CX New strategy rollout in 2017
Feb 16, 2018, 8:33 am
#316
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hong Kong, France
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Originally Posted by travelinmanS;29414226
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CX's big issue is they are a high cost airline in a high cost city that is slowly but surely declining in importance globally. Direct flight from EU/USA to many cities in China and increasingly better service on Chinese airlines are what is really going to do in CX, not LCC's. It is very difficult to design a proper strategy to help them rebound and I'm sure there are many smart minds at work on this at the moment. Sometimes the winds of change just don't blow in your favor and I think that is the case now for CX and others in the region like SQ.
HKG is also suffering from being an airport that is now totally overcrowded and increasingly suffering delays just like on the mainland. It used to be a pleasant airport to transit through but one to many bus rides to the 500 gates after wading through the masses buying duty free has me taking nonstop flights to most of my destinations from PVG now. Terminal 2 at PVG isn't bad and you can get away from the crowds. I'm sure once the new terminals open up it will be an even nicer airport if the new terminal at SHA is any indication. They aren't as nice as an uncrowded HKG but that rarely happens anymore.
I like CX and used to try and fly it to the States, EU and OZ whenever I had a chance but I don't think I'm the only one now just going for the convenience of the nonstops from the mainland. This has to be hurting their business. And, yes the food and drinks on MU and CA are poor but the food on CX has been a constant complaint on this forum for years now so I don't think there is that much difference.
HKG is also suffering from being an airport that is now totally overcrowded and increasingly suffering delays just like on the mainland. It used to be a pleasant airport to transit through but one to many bus rides to the 500 gates after wading through the masses buying duty free has me taking nonstop flights to most of my destinations from PVG now. Terminal 2 at PVG isn't bad and you can get away from the crowds. I'm sure once the new terminals open up it will be an even nicer airport if the new terminal at SHA is any indication. They aren't as nice as an uncrowded HKG but that rarely happens anymore.
I like CX and used to try and fly it to the States, EU and OZ whenever I had a chance but I don't think I'm the only one now just going for the convenience of the nonstops from the mainland. This has to be hurting their business. And, yes the food and drinks on MU and CA are poor but the food on CX has been a constant complaint on this forum for years now so I don't think there is that much difference.
CX had great winds when China economy started booming without decent Chinese airlines (and Hong Kong the necessary gate to China); when US airlines were mediocre and going through restructuring: and when ME airlines were not a factor to Europe.
With the current headwinds, growth is not in the cards and reefing the sails is the current game.
Last edited by brunos; Feb 16, 2018 at 9:16 pm
Feb 16, 2018, 7:42 pm
#317
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So did anyone actually take the rap for the fuel hedging bets going bad(again) and triggering a huge loss?
That's seems to be the main cause of the so-called strategy seeing:
-deteroriating industrial relations as mgmt tries to squeeze contracts and staffing to pay their bad bets
-botched rollout of A359s (have personally observed broken cabin fittings and lavatories on every recent A359 flight)
-outrageously bad catering on short haul routes
-declining service standards on CX, now inferior majority
(feel free to add more as Ive been away from HK for awhile...)
That's seems to be the main cause of the so-called strategy seeing:
-deteroriating industrial relations as mgmt tries to squeeze contracts and staffing to pay their bad bets
-botched rollout of A359s (have personally observed broken cabin fittings and lavatories on every recent A359 flight)
-outrageously bad catering on short haul routes
-declining service standards on CX, now inferior majority
(feel free to add more as Ive been away from HK for awhile...)
- I have recently flown 10 sectors on CX in J class and find the service to be of high quality from product and service perspective.
- The fuel hedging that they took at the time made sense from their perspective given the amount of long-haul flights CX undertakes. We can criticise in hindsight when things go the other way but you don't hear praises if the decision went the right way - human nature!
- The A350 fittings is not a CX issue but Zodiac issue. The lavatories is a standard across all A350 and you can see the same level of deterioration across other A350 operators.
- As for the industrial relations, CX has to rethink the packages that has historically been high by any standards but the retraction was due to external matters where the Chinese carriers were giving pilots an unrealistic expectation on inflated package - how long will this last - just look at Hainan Airlines Group and their difficulties. I would say, the management is taking a balanced view and has done a relatively a good job in ensure stability is maintained. Otherwise, we would have seen a deterioration of flight integrity with mass cancellation. Instead, you are seeing a stable and good growth in flights to new destinations and frequencies.
Overall, CX is still a great way to fly and the airline will recover through this with its transformation strategy for which the management has mentioned that results will be seen in 2018. Whilst I do see a small loss (subject to the recovery in the past 2 months of 2017 with strong cargo performance), I am hopeful that 2018 will be a year of recovery and CX becoming stronger than before.
Happy flying and to those with negative sentiment, think your opinions.
Feb 18, 2018, 10:53 am
#318
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: California, USA / Tokyo, Japan / Manila, Philippines
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https://www.dispatchtribunal.com/201...aluengine.html
Investors appear to still love CX and HKG for the long term.
Investors appear to still love CX and HKG for the long term.