CHINA: Air China Cargo Bans Shark Fin Transportation

Air China Cargo has become the first mainland carrier to ban the transport of shark fin, dealing another blow to the international trade.

The carrier, which is part of Air China and responsible for cargo shipment on freight planes and the airline’s commercial aircraft, did not specify when the policy change would take effect.

Some 36 airlines have now joined the ban globally.

In a statement posted on its website on Friday, the cargo company said it was committed to playing a bigger role in global sustainability.

“We understand the community’s desire to promote responsible and sustainable marine sourcing practices, and this remains important to Air China Cargo’s overall sustainable development goals,” the statement read.

“Therefore, on the issue of shark fin, we reiterate our ‘No Shark Fin’ carriage policy.”

[Pressure has been growing on carriers to impose the ban on the trade, even though shark’s fin soup is a popular traditional Chinese dish. Photo: Sam Tsang]

Last year, budget carrier HK Express became the first local carrier to implement a ban, followed in recent months by Cathay Pacific and Dragonair.

Other major airlines observing the ban include British Airways, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and American Airlines.

Also in July, mainland China’s biggest shipping and ­logistics company, China Ocean Shipping Company (Cosco Shipping), pledged a total ban on shark fin transportation.

The shipping giant is the fourth-largest container operator in the world with a 7.7 per cent market share.

Alex Hofford, a wildlife activist from conservation group WildAid, said Air China’s action to save sharks would be far-reaching.

“Scientists estimate that fins from up to 73 million sharks a year are used for shark’s fin soup, with much of the trade in shark fin destined for China,” he said.

“Air China’s ‘No Shark Fin’ commitment is therefore hugely significant because, despite government efforts, China [including Hong Kong] is a country where significant demand for shark’s fin soup still exists.

“It’s a bold move and this is likely to have a huge and lasting impact on shark populations and marine ecosystems worldwide,” he added.

Hofford said full enforcement of the ban by airlines and shipping lines was vital to ensure its effectiveness in protecting shark populations.

He urged vigilance against deliberate mislabelling of shark fin cargo to stop people from circumventing the ban.

Focus has now turned to mainland China’s other major airlines, especially one of the biggest global carriers by revenue – China Southern Airlines. The company is based in Guangzhou, an area singled out as a major shark fin trading hub, WildAid said.

According to the group, research suggested that Chinese consumption of shark fin fell by 50 to 70 per cent in recent years.

HONG KONG: Passengers Kept Awake And Hungry At Hong Kong International Airport

A combination of military drills and bad weather in eastern China left thousands of passengers headed for Shanghai and nearby cities stranded at Hong Kong International Airport for more than 12 hours.

At least 13 flights scheduled for Shanghai Pudong International Airport from 10.55am were still grounded at the airport by 9pm. Passengers with Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Hong Kong Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Juneyao Airlines, and Spring Airlines were affected.

No flights departed for Shanghai Pudong International Airport from Hong Kong after 10am because of a combination of air traffic restrictions over eastern China caused by a military drill in the morning and rainy weather in the afternoon, according to airport ground staff.

Zhang Jun, a Dragonair passenger who was having his 50th birthday, was one of many passengers who had been waiting since 4pm. “My biggest birthday wish is to leave now,” he said, standing next to the airline’s counter as it was besieged by angry passengers.

Zhang said he is a frequent traveller to Shanghai but has never seen delays of this kind.

“I have lots of experience with delays on the mainland caused by air traffic control. What I cannot accept is being given new departure times every two hours. If there is no departure time, tell us there is no time.”

A Cathay manager at the scene denied the departure times were arbitrarily set but said they were based on possible departure slots from Shanghai air traffic control.

Passengers in transit who had come from long-haul flights from New York, New Delhi and Singapore complained Cathay Pacific and Dragonair had kept them awake too long without offering any place to rest, nor any food or drink while waiting, endangering their health. They were unsatisfied with the airlines’ explanation of the situation and demanded compensation.

“We are a group of 19 seniors. Many of us have not slept for nearly 24 hours. Now it’s 10pm, we do not want to leave anymore and just want to be put in a hotel and rest. They kept lying to us by giving us new times and keeping us waiting here,” said Ren Hongxing, a 70-year old man from Shanghai who was returning from a Malaysia-Singapore tour via Hong Kong.

Passengers on his flight had boarded and waited for four hours on the aircraft before being offloaded. A delay certificate issued by Dragonair said the flight - originally scheduled for 1pm - was delayed because of “adverse weather” and “air traffic flow control”.

Dragonair ground staff said “Shanghai has given us no time. We do not know if and when a flight could take off.”

Air traffic controls over eastern China last summer caused delays of up to 15 hours at the Hong Kong international airport.

Cathay cancelled CX5808/KA808, a Shanghai Pudong bound flight originally scheduled for 4:55pm, at around 10pm. By 11pm, passengers on the 10:55am CX 5804/KA804 flight had boarded the plane but still did not take off.

Hundreds of passengers from three other Shanghai-bound flights were still waiting near midnight in the hope of getting a chance to depart.

