Vol. 11 No. 14                                 #INTHEAIREVERYWHERE                                           Saturday February 9, 2013


     “Happily Ever After” for American Airlines hangs solely on the OK of parent AMR board, which will vote on whether or not to merge with US Airways early next week.
     As a massive winter storm cancelled more than 1,800 flights in and out of New York City on Friday, February 8, US Airways pilots ramped up the action by voting in favor of a “memorandum of understanding” that spells out how a merger with American Airlines will affect them.
     “The MOU provides greater clarity in our evaluation of whether a merger would provide the best value for our stakeholders and our people,” American Airlines told Dallas Morning News.
     “Now that the memorandum has been ratified, it could provide greater labor stability for pilots and the company in the event of a merger.”
Geoffrey Arend

 


round handling at the world’s largest cargo airport is set for a major shake-up this month as that anticipated new Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal opens for business.
Designed, built, and operated by Cathay Pacific Services Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Airways, the new facility will compete for third party business with HKIA’s two established operators—AAT and Hactly—as well as catering to the needs of Cathay Pacific.
     Cathay promises the new terminal will “create a new benchmark for the industry” by providing customers with extended cut-off time, last-minute cargo acceptance, and transshipment with reduced connection handling time.
     The HK $5.9 billion facility is located on 11 hectares, boasts a gross floor area of 240,000 sq. m., 2,245 container storage system positions, and comes complete with a state-of-the-art Material Handling System. It also features over 4,000 bulk storage positions, 170 truck docks, 48 cool room storage positions, and a 563 sq. m. livestock area.
     But for AAT and Hactl, the most daunting number is the new facility’s eventual annual capacity of 2.6 million tonnes—this will add 50 percent to HKIA’s total capacity, taking annual capacity at the gateway to 7.4 million tonnes.
     “The launch customers of the terminal are Cathay Pacific and Dragonair,” said a spokesperson for Cathay Pacific. “The terminal will only open its facilities to other customer airlines after it is fully operational.
     “The terminal will roll out its capacity gradually depending on customer needs.”
     AAT declined to comment on the impact the new terminal would have on its business, which has suffered a severe decline in transshipment traffic through much of 2012.
     Hactl, which currently handles around 70 percent of HKIA’s throughput, was more forthcoming. A spokesperson admitted that in the short-term the firm would not be able to maintain market share.
     “We will lose around 35 percent of our business in stages throughout 2013 with the departure of Cathay group airlines, but this was inevitable, planned for over years, and will leave Hactl with the largest share of the Hong Kong handling market,” she said.
     “Our 100 other customer carriers have shown overall growth in the past twelve months, and have become a bigger proportion of our total business. We expect this trend to continue, and it will help to cushion the loss of Cathay Pacific.
     “Hong Kong will also continue to grow, so the surplus capacity created by the opening of a third terminal will eventually be absorbed.”
     Hactl will use the space freed up by Cathay Pacific’s move away to pursue new opportunities, not least by more aggressively marketing its Hacis express road feeder system.
     “We are also looking at other new revenue streams,” she said.
     The company will also invest further in improvements and upgrades to its facilities after concluding that HKIA will continue to attract more cargo in its triple role serving the local market, as a gateway to China, and as a hub for Asia, and that much of this new traffic is there to be won.
     “In April 2012 we completed the launch of COSAC-Plus, our newly-introduced Cargo Management System at a cost of HKD $240 million,” she said. “It is still work in progress as we continue to add new features to make it more user-friendly and versatile. In addition, we invest heavily to enhance our operation efficiency and eco-friendliness on a continuous basis, and multi-millions of capital investment plans are in place to support the terminal in the coming years.”
     Airport Authority of Hong Kong is optimistic the additional competition for cargo between ground handlers will be beneficial for its global status. Volumes this year look set to surpass the 3.9 million tonnes handled in 2011, when HKIA stayed ahead of Memphis International Airport as the world’s busiest cargo airport for the second consecutive year.
     A spokesman said the capacity addition by Cathay would help HKIA fulfill its mid-to-long term cargo demands.
     “Despite the persistently challenging economic situations in Europe and the U.S., cargo volume at HKIA has rebounded in the past four months,” he said. “We remain cautiously optimistic about the potential for cargo throughput and we foresee this positive trend continuing at HKIA.
     “HKIA will continue to position itself as a leading international and regional aviation center, and also as a preferred gateway to the Chinese Mainland.”
     The Hactl spokesperson also predicted growth in HKIA’s throughput in the coming years. As a regional hub, the location of Hong Kong within five hours of 50 percent of the world population, its use of English as its business language, and the number of carriers whose networks meet at Hong Kong mean the airport has a strong future.
     “Although air cargo traffic from China has yet to regain its previous record high of 2010, 2012 has seen modest recovery,” she said. “And, as the Chinese population becomes more prosperous, its appetite for imported consumer goods grows.
     “Hong Kong is ideally located adjacent to China’s southern industrial heartland and offers better international air connections than any other Chinese airport. We therefore see no immediate threat to Hong Kong’s role from other nearby airports.
     “Longer term, the planned third runway will equip Hong Kong to continue its growth and maintain its lead.”
“Hong Kong’s reputation for speed and efficiency—largely gained through the activities of Hactl as its major handler—will also continue to support its status as the world number one.”
Sky King

