CHARM OFFENSIVE - Orient Aviation

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c o v e r s t o r yJohn Leahy, has been quoted as saying he will be surprised if CAL orEVA Air does not order the A380 superjumbo by the time the first ofthe jets is delivered in 2006.Asked to comment, Ms Tsung was careful to stress that her remarksdid not represent any commitment but added: “I could have used them(A380s) at times” on high density routes such as to Hong Kong. “Atthis point I have to wait until all the infrastructure is ready, but I willconsider when the time comes.”She was also non-committal about Boeing’s proposed sonic cruiser,which she said Boeing had “casually” mentioned to her. “If it is moreefficient, why not?”While CAL has been reported in the past to be looking for a foreigninvestor, Ms Tsung said such plans, if they existed, were not on the tableat present. “We are not looking for it because we don’t need it.”She indicated that CAL was in no particular hurry to join an airlinealliance, saying that with the airline’s present high load factors, suchan alliance might mean sacrificing some of CAL’s current yields. “Wehave a lot of partial alliances right now. Eventually, when we settledown capacity and growth, we would like to join one that would becomplementary to us.”She said she already had an alliance in mind, adding with a laugh:“But I prefer not to tell you.”Charm she may have in abundance, but there is no hiding thehard-nosed businesswoman in Ms Tsung that has helped to dissipatethe scepticism that greeted her appointment last year.Of the many innovations in style and substance she hasimplemented since taking over, she highlights a tougher policy towardsmanufacturers supplying the airline’s equipment, saying CAL managershad in the past too easily swallowed sub-standard work.“I am very sweet, very considerate, very Oriental, but I have mybottom line. I am firmer than my predecessors,” she says, possibly withdelicate understatement.Looking ahead to what she saw as a bountiful future for CAL,Ms Tsung invoked the legendary hardiness of the plum blossom thathighlights the airline’s logo.“I tell people, the more severe the weather gets, the prettier theplum blossom gets. That’s China Airlines, and we’ll get prettier. Trustme, the numbers will speak for themselves.”In the swingIn her company profile Christine Tsung listsgolf among her free time pursuits. But hergolf clubs were idle for a year until thefirst anniversary in July of her accepting theappointment as president and chief executiveofficer of China Airlines (CAL).And even when she did take time offfor a game, it was not her idea. It was herfellow managers who pressed her to relaxfollowing a whirlwind year that may haveleft Ms Tsung’s colleagues feeling it was timefor a breather as well.At least some of those colleagues hadharboured doubts about the wisdom of givingher the job as boss of Taiwan’s largest airline.After all she was a newcomer to aviationwho had spent a large portion of her careeroutside the island, and a person who in herstatement in CAL’s annual report for 2000freely acknowledged her “concerns of beingup to the task”. Moreover, she is a femalein a male-dominated environment, the firstwoman to run an international Asian airline.But a year into the job, many of thoseconcerns, both on the part of Ms Tsung andher peers, seem to have been laid to rest.“The atmosphere changed from an oldair force style to a commercial style,” said oneadmiring CAL veteran.It is also a more personal style. Staff arenow encouraged to e-mail their boss directlyinstead of being obliged to pass their thoughtsonly to their immediate superior.Away from the public spotlight MsTsungcontinues to cut a stylish figure in her raremoments of relaxation“I didn’t expect anything from this job,”said Ms Tsung, whose previous post was as aconsultant for the mass rapid transport systemin the southern city of Kaohsiung and whohad spent 13 years as a city finance directorin southern California.“But it’s been one of the most excitingyears of my life, very challenging, very rewarding.”And she has no qualms about workingwith men. On the contrary. “I enjoy everyminute of it because they give me a lot ofattention. They are not macho at all.“Personally I didn’t feel anything differentfrom any job I have had. In all the jobs I havehad I have been mostly surrounded by men.Females are more sensitive, more peopleoriented,and this is a people-oriented world,“ said Ms Tsung.Describing her work style, the presidentsaid she spends most of her time on the bigissues. “But I don’t get into the nitty-gritties.I delegate, I give people responsibility andauthority, and they are happy. People enjoyworking with me because I make the jobenjoyable.”Enjoyable, but not necessarily easygoing.Ms Tsung describes herself as happy-go-lucky,but then adds: “I don’t have any personal lifeany more, but that’s fine. My friends sendme e-mails, flowers. We may not spend somuch time doing fun things, but they are veryunderstanding.”They may have to be understandingabout Ms Tsung’s lack of time for fun thingsfor some while, as she makes clear her task atCAL is by no means complete.“I feel there is more room to improveChina Airlines,” she said.30 | Orient Aviation | September 2001
