asia Miles branding can also be seen at the Shanghai Mag-lev train station which connects pas-sengers from Shanghai city centre to

Pudong International Airport. Various light boxes, pillar wraps and

hanging boards carry the Asia Miles message, and later on an Asia Miles counter will be set up to help recruit new members.

A brand awareness campaign was also launched in Hong Kong and Tai-wan.

In Hong Kong, where Asia Miles brand awareness is higher, the key message is lifestyle oriented and fo-cused on activation and engagement.

“When it comes to keeping us both amused I have discovered an airborne

, the in-� ight

July opening for new Heathrow loungeWork is progressing well on Ca-thay Paci� c’s new First and Busi-ness Class lounge at London Heathrow, scheduled to open its doors to passengers in late July.

At 923 square metres the lounge – located in the central concourse of Terminal 3 – is some 20% bigger than the cur-rent lounge.

The new facility will also boast signi� cantly more seats: 49 First Class, versus the current 31, and 136 Business Class seats compared to 82.

Another big plus is the intro-duction of the iconic Noodle Bar, currently only available to those travelling out of Hong

Kong and Taipei.“The new lounge will be a

step change in terms of our of-fering to premium passengers � ying out of London,” says Vickie Yue, Product Manager, Ground.

“In addition to more space and features such as the Noodle Bar, the lounge will also ben-e� t from a big window space, in both classes, with views over the apron.”

As with all other new outport lounges, the design concept mirrors The Pier in Hong Kong.

The Product team is current-ly working on upgrading the lounge’s food and beverage, with an a la carte menu for FCL passengers.

In the � rst major change in over a decade, the Marco Polo Club has overhauled its partnership bene� ts.

Since the MPO Club launched almost 40 years ago, bene� ts have progres-sively expanded.

Member bene� ts cover three distinct areas – those o� ered when members � y on Cathay Paci� c and Drag-onair; those o� ered when � ying on oneworld partner airlines; and those o� ered by partners of the Marco Polo Club.

Marco Polo Club Manager Katie Rowen answered CX World’s questions about the changes to the programme, all of which were implemented on 1 June.

What prompted the relaunch of the Marco Polo Club partnership pro-gramme? For the past 10 years, MPO partnership bene� ts have mainly been limited to two categories: hotel and car rental.

We saw an opportunity to expand our partnership bene� ts so that MPOs can get even more out of their mem-bership.

What are the improvements after the relaunch? The number of partners has increased from 12 to 25 and the bene� ts o� ered by hotel and car rental partners have been enhanced.

A new partnership category, Life-style, has also been added. Within this category is dining, featuring six Hong Kong-based Michelin-star restaurants; travel and leisure, with additional ben-

e� ts being o� ered by Cathay Holidays; spa, with bene� ts from CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La; luxury brands, featuring Salvatore Ferragamo; retail, which fea-tures bene� ts from Cathay Paci� c and Dragonair in� ight sales and Ponti Wine Cellars; and professional services, with bene� ts from Regus and Travelex.

These new partners are o� ering some very exclusive bene� ts to mem-bers, depending on their tier, which I hope they will be excited about.

As Asia Miles is already made up of various categories, what is the dif-ference between the two clubs?They are very di� erent.

Marco Polo Club members are Ca-thay Paci� c’s and Dragonair’s most fre-quent � yers. They are signi� cant reve-nue contributors to the airline and are therefore o� ered the most exclusive bene� ts and services available.

Asia Miles is all about earning miles and, simply put, the more members use Asia Miles partners – 400 in nine categories – the more miles they can earn.

Asia Miles rewards are tangible and quan-titative whereas Marco Polo Club bene� ts are all about services, bene� ts and recognition.

What kind of new ben-e� ts can MPOs enjoy after the relaunch?Partner hotels are of-fering members some amazing bene� ts such as complimentary room up-grades, complimentary health facilities and com-plimentary breakfast.

Car rental partners Avis and Hertz are also o� ering many bene� ts, such as two-class car upgrades for Diamond members.

