I wouldn't be to concerned about command failures or passes at KA, or if the training department has a "check only" mentality. This airline's upper management seems on the surface to have no idea on how to run a successful airline in a competitive market. As mentioned before, KA has become a profitable company only due to a protected route structure, something that it is loosing control of very quickly. Management seem to concentrate on cutting costs only instead of expanding to new destinations and making the most of Asia's massive growth potential. Every day you pick up a newspaper there seems to be another airline invading our destinations and intern, sucking up our growth potential. They seem to have this mentality that if we cant make a profit on that route on the first day, then we wont do it. BA has just started daily Pudong and are prepared to run at a loss for three years before they can produce a profit for years into the future. That's forward planning on BA's behalf, something KA doesn't have. We have been planning to start SYD services and have ordered the aircraft to do it, but at this stage no start date has been announced, apparently it was due to start in October this year. We have just closed our office in Puket, we were the only airline to fly direct, I'm sure some other carrier will start daily returns and make it a success. I guess the point that im trying to get across is that from the outside it seems KA doesn't have a bright future in our current position, unless we have a major management restructure or at least a change of thought. You may think that I'm just another management basher but the thing is, that in the four years that I've been here, I've never heard from our CEO or anyone from his department one what we as a company has planed into the future. I just hope that someone up there on the 5th floor, does infact have a plan!!!