Page 4 - AAA JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2014 Online Magazine

THE AEriAl viEw

EDITOR’S NOTE CREDITS

Intensive Caring EDITOR
JEREMY TORR
jeremy.torr@gbp.com.sg
Quite a few years back, my son got sick. He was taken into intensive care in
Barcelona, and I was left helplessly panicking on the end of a phone in Singapore. Executive Publisher & CEO
Vittorio Rossi Prudente
I made a desperate call to get a last-minute seat to Europe through SIA, Emirates, vittorio.prudente@gbp.com.sg
MAS. Nothing doing; all booked up and not sympathetic to my situation. I called COO & Marketing Director, Asia
Qantas, by this time very emotional and desperate. The booking clerk listened, Siva Sachi
asked me to wait for a few minutes. “We’ve managed to get you on a flight,” he said. siva.sachi@gbp.com.sg
He told me he had squeezed me onto a flight to Paris, and as a bonus organised a Art Director
side trip to Barcelona the same day. Standard price, no surcharge, just turn up. Arthur Chan
arthur.chan@gbp.com.sg
The standard of service they gave me was way beyond the normal call of duty, Web Director
and marked the airline out - for me - as an organisation that empowered its Elmer Valencia
elmer.valencia@gbp.com.sg
employees to be flexible if needed. Gratefully, I made it my airline of choice.
Circulation Manager
Khairul Naem
Sadly, I can’t remember the last time I flew Qantas. The airline now longer runs the khairul.naem@gbp.com.sg
Singapore-Europe flight direct; the closest is a codeshare to Helsinki, or via Dubai to ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES
Barcelona. The airline has announced the closure of its Avalon MRP plant. The last Europe, Middle East, South Africa &
financial figures were dismal; staff morale is not good and it has been downgraded South America
to junk rating by at least two agencies. What happened? CEO Joyce blames an Contact: Vittorio Rossi Prudente
Fax: +39 049 856 0792
Tel: +39 049 723 548
“uneven playing field”, unions blame greedy bosses, and passengers blame poor FF Mob: +39 335 611 9295
schemes, among other things. But the simple truth is that the ethos that drove the Email: vittorio.prudente@gbp.com.sg
airline that helped me and my son got one thing wrong: it thought it was special. ASEAN, People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong
& Australasia
Contact: Siva Sachi
Qantas, like many other flag carriers, thought it could rely on repetitively adequate Tel: +603 778 12903/2909 Fax: +603 778 12915
management and a passable business strategy because they were the darling of the Mob: +601 2905 6825
Email: siva.sachi@gbp.com.sg
whole Australian nation. Nobody would let them fail – would they? That approach
worked fine until the LCCs came to town, until the Middle East carriers took their South Asia – India, Pakistan,
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh & Nepal
expansionist approach to nearby airports, and until the new southeast Asian countries Contact: Vinod Ghansela
offered top quality MRO at better prices. Until, in other words, it was too late. MOD: +91 9810806939
Email: vinod.ghansela@gbp.com.sg
USA & Canada
The moral (OK, not a moral, merely a bit of flag-waving) about this story is not that Contact: Josh Mayer
a caring organisation will inevitably be struck down by hard-nosed competitors. It is Tel : +1 972 816-6745 Fax : +1 972 767 4442
that if any business – airline, airport, supplier – does not keep its eye on the ball, no Email : jm@mayeradvertising.com
amount of caring, empowered staff or good publicity will help it survive Unfortunately Switzerland
there are still a few of those ‘special’ airlines around. A viable airline needs more than Contact: Robert Rottmeier
Tel : +41 216 174 412 Fax : +41 216 170 921
a good self image. It often needs emergency treatment. And that can be painful. Mob : +41 792 104 466
Email : robertrottmeier@bluewin.ch
Israel
Contact: Tamir Eshel
Tel : + 972 544 508 028 / +972 989 117 92
Fax : +972 989 199 65
Email : eshel_tamir@yahoo.com
JEREMY TORR
Editor
Global Business Press Pte. Ltd.
ASIAN AIRLINES & AIRPORTS
Level 34, Centennial Tower,
3 Temasek Avenue, Singapore 039190.
Tel: +65 6549 7706 Fax : +65 6549 7011
Email : enquiry@gbp.com.sg Web : www.gbp.com.sg
ASIAN AIRLINES & AIRPORTS is a monthly publication for
professionals working in all sectors of the airline, airport and related
Correction: In the last issue, we wrote incorrectly that the Byron family industries. Opinions expressed by contributors in ASIAN AIRLINES &
AIRPORTS do not necessarily represent those of the publisher or editor.
purchased Canberra Airport. This should have read : “When the Snow family This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form in
purchased Canberra Airport some 15 years ago.” Apologies. whole or in part without the written express consent of the publishers.
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