In the new Lifestyle category, Cathay Holidays is o� ering a complimentary limousine service for Gold and above members and several restaurants, such as T’ang Court at the Langham Hong Kong, are o� ering complimentary wine and dessert to higher-tiered members.

And Salvatore Ferragamo is o� ering many exclusive bene� ts to Diamond members such as a private scarf acces-sorising session in Hong Kong.

Besides the new partners being add-ed in June, are there plans to pro-gressively add more partners? Yes. We will review our partnerships on an annual basis but our priority is to ensure partners are high quality and o� er bene� ts either on a regional basis, so MPOs around the world can bene� t when they travel or stay at home, or have a strong presence in Hong Kong to ensure our members enjoy their time here.

Countdown to PSS underwayNew systems to provide a solid platform for building passenger businessIn less than 18 months’ time, the biggest-ever system change at Cathay Paci� c and Dragonair is set to take place.

CUPID will become a thing of the past in November 2011, and an overnight switch will see all CX and KA reservation and inventory agents in Hong Kong begin using the new passenger services systems (PSS).

The CUPAC check-in system will then be progressively replaced in CX/KA ports and the entire PSS implementa-tion is expected to be complete by August 2012.

General Manager PSS Richard Reed says the new sys-tems will provide the two airlines with a solid platform on which to build the passenger side of the business.

“It’s a large task ahead of us because we have to get the systems ready for the business – and the business ready for the systems,” says Richard.

“We need to understand and test the new processes, and learn and practice the new systems.

“Making bookings, issuing tickets and checking peo-ple in are key to what we do as a business, so we have no choice but to make sure the cutover is a success,” he says.

Cargo terminal ready to go in 2013• From page 1

As the terminal footprint is actually relatively small – only 70% of the 11 hectares will be used initially – Peter says that a state-of-the-art MHS is required to ensure the seven-level facility can meet its target capacity of 2.6 million tonnes per annum.

“The highly automated MHS will include an innovative multiple-level elevated transfer vehicle (ETV) to help us ensure a fast and con-tinuous � ow of cargo between di� erent levels,” Peter explains.

“New operations procedures are being de-

DID YOU KNOW? PSS FAST FACTS

PSS will consume more than 1,000 man-years internally and externally.

The project includes upgrading over 100 interfaces that connect between CUPID / CUPAC and 30 existing CX systems.

The PSS programme is divided into 37 detailed plans managed by di� erent teams.

The team reviewed more than 2,000 pages of screen designs in developing the new reservation user interface.

More than 1.9m e-tickets, 1.5m passenger name records and 4m frequent � yer pro� les will need to go into the new system in very short timeframe.

For the rollout in ports, network bandwidth will need to be upgraded for 200 remote sites with PSS deployed on around 4,000 desktop computers across the network.

Over 11,000 sta� will be trained to use the new systems, with 446 trainers being trained to conduct 400 training classes in HKG and 600 classes in outports.

signed to ensure maximum e® ciency, and at the terminal/ramp interface we’ll work with HAS to develop a ‘just in time’ operation with no in-termediate handover area.”

Environmental features of the new terminal will include an advanced waste management system, natural lighting to save energy, and cladding that will help to regulate the tempera-ture inside the building.

As construction gets into gear, Peter says Ca-thay Paci� c is expanding its operations and the IT teams.

Both will soon move across to a new o® ce in Dragonair House.

12

Rome gains strength from Milan launch

The start of the Milan service on 28 March has paid divi-dends for the Rome service with Cathay Paci� c’s overall position in Italy being boosted.

“Load factors ex-Rome remain among the highest in the system,” says Country Manager Italy Chris Daniells.

“Milan and Rome have very di� erent yet complemen-tary revenue streams. Passengers based in Northern

Italy are used to choosing European hubs for their � ights to Asia and the new Milan

operation gives Cathay Paci� c a competitive ad-

vantage.“We were very encour-

aged to see the response in the � rst few months of op-

eration and for the months ahead,” he adds.

With two ports in Italy now online, Chris says passengers

are showing their willingness to visit more cities around the country.

“For business, passengers choose one port or another but leisure travellers are willing to visit at least two or three cities in Italy, similar to what happened to Hong Kong and China.”

