AIRLINES: Disparity Over Few Women In Leadership Positions

There have long been fewer female leaders than male in Hong Kong’s aviation sector, but come this summer the disparity will be made starker when Cathay Pacific Airways’ sole female leader, flight operations director Anna Thompson, leaves the city’s flagship carrier.

Thompson’s departure to the property unit of Cathay Pacific’s biggest shareholder, Swire Pacific, will leave no women in leadership roles at any of the city’s four passenger airlines.

Asked about the discrepancy, Cathay Pacific CEO Rupert Hogg acknowledged: We are an all-male line-up and we hope that doesn’t continue forever.

He pledged to address the gender imbalance, saying inclusion is really important, particularly from minority groups to feel they have a place in Cathay Pacific.

Thompson could not be reached for comment. The other three airlines are Cathay Pacific’s subsidiary, Cathay Dragon, as well as Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express. The latter two declined to comment.

More than 60 per cent of employees at Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon are women.

The sector’s gender imbalance and how businesses can make progress on it featured in a discussion on Monday at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) summit, an annual global gathering of airlines and industry executives, held this year in Sydney.

Aviation consultant Mylene Scholnick said the scales tip heavily towards male candidates across the board when middle-to-senior management roles in the industry are being filled.

Scholnick cited statistics to illustrate the scale of the challenge, noting women make up less than 5 per cent of airline pilots and airline CEOs.

And while half of the intake into the aviation industry last year was female, they were mainly hired for support functions or roles such as flight attendants.

I believe mentorship, training on unconscious biases, and business resource groups, are all key to seeing more women leaders, the consultant said.

At the summit, an all-male panel of airline executives, including Hogg and bosses from Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Emirates and KLM, agreed more action was needed to even out the gender disparity.

Cathay Pacific’s senior management comprises 11 directors.

KLM’s Pieter Elbers said the sector needed to look more deeply into what was driving the imbalance and what should be done in various parts of women’s careers to spark change.

That is not necessarily a discussion with the five of us at the summit that is a discussion with the women involved, he said. What’s needed and how can we help to make the progress?

But at the event’s closing press conference on Tuesday, the incoming IATA chairman, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, voiced a different view, saying nothing needed to be done to promote women to his airline’s senior ranks.

Asked about the top job, Al Baker said, Of course it has to be led by a man because it is a very challenging position. This statement later caused furry from ladies.

His statement elicited groans and boos.

On IATA’s 31-member governing board, represented by airlines, only one woman holds a seat.

And in the past year, two female CEOs have left the airline industry for top jobs elsewhere. Former EasyJet CEO Carolyn McCall switched to the media sector, while ex-Jetstar boss Jayne Hrdlicka left for the agriculture sector.

Thai Airways announced its female acting president, Usanee Sangsingkeo, would be replaced permanently by an outsider, a man with no aviation experience.

On Monday the SkyTeam airline alliance announced Kristin Colville as its new CEO, a month after the board of United Continental airlines agreed to have its first female chair, with JetBlue promoting a woman to its president in charge of day-to-day operations.

In the region, China’s Dr Fang Liu chairs the International Civil Aviation Organisation, a UN agency managing the global rules in aviation.

Flourishing budget carrier Vietjet, whose model is as much to sell seats as well as the appeal of its female cabin crew, is led by CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, and commercial chief Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh.

At AirAsia, Aireen Omar has risen to the rank of deputy group CEO.

Scholnick, who co-founded Hong Kong business jet operator Metrojet, was optimistic about the imbalance being corrected eventually.

Gender disparity in aviation will persist over the next several years, she said. However, I believe that there’s opportunity now for young women in aviation to gain experience and reach senior levels of leading organisations.

Women's Foundation CEO Fiona Nott says women are generally under-represented in Hong Kong across leadership positions in business.

In Cathay Pacific’s case, the female general managers who are just one level below the airline’s 11 directors appear poised to move up to serve as its next batch of leaders.

Fiona Nott, CEO of the non-profit Women’s Foundation in Hong Kong, said women were generally under-represented in the city across leadership positions in business, with just 29 per cent of management positions held by women.