i n f l i g h tBy Jonathan SharpGrant Jeffery is not exactly a disinterestedparty when he says:“As a frequent flyer I have lost countof the number of times in the past I havedesperately needed to send an e-mail duringa long flight.”As vice-president airline programmes forSeattle-based Tenzing Communications Inc,Jeffery can be expected to be an energeticbooster of his company’s inflight productsnow being trialled or introduced on a handfulof airlines.Singapore Airlines may have been able toclaim bragging rights as the first Asian airlineto offer global e-mail and Internet serviceswith the first Tenzing-equipped flight leavingSingapore for Los Angeles on April 22.But rival Cathay Pacific Airways, whoseinterest in Tenzing includes a US$10 millioninvestment for a 10% stake in the company,is hard on its heels. It has begun rolling outthe Tenzing service with 21 aircraft due to beequipped by the end of 2001 and with thesystem installed on the entire fleet by 2003.In June, at the biennial Paris air showin France, Finnair and Varig, members likeCathay of the oneworld global alliance, announcedcommencement this year of trialsof the Tenzing system on selected aircraftin their fleets. Air Canada has conductedan extensive trial on four aircraft servingCanada-U.S. routes during the last 12 monthsand has said it will equip its entire fleet withthe Tenzing system. Virgin Atlantic Airwaysalso said it would install the Tenzing systemonboard its aircraft.The Cathay-Tenzing service would be providedfree until the end of the year. That’s thegood news. However, from January there willE-MAIL CLICKSINTO GEAR ONBOARD CATHAYE-mail on board Cathay Pacific Airways:Tenzing Communication Inc.’s e-mail andInternet system to be installed fleet-wide onthe carrier by 2003be an introductory offer in which passengerswill pay US$9.95 for a 24-hour period. Jefferysaid the amount would enable passengers tocheck an unlimited number of e-mails. ThereNicol at Tenzing helmIn August, Ed Nicol, a 25-year veteran ofthe Swire Group, who most recently hasbeen running the 11 kitchens region wide forCathay Pacific Catering Services, took over asthe new chief executive officer of TenzingCommunications Inc.Nicol successfully ran the three airlinepremium class frequent flyer programme(FFP), Passages, until the airline partners– Cathay Pacific Airways, Singapore AirlinesMalaysia Airlines – decided to set up individualFFPs three years ago.He takes up the job six months afterCathay Pacific bought 10% of the inflight e-mail and Internet company and two monthsafter Airbus Industrie bought a 30% stake inTenzing in what the parties call “a strategicpartnership”.Airbus said in a June statement that Tenzingis valued at US$148 million and it is nowthe aircraft manufacturer’s preferred supplierfor inflight e-mail and Internet solutions.The Tenzing system will charge passengersUS$4.95 for unlimited access to the titles andsenders of e-mails throughout North America,said Airbus. “Passengers would pay anotherUS50 cents or so to read or send each pageof text,” said Airbus. Travellers also will havefree access to websites, chosen by Tenzing andeach airline, as part of the service.will then be a per kilobyte charge for sendingand receiving e-mails.Users will be able to send attachments,but they may need to pay an additional feeto send and receive large attachments. Tenzingemploys a mail management system thatasks users if they wish to receive attachmentsover a certain size.Customers, who give their credit carddetails when they register for the service, aresent itemised bills. A limited – but expanding– amount of regularly refreshed Web content,which will include coverage of news, business,technology and sport, will remain free.Tenzing notes there are 40 million frequentbusiness travellers worldwide and inthe U.S. alone 2.7 million frequent businesstravellers are away from home for an averageof 98 days per year.The technologically-challenged may bedaunted by the system. Is the whole worldreally sure what USB cables are? Well, Tenzingadvises that to access the service on CathayPacific, users must have them to connect tothe onboard server.Tenzing gives the assurance that passengersrunning into hurdles during flight canmake a free call to a hotline number in Seattlefor 24-hour help to solve problems. There arealso instruction cards on board.But Jeffery said sending e-mails from30,000 feet is just like doing it at home or theoffice. The difference is that instead of themessages leaving the aircraft immediately,they are bundled so that there is a 5-15 minutetime lag before delivery. The same applies toarriving messages.Competitors, notably Boeing, have sniffedthat the Tenzing system is a limited pathfinderthat does not provide full real-time e-mailservice or full Web-surfing capability.On Cathay aircraft, the Tenzing service willbe available in first and business classes and aportion of economy class. The thinking is thatnot all economy class passengers are laptopcarriers. On the technical side, equipping allaircraft seats with the Tenzing system wouldrequire installing an extra server.32 | Orient Aviation | September 2001
Page 1 and 2: VOL. 8 NO. 10 SEPTEMBER 2001MAGAZIN
Page 3 and 4: P U B L I S H E R ’ S L E T T E R
Page 5 and 6: N E W SRegional round-upSafety rati
Page 7 and 8: N E W SBUSINESS round-upQantas resu
Page 9 and 10: m a i n s t o r yPEOPLE TRAFFICKERS
Page 11 and 12: m a i n s t o r ytors, has been awa
Page 13 and 14: n e w sBy Tom BallantyneThe convolu
Page 15 and 16: ing partner Emirates to pick-up Sri
Page 17: carrier’s inflight training centr
Page 21 and 22: S p e c i a l R e p o r tAIRPORTSTh
Page 23 and 24: s p e c i a l r e p o r tTIME FOR A
Page 25 and 26: New Zealand’s biggest airport,Auc
Page 27 and 28: By Tom BallantyneThe new owner of A
Page 29 and 30: Schiphol boost for KLIA?By Tom Ball
Page 31 and 32: a deterioration in FLF as the decli
Page 33 and 34: Monthly international PAX statistic
Page 35 and 36: AAPA monthly international statisti

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