Chris says Rome and southern Italy in general o� er a lot of opportunities in the corporate � eld with many institu-tions and ministries based in Rome.

“Rome, as well as Milan, should see a lot of summer traf-� c from non-Italian passengers,” he says.

“For the Italian passengers, we will continue to push both � ights via fares when applicable – but always, from both ports, giving our message of 11 � ights a week from Italy to Hong Kong and beyond.

”Italy remains a very competitive market where many foreign carriers have increased their frequencies or start-ed new services.

“Our strength is the product, the network and a highly experienced team, combined with competitive fares, which gives us a strong edge,” Chris says.

NEWS FOCUS

CAPITAL GAINS: The Rome Sales team (above) keeps up the momentum with special deals issued through the CX website in Italy (top).

IND

IAPA

KIS

TAN

In support of Breakfast for Learn-ing, the Vancouver team delivered a healthy breakfast to 80 students at a Richmond school last month.

Prepared by the airline’s Catering team, the volunteers dished up a breakfast to students at William Cook Elementary, helping them be-gin their day with proper nutrition.

Vice President Canada Alex Shum says: “Many sta� live and work in Richmond and the Greater Vancou-ver area, so an opportunity to give back to those communities as well as reinforce the message of adapt-ing a healthy lifestyle and educating young people is of great importance to us.”

The Vancouver team hosted the annual Million Dollar Award Dinner for its agents on 28 April. Each year, the recipients receive a limited-edition watercolour print of various CX aircraft. This year’s award, the third in the collection, was the Electra L188.

The inspiration behind the event is for the team to present a di� erent item that will appreciate in value over time. “These paintings are precious, unique and appreciate like � ne art”, says President of Flight Centre North America Greg Dixon.

Agents are divided into three award categories – gold, silver and bronze with the gold award winners exceeding US$4 million in net � own revenue within a calendar year.

Pictured from left are: Sales Manager Western Canada Chris Vanden Hooven, Vice President Canada Alex Shum, CFO Flight Centre North America Martin Bussell, Greg Dixon and Sales Executive Vancouver Marks Johannus.

CAN

AD

A

Teeing offThe Karachi team sponsored the one-day Japanese Community Golf Tourna-ment in April.

Participants included sta� from Japa-nese companies in Pakistan

including Indus Motors, Suzuki, Hino Motors, Toyota and the Somitumo Corpora-tion.

The winner was Nachiko Miimi (left), wife of the president of YKK.

It was a fun event which was enjoyed by all in spite of having to play on a hot day.

CAN

AD

A

Boracay outing for Indian winners

Healthy start to the day

Award is worth a million

The 2009 All India Agents’ Award Function was held in Manila and Boracay from 18-21 March with 40 agents from all four Indian ports.

The Boracay event had cocktails and dinner be-ing served beachside with the guests treated to a local � re dance show.

The awards night was held in Manila on 20 March with General Manager Middle East, India, Africa & Pakistan Tom Wright and Sales & Marketing Man-ager Rakesh Raicar presenting awards to the top performing agents from all regions.

It was a colourful evening with an entertainment show which kept the audience amused.

13

Two years into his employment with CX and the only thing Dubai’s Marketing O� cer Cli� ord Rasquinha can say is: “It’s rocking!”

Formerly in the IT industry, Cli� ord admits there was a steep learning curve when he joined the airline.

“There’s so much happening and every aspect is a chal-lenge,” he explains.

Cli� ord currently deals with all marketing, customer rela-tions and loyalty activities in CX Dubai and says trying to keep everyone happy is sometimes a challenge.

“I’ve learnt it’s important to hear both sides of the story,” he says.

“Calling up an irate passenger makes a big di� erence and half their anger goes when you ask them to relate their complaint,” he says, adding he always gets great sup-port from colleagues.

In his spare time Cli� ord loves to dive – a sport he picked up only a year ago.

He’s aware of the damage being done to nature and wants to see as much as he can now before it’s all ruined.

“Working for CX is de� nite-ly the best platform for this

sport,” he smiles.

