Special interviews
Written by: Kuang Yueting
2021-03-15 07:00
Last update date: 2021-03-15 07:00
Affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the global aviation industry has been paralyzed for more than a year. With the emergence of the epidemic and the beginning of widespread vaccination, it has brought dawn for the "go-around".
Hong Kong Airlines, with about 1,350 crew members, said in an exclusive interview with Hong Kong 01, Director of Corporate Affairs and Development Zhuang Weiqi that the company encourages frontline colleagues to be vaccinated, hoping to prepare for the goal of "return to fly" after June this year.
Looking forward to the winter of the aviation industry as soon as possible, the current operation of Hong Kong Airlines, which relies on cargo, will use its own regional advantages to slowly re-establish passenger destinations. It is expected to reopen popular locations such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand first. The company tends to maintain its existing staff. , To welcome the day of "going around", "We may not reduce the manpower to a very low level, otherwise, when the recovery is fruitful, we will be pleased!"
Hong Kong has been closed for nearly a year. Zhuang Weiqi said that the company currently relies mainly on freight to support its operations.
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The emergence of the epidemic disease has brought dawn to the tourism-related industries.
Hong Kong began its vaccination program at the end of last month, and the crew members were the first group to be vaccinated.
Zhuang Weiqi said that at present, there are about 350 pilots and 1,000 cabin attendants in Hong Kong Airlines, and a total of about 3,000 doses of vaccines are needed. I believe the government can provide sufficient quotas.
The company encourages front-line colleagues to get the vaccine. If they can complete the first dose of vaccination in the near future, they can start the second dose by the end of March. Xinghe BioNTech vaccine.” Zhuang Weiqi estimates that front-line employees can complete the vaccination within 3 months. If the epidemic continues to ease and the vaccination progresses smoothly, the company expects to “return” as soon as June this year.
If an employee is vaccinated, does the representative have priority to get the change?
Zhuang emphasized that vaccination is voluntary, and the company makes changes mainly based on manpower needs.
However, if the tourism bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore and other regions is restarted in the future, the other party has the opportunity to require the immigrants to have been vaccinated, or to show the health code or the International Air Transport Association (IATA) "digital travel pass", then the employees may need to be divided Two batches of changes are made to match the official requirements of the destination as much as possible.
"In addition to Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia are all our more popular short-haul routes. I hope that these countries can be on the (tourist bubble) priority list."
Zhuang Weiqi expects that after the epidemic has recovered, if people want to travel abroad, they may need to prepare travel passes or health codes to meet the entry requirements of different countries.
(Photo by Lu Yiming)
Cargo support business is difficult to "flash" in the early stage
Zhuang Weiqi said frankly that the company's passenger and cargo destinations have been reduced by half compared to before the epidemic. Before the full "return to fly", Hong Kong Airlines is currently mainly relying on cargo business to support its operations. He revealed that the company's financial situation is "okay", and the cargo business has been updated. To make a profit, the demand for freight in Japan, Vietnam and Australia is higher. "Although the income level of the (overall) freight business is still lower than before the epidemic, the daily grain expenditure, oil input, and operating costs are covered. Watch the development of the epidemic."
As for passenger transportation, the reduced destinations mainly involve Gao Rui travel, such as Maldives, and even long-distance routes. Zhuang Weiqi believes that after the switch, the passenger traffic will gradually recover, but if you want to return to 100% immediately, it is definitely not. In reality, "We used to have 6 to 7 flights a day in Bangkok, and I believe it might not be possible to return to the previous number at the beginning. Another example is that there are more than ten destinations in the mainland, and then destinations in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai may be restored first. , Second- and third-tier cities are the next step.”
At the same time, people’s travel trends will also change after the epidemic. When traveling abroad in the future, passengers will have to complete quarantine requirements or provide health certificates. They need to be tested early and submit good information. Therefore, it will be difficult for citizens to improvise. When choosing a tourist destination, it will be determined according to the local quarantine requirements. Therefore, the company will maintain its regional advantage and slowly establish a waypoint. First, it will reopen Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Thai Airways will later be destinations in major mainland cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Later, they will conduct charter flights to Southeast Asia with travel agencies.
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When asked how to stabilize the military spirit, Zhuang Weiqi said that as the company resumes its routes and maintains a certain scale, it will prove that the company can move forward and continue to operate smoothly.
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There are no plans to lay off staff and internal transfers to retain talents
While waiting for the "go-around" period, many airlines are undoubtedly in a state of being beaten, and one after another layoffs and cuts.
Hong Kong Airlines laid off 650 people in two rounds of layoffs last year to save operating expenses.
It is rare to see the dawn of a "return to flight". Zhuang Weiqi clearly stated that Hong Kong Airlines has no further layoff plans at this stage and tends to maintain its existing staff and use unpaid leave measures to control costs.
"Pilots and cabin attendants need time to train. We may not reduce the manpower to a very low level. Otherwise, when the recovery is achieved, we will ask for help!" The company currently allows employees of different ranks to put 2 per month. Until the 4th day of unpaid leave, the salary will be adjusted accordingly by about 5 to 10%.
At the same time, the company also allows employees to work part-time "Secret Lao", as long as the nature of the work does not conflict with the company's interests.
Having said that, the aviation industry has been hit hard in the past year, layoffs have been heard everywhere, and many newcomers are reluctant to engage in related jobs.
Zhuang Weiqi said frankly that now the interest of prospective graduates in entering the industry is diminishing, and some employees with only 2 to 3 years of experience are also considering changing careers, which may cause a talent gap. The company will try its best to retain employees. "(Otherwise) when the recovery comes, the seniority of the employees There is a big gap. There may be many high- and middle-level employees who have worked for more than ten or twenty years, but the following is far behind." He continued, if the cabin attendant or frontline staff intends to leave, the company will make short-term internal transfer arrangements. Let employees play their strengths in other positions.
"A colleague in our department did not fly for a few months last year. It happened that there was a vacancy in the compliance department. She was interested, so she transferred to it. The opportunity for a colleague to play is also good for the company, and there is no loss of employees!"
In addition to the problem of possible talent gaps, Zhuang Weiqi expects that small and medium-sized airlines may have a wave of acquisitions and mergers in the future, which will change the industry ecology.
In June last year, the Hong Kong government injected capital into Cathay Pacific to rescue the country, which was far more powerful than the rescue of Hong Kong Airlines, which is also a local airline.
Zhuang Weiqi said that he understands and understands the government's decision. Cathay Pacific has always had a certain scale and contributed to the development of Hong Kong Airport. The company also benefits from measures such as the Employment Guarantee Program, full exemption of parking fees, reductions in passenger terminal building office rents and aircraft landing fees.
He hopes that the government can launch the next round of employment protection plans in the future. After the vaccination is completed, it will gradually adjust and relax the quarantine measures for incoming crew members, and encourage students from the Hong Kong International Aviation Institute to join the work of local airlines so that the industry can take off again.
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