Dragonair of Hong Kong has begun to signal its growing independence from former sister carrier Cathay Pacific Airways, by assuming control of more of its own operations and opening new routes into China.
Mainland Chinese interests, led by China National Aviation (CNAC), assumed full majority control of Dragonair in April 1996, largely at the expense of Cathay and its parent Swire Group.
Since then, the airline has been pursuing a policy of developing its own independent management team, separate from that of Cathay, and becoming more autonomous operationally.
Stanley Hui, Dragonair's recently appointed chief executive, had to resign from Cathay Pacific when Dragonair offered him the job. He says: "As a result of that change, this airline will become a lot more independent, and the secondment arrangement will gradually disappear."
One of the first areas of operations to be broken away from Cathay Pacific will be cargo handling. With Dragonair now operating larger aircraft (Airbus Industrie A320s and A330-300s), along with a new three-times daily route to Kaohsiung, in Taiwan, the importance of cargo has grown. Freight now accounts for some6-7% of Dragonair's revenue. "It has come to the stage where cargo is so important to us that we have to take charge of our destiny," states Hui. This will be reflected by the establishment of Dragonair's own cargo sales and distribution department in July.
Increased autonomy will be further extended with Dragonair's planned purchase of its first A320/ A330 flight-training simulator. The system will be installed in Dragonair's new joint headquarters building with CNAC at the Chek Lap Kok Airport site. A decision on a simulator supplier is due shortly.
Dragonair is poised to benefit further from its change of ownership with the launch of a second new route into China, serving Chongqing. After several years of having its growth constrained by the Chinese authorities, the carrier was given permission in 1996 to inaugurate a new service to Qingdao and, in addition, it now has rights to operate to both Shantou and Urumqi.
Hui is confident that, once Hong Kong completes the transition from UK to Chinese sovereignty on 1 July, more opportunities will open up for Dragonair.
Source: Flight International