Loving the job

PORT PEOPLE

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Houston’s Cargo Sales & Service Agent Joyce Fleming is � nally taking time out to smell the roses.

She recently bought one-and-a-half acres of land outside the city and made a home there with her two-year-old dog Roulette to keep her company.

The idea started last summer when she visited a friend living in the country and learned a nearby property was for sale.

“The area was so peaceful. I walked around and fell in love with it. The next day, I bought it all!” says Joyce, who enjoys sitting and relaxing on the deck listening to the sounds of nature.

“I can’t wait to get home every evening and all it takes is a 30-minute drive,” she adds.

An active angler, Joyce used go deep-sea � shing in the Atlantic Ocean every week back in New York. Since moving to Texas she has taken up Gulf � shing.

“It’s not the same, although many Texans would di� er with me on that point,” says Joyce.

The cargo veteran had over 20 years of experience in the freighter industry when she joined CX, and she hopes to bring her knowledge and expertise to help the airline be the best in Houston.

“Joining CX has been a wonderful experience. After all these years in the business, it amazes me how much more there is to learn. I’m looking forward to a long career here,” says Joyce.

Home sweet home

RELATING: Clifford’s people skills keep passengers happy.

On the trail in Japan CX Japan has taken part in the Oxfam Trailwalker event in Tokyo since it was launched. This year, three CX teams made up of staff from around the country, including General Manager Japan Simon Large, participated.

The event, held from 23-25 April, saw teams trekking a 100-kilometre trail through bush terrain and up and down mountains before finally finishing up at Lake Yamanaka.

Out of the 181 teams, just 80 finished the trail with all four members, one of which was a CX team.

Sales blitz goes fl at out

JAPA

NIN

DIA

FRA

NCE

TAIW

AN

Wedding bliss thanks to Paris team

The Delhi Sales team criss-crossed the city in May to highlight the Cathay Paci� c Business Class product to travel agent partners.

Apart from talking about the Business Class product in particular, the � at bed, roll-up banners were displayed and the team distributed brochures, pamphlets and CDs to agents.

There were plenty of gifts for managers and frontline sta� to celebrate the occasion and empha-sise the luxurious Business Class experience now available on the Delhi route.

Drive keeps the blood pumping

The service disruptions caused by the volcanic ash in Europe threw the wedding plans of an engaged couple in disarray when the groom’s parents were unable to � y to Hong Kong from Paris.

While the wedding was able to be postponed until 30 April, they still faced the problem of getting 10 family members over from France.

Thanks to the e� orts of Online Marketing Coordinator Bea-trice Ettedgui, � ve of the original 10 passengers reached Hong Kong in time.

The groom’s father sent a message to thank her. “We are grateful to CX that they managed to � nd a solution for the parents. Thanks to CX France for their kindness and profession-alism,” he wrote.

The Taiwan team has been busy over the past few months organising several events including a blood drive on 30 April.

The annual event was so well received that it will be held twice a year from now on. Pictured left participating in the donation drive are Cargo Sales Executives James Lin, Leo Liu and Johnny Lu.

The Taipei team also assisted in helping transport 155 handicap students to visit the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai and the Expo mascot designer, Wu Yong Chien, visited the CX o© ce on 7 May to thank General Manager Taiwan & Korea Adrian Harley for the airline’s help.

Adrian also hosted an event in May to thank top-tier frequent � yers for their support. A Northern Italian wine dinner was held to promote the recently launched Milan service, with well-known wine consultant and writer John Isacs introducing several di� erent wines from the Milan region to the group. Adrian also presented some gifts to long-time MPOs (pictured above left).

Finally on 4-5 May, 70 awards were pre-sented to long-serving sta� at TaoYuan Airport and Taipei (pictured left). Adrian thanked them for their dedication and hard work.

COUNTRY GIRL: Joyce enjoys the peaceful sounds of nature in her new home.

HKIA’s dancing queen

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

14

Matt Bowden,Assistant

to GM HKIA

1. You went on the Change for Good trip to Ethiopia this year – what did it teach you? That happiness is not necessarily dependent on material wealth and that we shouldn’t confuse our “needs” with our “wants”.