 

 

     While BBI may have flubbed its opening plan in June 2012 to move from Tegel to a new Berlin Schoenefeld facility, China's Changshui International Airport debuted, revealing the fourth largest airport building in China following the transfer of operations from the city’s Wujiaba Airport.
     The new airport terminal at Kunming serves as a strategic hub for airlines serving Southeast Asia from China, and will process about 24 million passengers in 2012.
     That number is expected to rise to 38 million passengers by 2020.
     The airport has a design capacity of close to 70 million passengers per annum, served by four runways.
     The airport was constructed with an investment of CNY23 billion (USD3.6 billion).
     Kunming can be recalled as the major base for General Claire Chennault’s American Volunteer Group (AVG) during World War Two, which became famous all over the world as The Flying Tigers, after a 1942 movie of the same name was made starring John Wayne.
     Lesser known is the epoch tale of intrepid transport pilots operating their C-46 Curtiss Commandos above the treacherous Himalaya Mountains after the Japanese closed The Burma Road between Assam India and Kunming.

Claire Booth Luce snapped this early color photograph in Kunming for Life Magazine during the early 1940s as the legend of the exploits of the Flying Tigers was born. John Wayne (pictured with co-star Anna Lee) starred in the movie The Flying Tigers.

     These pilots and their fragile early transport aircraft operating at max ceiling kept the AVG supplied with av–gas, tires, ammunition, and other supplies.
     Conditions were so dangerous with those mountain updrafts that wreckage of those early all-cargo airplanes reported lost during the early 1940s is still being discovered, as recently as a few years ago.
     Although the heroics of the transport pilots who supported and were rightfully called “Flying Tigers” is often overlooked, their contributions left a worldwide, lasting legacy and introduced the world to the prospects of air cargo, including the “can-do” attitude that launched “The Berlin Airlift” and The Flying Tiger Line air cargo company, which operated freighters all over Asia before being bought by FedEx.
     Today, many FedEx Asian flights travel aerial trade lanes pioneered by Flying Tigers air cargo pilots and crew.
     Reportedly, a new film is in the works about the Flying Tigers by director John Woo, who is said to be looking for Tom Cruise as lead actor.
     The movie, with the working title Flying Tiger Heroes has a projected budget of US$100 million and will reportedly be the most expensive movie ever made in China.
     Woo has said the film will contain “the most spectacular aerial battle scenes ever seen in Chinese cinema.”
     He added that the movie “will highlight the spirit of Yunnan culture as well as Chinese heroes from World War II and the U.S.-China friendship that led to the founding of the Flying Tigers”.
     It is also worth mentioning that the publication that you are reading worldwide today called “Flying Typers” can trace its name back to the days of the AVG.

    Often people inquire as to our name FlyingTypers. “Don’t you mean Flying Tigers,” is a comment we have heard.
    Actually during WW II Flying Tigers were both fighter pilots (P40) and air transport pilots (C46 & C47) as well.
    Our publication title is genuine. It dates back to the days of the AVG, when during the long trek over the mountains, the pilots got to know another determined group of people, the first air cargo journalists who worked for Time & Life and Yank Magazine, The New York Herald Tribune, Stars and Stripes and others.
    Along with their regular kit, these reporters brought along the essential tool of their trade, a small portable typewriter in a black case—the 1940's version of the laptop computer of today.
    Our Contributing Editor, Ed "Ansel " Talbert, who served as top aviation editor of The New York Herald Tribune, and a founder of The Wings Club recalled:
    “Preparing for a flight, a pilot looking out the left seat window at some reporters as they trudged their way toward his aircraft to cover the story said to the co-pilot:
    “Here come those flying typers.”
    We are proud to carry the name FlyingTypers as we pioneer this 21st Century Ezine worldwide thrice weekly.
    We are also dedicated to never forget the people and events that shaped our great industry.
Geoffrey