Surprisingly for a global hub, women’s position in Hong Kong lags behind other developed markets, Nott said.

She called for targets and objectives to be rolled out for gender diversity over and above those set for business outcomes.

Numerous studies show that greater gender diversity leads to better business outcomes. Having more women in leadership is good for business and good for Hong Kong.

We all benefit when our businesses reflect the society in which they operate.


Tourism Observer

HONG KONG: Cathy Pacific To Commence Hong Kong - Dublin Flights, June 2018

Cathay Pacific is all set to bring its brand of super efficiency and high spec in-flight service to the sky-ways of Ireland this summer, when it begins its pioneering non-stop routes linking Hong Kong with Dublin from June 2018.

In addition to the Irish route Cathay is also connecting Hong Kong with the Danish capital city Copenhagen on top of the non-stop flights between HK and Brussels.

Belgium introduced in March further strengthening the airline’s network as well as providing potential new trade and tourism opportunities between Europe and Asia.

Growing our reach to new destinations boosts the city’s status as Asia’s largest international hub and enables us to capture new and important sources of revenue

Cathay Pacific chief executive officer Rupert Hogg said that the announced services will meet customer demand for non-stop travel to these vibrant cities.

At the same time providing Europe-based passengers with more convenient access to key destinations in Asia and Southwest Pacific through the airline’s home in Hong Kong.

We’re excited to offer the only direct flights between Hong Kong and Brussels, Dublin and Copenhagen.

These are all fantastic destinations and attract business and leisure travellers from the world over.

We listened to our customers’ demands for more options and greater flexibility and have responded by building direct air links with these great cities.

Hogg added: Growing our reach to new destinations that aren’t served from Hong Kong boosts the city’s status as

Asia’s largest international hub and enables us to capture new and important sources of revenue.

To welcome the new European connections OZO Wesley Hong Kong is offering stays at a starting price of GBP 114+ per night including breakfast and exclusive of VAT and service charge.

This is subject to season and availability.

Meaanwhile, The first of 20 A350-1000s for Cathay Pacific has completed its initial test flight from Airbus's Toulouse plant.

Deliveries of the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-powered aircraft to the Hong Kong carrier are scheduled to begin in June.

It will become the second operator after launch customer Qatar Airways to receive Airbus's biggest twinjet.

The new twinjets will be operated alongside Cathay's existing fleet of smaller A350-900s, 22 of which are currently in service with six more on order, according to Flight Fleets Analyzer.

Cathay will deploy the A350-1000 on its new route to Washington DC from September. The airline says that at "8,153 miles" (7,095nm/13,126km), the new service to Dulles will become the longest in its network.



Tourism Observer

Wizz To Have A Fleet Of 120 By 2020, Cathay Pacific Disappointing Says CEO

Low-cost operator Wizz Air expects to have 15% more aircraft in its fleet by March 2020 than it had indicated a year ago.

The airline’s latest fleet schedule, disclosed during its first-quarter results presentation, shows it will have a fleet of 120 aircraft by the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year.

This figure is a substantial increase on the 104 aircraft – equally split between Airbus A320s and A321s – listed in the fleet plan in July last year. Wizz Air says it expects to receive 13 new aircraft, including 10 A321s, in the current fiscal year.

Chief executive Jozsef Varadi says this will give the airline 26 A321s, accounting for a third of the carrier’s planned seat capacity.

He says this will give the airline a “clear cost advantage” against most of its rivals. The airline recently opted to order another 10 A321s.

Wizz will take 15 A321s, including its first three A321neos, in 2018-19, and the expansion will continue with 20 A321s – all but three of them A321neos – over 2019-20.

Cathay Pacific chief executive Rupert Hogg says the airline’s operating performance during the first half of the year was “disappointing” due to the challenging competitive environment.

“When we announced our results for 2016 in March, we said we expected the operating environment in 2017 to remain challenging. This has been the case,” says Hogg in Cathay’s June traffic statement, which also covered the operations of its Cathay Dragon regional unit.

“Our airlines’ performance in the first half of 2017 continued to be disappointing. In particular, strong competition from other airlines put intense and increasing pressure on passenger yield and revenue.”