2. You studied Chinese – may we ask why? Chinese history, culture and geography interested me from a young age.

3. You’ve lived in Beijing and Xiamen – which is better? For those looking for a culturally rich, laidback place with a nice cli-mate and great people, Xiamen’s di� cult to beat!

4. What brought you into the Swire/CX fold? An interest in the company and its history, a deep respect for the people it employs, and the long-term adventure that a career with the company involves.

5. What was your most inter-esting job before joining Swire? Working as an industrial cleaner in a steel mill in Rotherham.

6. You represented Britain at swimming and water polo – what is it with you and water? Perhaps I’m lower down the evo-lutionary chain and closer to our ocean-dwelling ancestors.

7. What is your biggest vice (that’s printable)? Pressing the over-used snooze button on my alarm clock.

8. Name three things you miss about the UK Wensleydale cheese, real ale and the Lake District.

9. And three things you love about being in AsiaThe pace of change, learning new languages and being surprised every day.

10. You have a ton of hob-bies/interests – what gives you the biggest buzz? Stumbling upon stunning land-scapes that have yet to be discov-ered by the tourism industry or airline planning departments.

Oneminute with...

TRIUMPHANT SMILES: Dragon Boat teams celebrate at the Lamma 500 event (above), while one of the mixed teams showcases their winning form on the water (top).

Dragon Boat teams fi nd winning waysThe Cathay Paci� c Dragon Boat teams had a victorious time in May, being crowned champion in two races.

On 9 May, the team won the Mixed Bowl � nal at Deep Water Bay and equalled that on 16 May with vic-tory in the Mixed Plate Final in the Lamma 500 Dragon Boat Festival.

Dragon Boat organiser Stanley Tam says about 60 sta� from de-partments across CX and KA make up the teams.

“We normally send four teams to every event – two mixed teams, one men’s team and one female team,” says Stanley.

“The new joiners have from 10-15 lessons to build up their skills and � tness, while more experienced members practice for 15-20 lessons to polish their skills and enhance their power and endurance,” Stanley says.

The teams train regularly every Wednesday and Saturday from March to August.

After a great start to the year, the teams will be racing again in June.

Races will be held in Mui Wo on 13 June before the main event of the year on 16 June at Discovery Bay to mark the Tuen Ng festival.

“I expect the teams to perform even better in the upcoming events. In particular, we are hoping that both the mixed teams will get a good result in the Discovery Bay races,” Stanley says.

After a 13-year break, HKIA Cus-tomer Services O� cer Lovina Chan-driramani is dancing again.

She made her debut at the APT/AHQ annual dinner in March and was a big hit with her colleagues.

The performance came as a su-prise as none of them knew she could dance – and neither did she tell anyone she was planning to ap-pear. When she came on stage in her � owing out� t, jaws dropped.

“Everyone was shocked. They had no idea at all,” says Lovina, who is still amused by everyone’s reaction.

The Indian native moved to Hong Kong with her parents when she was two. Thanks to her mother, who is a classical Indian dancer herself, Lovina was enrolled in classes at the tender age of four.

“Dance training got tougher as I grew older but I love every-thing about the art. Everything is conveyed through your facial expression and body move-ments,” she says.

For her performance, Lovina se-lected an up-tempo dance num-ber from a well-known Indian movie set between 1920 and 1940.

She then rehearsed for up to three hours a day for about a week to prepare for her show.

“After such a long break, my knees actually hurt during that in-tensive training period,” says Lovina.

But the pain was well worth it as her performance was extremely well received by the appreciative crowd.

POETRY IN MOTION: Lovina shows some of her dance moves.

Up for the Challenge again!Golfers from CX, Dragonair and CPCS, together with a few invited friends, assembled early on 22 May for the third CX World Golf Challenge, held at the Nine Eagles Golf Club adjacent to HKIA.

Forty players headed out onto the airport links with representatives from a wide range of operational and commercial teams – and even one outport sta� .

The sky was thick with ominous-looking, low-hanging dark clouds, but the rain held o� until the players were back in the clubhouse for a slap-up Thai lunch.