As of 9am Wednesday morning, all flights had been rescheduled and many were still waiting to depart.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong Flights Suspended Due To Typhoon Nida

Flight departures and arrivals at Hong Kong International Airport will be suspended from 10pm on Monday (Aug 1) till 2pm on Tuesday (Aug 2), Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair said in a joint press statement.

A check on the Hong Kong International Airport website showed that a large majority of flights from other airlines departing during the affected times have also been cancelled.

Cathay and Dragonair said passengers who booked the flights travelling departing on Monday and Tuesday are encouraged to postpone non-essential travel.

Both airlines said they will waive fees on re-booking, re-routing and cancellation and refund for all tickets issued worldwide on or before Monday for travel involving Hong Kong between Monday and Wednesday.

CHINA: Chinese Airlines Flying More Seats Than Passengers

Cathay Pacific Airways’ planes were emptier this March than last despite a 19 per cent surge in Hongkongers’ air travel, while the latest traffic figures from mainland China’s ‘Big Three’ state-owned airlines also showed falling capacity utilisation.

Cathay Pacific and subsidiary Dragonair’s planes were 83.9 per cent filled in March, down 3.4 percentage points compared from last March, the company said on Wednesday. It recorded a modest traffic increase of 2.6 per cent in the month, compared to the Hong Kong International Airport’s 4.8 per cent passenger growth that was driven by a 19 per cent surge in trips by Hong Kong residents.

“The growth in passenger numbers was not able to keep pace with the growth in capacity, leading to a drop in load factor,” said Cathay’s revenue management general manager Patricia Hwang.

Load factor is a measure of how much of an airline’s passenger-carrying capacity is used.

The vast potential of China’s outbound travel market has made airlines aggressively increase their offering of international flights by opening new routes and deploying more planes, leading to a spurt in the number of seats on offer.

Cathay’s passenger traffic grew 5.5 per cent in the first quarter while capacity grew 6.5 per cent.

China’s national carrier Air China on Monday reported a 3.1 percentage point drop in load factor to 78.5 per cent in March, even though it carried 4.3 per cent more passengers overall. China Southern Airlines saw a 2.94 per cent drop in load factor that month while China Eastern’s slid 1.4 per cent. All of them have increased their international capacity in the first quarter by around 30 per cent compared to last year.

“Chinese outbound travel fervour, especially to Europe, has cooled slightly since the last quarter of 2015, with terrorist attacks in Paris and elsewhere dampening travel interest. With the economy slowing, people are more prudent with their travel spend. The tightening of the Schengen visa has also made it more difficult for mainland groups to travel,” said Chan Cheong Eu, Hong Kong-based country manager for Greater China South at Qatar Airways.

However, Yu Nan, an analyst at Haitong Securities in Shanghai, said he does not think emptier planes reflect waning travel demand in China, which, he said, is a result of the airlines’ rapid capacity expansion.

“Their strategy is quite clear: to contract domestic capacity and keep up airfare, while on the international side the priority is to win market share even if it is at the cost of load factor. Getting ahead in market share during an economic downturn would give them an edge when the economy picks up – that’s their thinking,” he said.

Bocom International’s Asia head of transportation research Geoffrey Cheng Bik-Hoi agreed the drop in load factor is a result of overcapacity, adding that Cathay was coming off a high base in terms of load factor.

“I wouldn’t say China’s outbound travel demand is tapering off just yet, as the airlines’ first quarter international traffic as measured by revenue passenger kilometres flown is still solid,” he said. Instead, I am more worried about the domestic front.”

Chinese corporate travel agencies said Beijing’s austerity measures continue to dent business travel, the most profitable segment of the domestic air travel market. Air China reported a 2.9 per cent drop in the number of passengers carried on domestic routes for March while China Southern suffered a 5.22 per cent decline.

HONG KONG: Dragonair Welcomes Policy Address Commitment

Dragonair welcomes the Government’s commitment to support aviation and foster closer economic and trade ties and cooperation with Mainland China and the region to sharpen Hong Kong’s competitive edge, as outlined in the Policy Address given today by C Y Leung, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR.

The airline supports the Government’s measures to establish more Economic and Trade Offices (ETOs) in the region as part of the One Belt, One Road initiative, as well as more liaison units in the Mainland to facilitate economic and trade activities.

Dragonair Chief Executive Officer Algernon Yau said: “Dragonair takes pride in being a leading Hong Kong home carrier serving 53 regional destinations, including 23 cities in Mainland China. We support the One Belt, One Road initiative and believe that Dragonair will have an important role to play through the connectivity we offer.

“The plan to strengthen the presence of ETOs and liaison units in Mainland China and the region will improve travel and trade flows to and from Hong Kong and help to reinforce Hong Kong’s position as the principal gateway to the Mainland.”

Dragonair also welcomes the plan to establish a civil aviation academy to nurture more young talents to enter the local aviation industry.

“At Dragonair we already have longstanding training and cadet programmes that are designed to provide training and career development opportunities to youngsters with an interest in aviation. We look forward to helping make the academy a success,” Mr Yau added.