Face to Face: Anna Thompson, General Manager, Southeast Asia – Cathay Pacific Airways
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
1) 2008 has been a very difficult year for the aviation industry. Do you see the current situation continuing into 2009, and how strong a position is Cathay in to meet these challenges?
We are facing the biggest challenge since SARS in 2003 and it is certainly an extremely tough environment for the aviation industry as a whole. With the initial challenge posed by fuel costs in the first half of the year, we are now entering an era of weakening demand in travel. Perhaps one consolation currently is that fuel prices, while still volatile, are now heading the right direction.
One thing we can be very proud of at Cathay Pacific is the team spirit that helped us through the previous crisis. With a great network and a great brand, we are in a better position than most of our competitors. It is important to continue to offer excellent customer service to strengthen our customer loyalty, and develop Hong Kong International Airport as a super hub that offers the best connections. For example, we just opened our new premium lounge “The Arrival” in Hong Kong last month. The outlook may look uncertain for now, however we are confident in the long-term future of Cathay Pacific.
2) To what extent are Cathay Pacific’s fortunes becoming intertwined with the booming Chinese economy?
China’s economy is inevitably affected in the midst of current global financial crisis. However, she is able to sustain a reasonable growth through her domestic economy alone. The huge population and booming middle class present a lot of potential for growth in the long run.
Dragonair became a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific in September 2006. The integration with Dragonair has enabled us to greatly enhance our Group network in China and we have started to realise the excellent synergies gained between the two airlines. Now Dragonair is serving more than 21 destinations in China and it is vital that we continue to strengthen Hong Kong as a premier hub to offer our passengers best connections between China and the rest of the world.
3) What are we likely to see from Cathay Pacific in the coming months?
We need to be vigilant in response to the ups and downs of the market. How we deploy our current and incoming new aircraft, and manage our network becomes particularly crucial. We will continue to find all possible ways to maximise the revenue-earning potential and at the same time keep our non-customer facing costs down.
On the cost side, our fuel surcharges have decreased, when the oil prices dipped. But still, our fuel surcharges are unable to keep pace with the increases earlier, so it is a challenge for us to reconcile this area. We believe our commitment to the new fuel-efficient aircraft will help ease the burden on fuel costs in the long run.
4) Any development in Southeast Asia?
We are always looking at potential opportunities to expand our flights in the region. We are launching the seventh daily flight to Singapore on 10 November this year, which will mean we offer the most flights on this route, with 49 flights weekly. Our sister airline Dragonair launched a new daily flight to Hanoi on 26 October while a Dragonair service to Manila is also in the pipeline.
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