The scorecards were tallied by the Nine Eagles team and at the end of the day the top honours went to recent joiner Mark McDonald (IMT), who burned up the course with a gross score of 62, while Priya Menon (ECX) topped the women players with an 85.

As usual, the CX World team pulled together a great selection of prizes for the event, with Jack George from CX Paris taking the lucky draw prize of a gol� ng holiday for two in Xiamen, generously donated by Cathay Holidays.

Organiser Mark Tindall thanked all the other prize sponsors, including Asia Miles, the Kowloon Shangri-La, the Marriott SkyCity hotel, Swire Hotels’ East, the Novotel Citygate, CPCS, Director Personnel William Chau, the CX Marketing and Cargo departments, and Nine Eagles Golf Club.

TOP SWINGERS: Mark McDonald and Priya Me-non ended the event on a triumphant note.

CHINESE CHEERS: Cabin crew connoisseurs join wine guru Roy Moorfi eld at the Opened Bottle Club dinner at Yung Kee restaurant.

FOOTBALL FAREWELL: JNB’s Brian Tlale

received 2010 World Cup souvenirs as a

goodbye gift.

HOME AND AWAY: Cabin crew are welcomed at the new crew hotel in Kuala Lumpur – the Sunway Pyramid Tower.

EXPO OUTING: Sam Swire checked out

the China Pavilion at the World Expo in

Shanghai.

JUST BLOOMING: The Chongqing

team enjoy an outing to a brassica

rapa fi eld.

The ISD mixed football team was in winning form on 5 June, defeating a team from CLP 2-0 in a friendly match.

Played as part of the CEO CLP Fun Day, the teams were cheered on by family and friends who gathered on the sidelines of the Man On Shan Sports Ground.

Director Corporate A� airs Quince Chong was on hand to do a � ag exchange with CLP COO Paul Poon before the match started (top).

Mixed team takes honours

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

The QuizThe winner of our � rst prize this month will receive two nights at The Chedi, Chiang Mai.

A member of the GHM Luxury Hotels and Resorts Group, the hotel is located on the banks of the Mae Ping River within walking distance of the famous night markets.

Each of the 84 rooms has a private courtyard entrance and

an open balcony with garden or river views. Dining options include The Restaurant which serves tradi-

tional Northern Thai specialties and is housed in a served in a split-level colonial house. The Terrace Bar and Lounge is located directly above and serves a range of cocktails and snacks.

The Spa at The Chedi has 10 treatment rooms and suites as well as a manicure/pedicure parlour. The spa menu includes a range of massages, body scrubs, wraps, herbal baths, facials and waxing.

Find out more at www.ghmhotels.com

The second prize winner will receive a two-piece Vinum – Chardonnary set from Riedel Crystal.

The glasses are designed for wines that exhibit lower levels of acidity and a higher alcohol con-tent to set o� the wine’s rich ¤ avours, including Chablis, Pinot Girgio, Viognier and Chardonnay.

Riedel Crystal started in 1756 in Bohemia and has been a family-owned business for 11 genera-tions. It is regarded as a leading international crystal brand.

In 1958, Professor Claus Josef Riedel discov-ered that the shape and size of a wine glass can alter an individual’s perception of alcoholic beverages and became

the � rst person to design the shape of the glass speci� cally according to the character of the wine.

Go to www.riedel.com for more information.

The winner of our � rst prize this month will receive two nights at The Chedi, Chiang Mai.

Luxury Hotels and Resorts Group, the hotel is located Group, the hotel is located on the banks of the Mae Ping River within walking distance of the famous night markets.

private courtyard entrance and an open balcony with garden or river views.

Dining options include The Restaurant which serves tradi-tional Northern Thai specialties and is housed in a served in a split-level

WALKING TALL: Gareth Watkins, Dave Howgego, Steve

Chadwick and Bob Nipperess on their way to Melbourne

for an Oxfam Trailwalker event.

CREATURE COMFORTS: Camilla Taylor meets a tasier, the world’s smallest monkey, during a Bohol break.

BIRTHDAY WISHES: The team celebrate the second anniversary of the LAX Cabin Crew Base.