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      It is apparent to almost anyone traveling on business that there isn’t enough time to enjoy authentic local scenery.
     Dinner that hasn’t been worked into the business schedule becomes an after-thought, a quick twelve-dollar burger served on a tray with a moist towelette in some forgotten hotel room.
     We are so quick to let business travel spoil the excitement that comes with going to a new place. The town you’ve been zipping through for the past couple of days could be the grist for your memory’s mill, and sometimes culture shock can be cathartic.
     At the very least, a side step journey into town can afford a little life experience and a few polite conversations with the locals.
     I recall a Sunday alone at the downtown Mandarin Hotel in Taipei, right near Nanking Road. The Mandarin is a crew hotel. Pilots and cabin crew have a reputation of being tight with a buck.
     Most pilots like to maintain a fairly high profile life style, while cabin crew never has any money. Sometimes I think cabin crew invented stew. They always seem to be planning potluck dinners.
     The old joke: “Hey, this food tastes different. Did somebody wash my bowl or something?” barely affords a chuckle from these chowhounds.
     The Taipei Mandarin is always a good buy. The place is clean, if a bit faded. The restaurant, which serves Chinese and American breakfast around the clock, is always a good bet.
     The Mandarin is also equipped with a staff of husbands and wives who seem to live and tend to individual floors.
     You can be sure a staff member will see you to your door following check-in, and don’t be surprised when your arrival is heralded with hot tea and cookies.
     Once I stumbled into my room after a 19-hour flight and dived straight into the shower, only to discover my disheveled heap of clothes had been neatly pressed and hung.
     Lots of ex-patriot fliers and business types stay at the Mandarin.
     Anytime, day or night, Sky King is meeting under the gaze of Terry and the Pirates and Smilin’ Jack, all comic book heroes of 1930-40’s aviation.
     After arriving late one Saturday and working all of the next day on a story, I decided it was time to get out.      The T.V. was rattling on in Chinese and English alternatively, about some sporting event that no longer held my interest. I decided to take a walk to find something to eat and maybe pick up some bottled water.
     It was drizzling lightly, a warm, early spring evening. Sundays anywhere are the same.
     It doesn’t really matter where you are in the world. There will be more places open on the day after the apocalypse than on any given Sunday.
     I stopped at a small restaurant that looked busy. Business in a restaurant is a good sign in any country. The first thing I noticed was how the place smelled.
     This joint smelled great.
     A couple of beers and a plate of fried rice later, I left my small side table completely satisfied.
     Around the corner from the restaurant I found a group of people laughing and joking in the staccato tics of quick and easy Chinese conversation. For a moment I thought that I had missed the place the cool crowd supped. I felt a need to get the name and address of said cool place so that I could return at a later time. I began to make my way to the group.
     It was then that a familiar sign struck me, a sign emblematic of gaudy, tacky Americana: the flashing red and white striped logo of T.G.I. Fridays. I laughed, and wondered if my joke was funnier than the joke shared by the cool crowd. I had not come halfway around the world to eat burgers and fairy food.
     Now, whenever it’s time to hit the road again, I think of that damp Sunday in Taipei. It reminds me to get out and experience more of the local scene.
     I always wonder about people who come to New York from other parts of the world insisting that the best restaurants are in Manhattan, simply because they’ve read that somewhere.
     Let’s set the record straight.
     Any stiff can read a review and fork over a lot of cash.
     The idea is to get out, get fed, have some fun and not get stuck paying through the teeth.
     Try something new, even if it’s in small amounts.
     Live a little.
     You may not pass this way again.
     The Chinese food being served up near our offices at LaGuardia Airport in Flushing, New York City is incredible, and you can basically eat until your hands get tired for just a couple of bucks.
     I would go so far as to say that several of the places in Flushing are better than the majority of restaurants in Manhattan and, I dare say, in Taipei as well.
     Since this is the season to celebrate Chinese New Year, and New York is a great city for Chinese food, here are some tips for where to go the next time you land at JFK or LaGuardia Airport. These restaurants are just a short cab or bus ride from the airport hotels.
     If you are dining alone you may feel funny about it. Get a prop. A book or magazine is fine, but if you’re really dexterous bring your Palm to fiddle with while you wait for your meal. Look up every now and again to check the scene out. Maybe you will find yourself talking to a complete stranger, maybe it will just be time spent following the pattern in the wallpaper. Regardless, you will leave yourself open to the environment without being bored.
     Just remember, like any good scout, you must be prepared, in every sense. You may think you have everything covered, what with your magazine and your Palm, but always be ready when the host asks you if you might consider sitting at a table with other diners to make more room. Anything can and will happen.