In the six months to the end of June, Cathay’s group ASKs increased by 1.1%, while RPKs climbed 1.4% despite passengers carried falling 0.5% to 17.2 million. Load factor climbed a marginal 0.2 points to 84.7%.

Passenger yield continues to come under pressure in the face of strong competition. The overall load factor remains high, with front-end traffic showing a pick-up, although the back-end, particularly on short-haul routes, has been sluggish, says Cathay’s general manager of revenue management Navin Chellaram.

Cargo and mail tonnage however jumped 11.5%, against a 2.3% capacity increase and an 8.9% climb in RTKs. That saw freight load factor rise four points to 66.2%

The airline adds that the two Boeing 747-8 Freighters wet-leased from Atlas Air are operating at full capacity and generating good revenues on North American routes. It expects the air freight market to remain strong.



Tourism Observer
www.tourismobserver.com

Cathay Pacific Airways Replaces CEO Ivan Chu Kwok-leung With COO Rupert Hogg

Cathay Pacific Airways will replace Ivan Chu Kwok-leung, its chief executive for three years, with chief operating officer Rupert Hogg on May 1, Hong Kong’s loss-making flagship carrier announced on Wednesday.

Hogg takes over as CEO at a time when the airline is undergoing a major overhaul of its business after reporting a loss of HK$575 million last year.

Cathay has been struggling as a premium airline in the face of stiff competition from new aviation players, including budget and Middle East carriers.

Cathay staff gathered at the airline’s Lantau headquarters for a sudden town hall meeting. The leadership reshuffle was announced at the meeting after the stock market closed at 4:30pm.

John Slosar, chairman of parent company Swire Pacific, paid tribute to Chu, who will remain with the Swire Group and shift to its mainland business as chairman of John Swire & Sons (China).

“Ivan played a key role in the airline’s management during some very good times and, more recently, some difficult and challenging times,” Slosar said.

“In response, he led the team in devising the three-year transformation strategy which will provide the platform for Cathay’s medium-term recovery and continued development.”

Chu, 55, a local industry veteran who rose through the ranks at Cathay, has been CEO since March 2014. During his tenure at the helm, Cathay won the industry’s top award as the world’s best airline. He has also overseen a major expansion of the company’s routes, and a multibillion-dollar overhaul of its aircraft fleet.

Over the same period, however, the airline’s share price has fallen 28 per cent, an indication of the tough business environment.

Slosar said he was optimistic that the changes in play would build on the foundations laid by the current management and help take the airline to “new heights”.

“Rupert brings an impressive level of aviation and business experience to the job,” he said of the new CEO.

“He has played a major role as chief operating officer over the last three years and brings commercial focus and a spirit of innovation to our efforts to overcome the well-documented structural challenges facing the airline.

He is the right man to lead our team.”

Hogg, 55, another company veteran, first joined the Swire Group in 1986, and became chief operating officer in March, 2014. He was also responsible for Cathay’s cargo and sales and marketing divisions.

Traditionally, Cathay’s CEOs move on after three years.

Under Hogg, a number of directors will be promoted or leave their roles. The post of chief operating officer will also be scrapped.

In the longer term, a possible successor to Hogg is Paul Loo, currently director of corporate development and IT, who will become chief customer and commercial officer.

Martin Murray, finance director since 2011 who has overseen some of Cathay’s large fuel hedging losses, will stay in his current post as the re-titled chief financial officer.

Former Cathay CEO Tony Tyler said Hogg would be an “excellent” leader. “He’s experienced in the airline business as well as other industries, and is a smart and energetic guy who will lead the airline well. I certainly wish him every success in overcoming the many challenges ahead,” he said.

Aviation analyst Geoffrey Cheng, said: “Hopefully the cost saving initiatives will allow them to get through the stormy weather. Hoggs is hands on and understands the current challenges.”

“Rupert is the charismatic type of leader Cathay hasn’t had since Tony Tyler but desperately needs in order to win back staff engagement,” aviation analyst Will Horton added. “Ivan’s tenure is unmemorable and Cathay lost considerable strategic and financial ground.”