SO LONG AND FARWELL: The Engineering team in India at a farewell lunch for Jamie Collins (top) while the Bombay Reservations & Ticketing team say goodbye to James Thomas who retired after 28 years witih CX (above).

16

San Francisco’s Adminis-trative Assistant Marika Alexander fell in love with the animals in Bali

Pachyderms at play

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

Travel bites

■ Smooth sailing to QingdaoDragonair Holidays is o� ering

a City Chic package to the Chinese coastal city of Qingdao.

The three-day, two-night packages are priced from HK$2,299 and travellers visiting on a Saturday or Sunday can enjoy a half-day tour to Zhanqiao pier and the old town food street of Pi Chai Yuen.

More information on Travel Desk.

■ A feast of fi lm Film bu� s will be spoiled for choice in June with both Shanghai and Beijing hosting international � lm festivals.

Until 20 June, the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) will be held at various venues throughout the city.

A highlight will be an international � lm panorama featuring the best of world cin-ema. More information at www.si� .com

Over in Beijing, the New Beijing Interna-tional Movie Festival runs until 30 June.

The festival programme includes work-shops, forums and seminars for visitors as well as talks from guest directors and producers.

More at www.beijing� lmfest.org/

This month’s photo contribution comes from Flight Attendant Surasak Netrapra-jag who visited an active geyser area in Iceland.

“Getting there is easy from Reykjavik but we drove from the southern point of Iceland, so it took nearly six hours to get there,” he says.

Surasak says there are three geysers in the area but only one is still active. It erupts every six to 20 minutes and shoots up from three to 20 metres.

“The weather was great the day we went and there were a few little paths marked with rope and stones,” he says.

“But you have to be careful to stay behind the ropes because the steam that comes out of the craters can reach 100 degrees Celsius,” Surasak adds.

Snap happy

MONKEYING AROUND: One of the resi-dents of the Elephant Safari Park (top); and (right and above) the monkeys at the Ubud sanctuary jostle for food.

HK$500 for a travel tale!Every month, CX World invites all CX sta� to tell unusual, interesting or just downright quirky tales of travel moments around the world.

Sponsored by In¤ ight Sales, the lucky sender of the main story receives HK$500 worth of in¤ ight sales products of their choice from the ever-changing collection of over 260 items on o� er (excluding liquor and cigarettes).

Go shopping at www.cathaypaci� c.com/dutyfreecathaypaci� c.com/dutyfree

For any animal lover, a visit to Bali’s Elephant Safari Park is a must. The Sumatran elephant is the � fth most endangered ani-mal in the world, and this park has rescued 27 since its open-ing in 2000. Even more encouraging, three babies were born in captivity in one year.

After a 30-minute ride through the jungle, we were able to interact with the elephants by feeding and petting them, and standing still while an elephant dropped a wreath of � owers around our necks.

Several times a day they put on a talent show to showcase the elephants’ intelligence and strength. Some of their talents include shooting baskets, kicking soccer balls into goals, do-ing simple addition and even painting! Elephants can only see grey so the trainers hand them brushes pre-dipped in colours.

We were so enthralled by the elephants’ talents that we did not notice that actress Julia Roberts and her kids were watch-ing the show with us.

Afterwards we enjoyed a delicious Balinese bu� et lunch in their pavilion restaurant which overlooks the lush grounds and enjoyed the sights of elephants walking, bathing, and eating all around us.

The Elephant Park is only 20 minutes away from Ubud, which is considered the music, dance, and � ne arts centre of Bali. In one day you can visit the elephants, shop, explore Ubud and visit the Monkey Sanctuary where there are around 350 long-tailed macaques which are mischievous and playful.

If you buy bananas, potatoes or peanuts you will soon � nd yourself surrounded on all sides by hungry monkeys.

We were lucky to visit Ubud on the � rst day of Galungan, a major Balinese holiday that occurs every 210 days and lasts for 10 days. While the women were busy preparing o� erings for the temples, the men installed and decorated long bamboo poles that adorned the entrance to the family compound.

Everyone was in a festive mood and dressed in their holiday � nest – even the statues were wearing sarongs!