     Chinese restaurants in New York have lots of big, round tables. If a restaurant starts filling up with loners, couples and small families, it is not unusual to find strangers sitting together at a table. It works great when you’re alone and it’s busy because almost everyone gets seated right away. And you get an easy, insider look into the different lives inhabiting the city. Plus, if you just had a tough day in business there is nothing better than the anonymity of a table full of merciful strangers.
     Chinese restaurants always bring a pot of tea and a menu, giving the diner a relaxing couple of minutes to check things out.
     Family style dining is an easy and appropriate meal at any Chinese restaurant in New York. It always feels like going back to summer camp and sitting at a table with a variety of choice meal items. If you’re sitting at a table with a meal already in progress it’s like seeing the Lotto numbers before they are run. If you observe your new best friend and fellow diner coveting your Bok Choy, don’t be afraid to tell him how it tastes. Sharing what is good is always a great icebreaker.
     Here are a few places worth remembering:
     Joe’s Shanghai. 136-21 37 Ave. Flushing NY 11354 (718) 539-4429 www.joesshanghai.com
www.joesshanghai.comLocated smack-dab in the middle of the ‘New Chinatown’ in Flushing, Queens, Joe’s Shanghai has been hailed as a real treasure of the area. On balance this is the best Chinese restaurant in New York. Less formal and more family oriented, Joe’s features steamed buns of pork or crab. They are served a dozen to an order inside wicker baskets. There are those who duck in simply to partake in that delicious delicacy. Joe’s also serves delicious Shanghai fried rice, a lightly turned and simply prepared dish with small bits of scallion and egg. Scallion pancakes are an excellent accompaniment to any meal at Joe’s. Joe’s is constantly rated in the top ten New York Chinese eateries and serves until 11 p.m. weekdays and midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Just around the corner from Joe’s is C&J Restaurant.
     C&J Restaurant, 136-14 38th Ave., (718) 353-3366.
     C&J Restaurant is a great choice for business meetings and full-service presentations with all the trimmings. Half a block away is Homefood, at 38-05 Main Street, a narrow and deep place with cooked ducks hanging in the front window. The foods is very good, quite plentiful, and dirt-cheap. Luncheons are all you can hope for at less than five bucks.
     Another aspect to enjoying Chinese food is Dim Sum. Dim Sum is served almost everywhere, especially in the better Chinese restaurants.
     One such place, Gum Tong Gung at 133-30 39th Avenue in Flushing, does it better than anywhere else. Dim Sum is served is predominantly served earlier in the day and especially during lunch, but at Gum Tong Gung you can get a variety of delicious choices anytime.
     Carts laden with round, metal Tiffin-like pans are wheeled out carrying dozens of different kinds of Dim Sum. The wait staff circles the restaurant offering the different choices, only leaving to refill their stock. If you don’t like something, you don’t have a whole dish to contend with. If you love something, you can just keep choosing it, and all the while your waiter will keep track of what you have ordered.
     Steamed dumplings with shrimp, chicken or beef; friend eggplant roll; pork congee with preserved egg; braised duck feet; turnip cake - there are a hundred choices on the menu.
     Gum Tong Gung seats up to 250 people, though from the look of it I imagine I could open a gym and house the S.S. Titanic at the same time.
     On Sundays it is worth the trip just to see the servers wheel around the room. They are a show in and of themselves.
     At $1.95 to $3.00 a serving, Dim Sum, that small taste of delicious Chinese cuisine, is a bargain.
     The Flushing area is a hot zone for Chinese food, and at this point you could close your eyes and point and still hit an excellent restaurant. But Flushing has also become a “destination” of sorts.
     Not only is the food great, but also it’s so easy to just check into a hotel and go shopping, or see a movie. The train into the city lies in the heart of Main Street, close to all restaurants and shopping, and one stop from The Mets at Shea Stadium.
     Savvy business travelers can take the Q48 bus from LaGuardia right to the center of town.
     A cab from JFK costs less than six dollars anytime.
     Flushing also offers a variety of Japanese, Indian, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Korean Food.
     The Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel at 135-20 39th Avenue has 173 rooms and is centrally located. It is the perfect full-service place to set up operations. (718) 460-666; North America, (888) 268-0717; Hong Kong, (800) 90-0376; Taiwan, 0080-10-3852.
     Wherever you find yourself landing, after a two or ten or fourteen hour flight, soaking in the shower and washing the business out of your body, remember to get out and explore your surroundings a little. There is more to this world than business; there are all the many hours in between.
     Wishing all our readers a Happy New Year “Kung Hey Fat Choi!” as we celebrate the snake and venture out in these gray, snowy short New York days of February 2013 and live a little.
Geoffrey/Flossie

 

 

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