CX Missing the boat again, don't make me miss my 13th month!

[crewsunite]

How much did SLS save $200million HKD?

I had heard from the guys in the office that they cannot get planes back into service fast enough for the Xmas peak in freight and CX have missing out on quite abit of business again.

(Like last year NR Quote: "We not short of crew only lost opportunities")

This NR year-end quote will be: "We not short of planes only lost opportunities"

How is it that we lose on a measly little 13th months and take SLS and contract cuts and he & TT still gets their bonuses after pissing away $ like this. Go figure! :suspect:

After having heard this earlier this week I read this in SCMP.

We are losing $500,000 USD per one way charter per plane not in service at the moment. If my calculations of correct. That is a lot of SLS 13th months etc..

:}:ugh::mad::\:{

Maybe I'll take up photography!

[crewsunite]

Air-cargo rates double as firms rush US shipments
Charlotte So
Oct 30, 2009

Air-freight rates have doubled in the past two months because of better than expected demand for consumer goods from the United States in preparation for the Christmas shopping season.

New iMac computers produced on the mainland are among the cargoes being rushed to the US in time for Black Friday, the day after next month's Thanksgiving Day, which traditionally kicks off the seasonal shopping spree.

The spot price for air cargo from Hong Kong and Shanghai to the US has risen as high as HK$35 per kilogram this month, double the rate in August.

Included in the air-cargo surge to the US are a 6,000-tonne shipment of new Apple computers and related technology products, as well as garments and apparel.

Desperate exporters have had to pay US$500,000 for a chartered 747 freighter trip to the east coast, compared with US$400,000 last month.

Airlines are banking on the recent upswing in the freight rates to help them recoup their losses in the cargo division earlier this year.

Cargo sales contribute about 20 per cent to total sales at Cathay Pacific Airways (SEHK: 0293) and Singapore Airlines, while they make up about 10 per cent for mainland carriers.

The surge in freight rates sounds like a Christmas carol for the airlines but is a curse for freight forwarders, who have to cope with the rate increase.

"Not all our customers are able to accept the price increase ... We have had to absorb the extra cost in some cases," said Kelly King, the managing director of Toll Global Forwarding (HK).

The sharp increase also reflects extremely low inventory levels at US retailers, forcing them to replenish stocks as fast as possible with the holiday season approaching.

Wholesale inventories fell for the 12th consecutive month in August while wholesale sales rose just 1 per cent, leading to the ratio of inventory to sales dipping to its lowest level since September last year.

However, shipping lines have not been able to increase their rates as much as the airlines. The China container freight index has only risen 10 per cent this month from August.

"It would seem that the retailers are willing to place orders when they see the demand, but they are not willing to build up inventory in anticipation of sustained recovery," said Jim Wong, a transport sector analyst at Nomura.

It takes two weeks to sail to the US west coast and twice as long to the east coast.

The surge in the air-cargo rate is also attributed to the airlines cutting capacity earlier this year. Global carriers including Cathay, Singapore Air and British Airways, have grounded hundreds of aircraft in the wake of the financial crisis.

It is costly and time-consuming to get grounded aircraft back into service, with planes needing as much as three months of heavy maintenance checks.

Airlines are also wary of committing to such a programme without being 100 per cent sure that the market is heading for a full recovery.

[crewsunite]

His subtle half truths are a joke!

RE:Cargo they are coining it, and could be more so if had planes back here ASAP. What risk is their for loads falling off next spring with CNY and join venture u are planing!

The regulators are forcing u to do a 4th LON or lose your slot. Seems like u should have done it ages ago. All four are over sold both ways on the 1st day of return. For the love of money you could not buy a seat even in 1st class.

Oh boy SLS is now certainly a joke compared to these lost opportunities. :ooh:

[nitpicker330]

The word on the street from NR is "no way we will be paying a 13th month"


Even if they do begrudgingly pay an "ex-gratia payment" you can guarantee it will be "half a months salary capped to $8,000 HKD"

Happy ground staff/cabin crew and screwed Flight Crew ( again )

Don't ya just love the a:mad: we work for

[F_one]

"We are losing $500,000 USD per one way charter per plane not in service at the moment. If my calculations of correct"

They make it sound that we physically loose $500 000 USD whenever we do a charter. (Though business this, cx are doing charters, but it is costing the company more $$$ to do it than not to. Why not just park the aircraft?)

What they should have said is that we make a plane load full of cash with every charter and if we could do ANOTHER charter on the return leg, we will make another plane load full of cash, as we will charge both clients for their respective "dead" legs :ugh::ugh:

[joejet]

Before the company starts handing out 13-month checks to the Hong Kong employees, I expect to be reimbursed for my SLS.

[Shar]

"Happy ground staff/cabin crew and screwed Flight Crew ( again )". I think your statement is out of order, Nitpicker. Not all ground staff are happy about any of it. Flight crew aren't the only ones getting screwed!:=

[nitpicker330]

yes all the staff at CX are being disadvantaged.

However I'm sick to death of being forced to take a much bigger pay cut during SLS only to get a much smaller gratuity.

Of course i'm getting ahead of myself, this is only a theory about what might transpire in Dec. Although i'd be willing to place a bet that CX will do just this to avoid a riot from the HK staff while not giving a toss about the Pilot's.

[Cpt. Underpants]

New appointments to Corporate Communications...

The last time they had a rearrangement of the deck chairs in Corporate Spin was when they inserted new contracts, sideways on, up our rear ends...

Pardon my cynicism, but I can't help feeling that something is coming our way, soon...and it isn't a bonus, 13th month, or SLS return of pay.

Spin is close to TT's heart. He was the was the "doctor" during the last "trouble at mill" and managed to convince HKG's traveling public that the multitude of Air China, China Eastern and China Southern aircraft on the ramp was because of the approaching typhoon and CX's finest weren't experienced enough to deal with it. Right on, Typhoon Tony.

How dumb do you think we are? That's right, the "Million Dollar Morons."

[The Management]

In these difficult times, the 13th month will be the lesser of $6000 HKD or six days if we decide to pay it at all. For those on a base, thanks for helping with the SLS, we really appreciate it. It does help out with our year-end bonus so don’t despair.

Just sit on your base and do your job, there are many that would like a base. Giving the $6000 HKD back to the HKG dwellers is the price they pay if it is paid.

The DFO will be paid over 2,000,000.00 HKD in his retirement bonus this year as he has clearly earned it. That money has to come from somewhere so the DFO takes it from the bottom up, which is his job. He will take until it starts to affect the operations, then terminate someone so the rest fall in line.

In the future, the requirements to go on a permanent/temporary base will be to sign over to COS 08 whether it is onshore or not. This is the future.

Help out with the operations as best you can, you don’t what to be one of those pilots looking for a job in these difficult times.

As we seen in the past, the pilot group is quite cowardly. The pilot group couldn’t even launch contract compliance effectively. There is always someone who will work on a G day. We have been able quite easily over the years to increase productivity, reduce your contract, and offer no pay rise (while we receive record bonuses) with no resistance from the pilot group.

We are now able to roster patterns close to the AFTL limit and pilots use discretion to finish the task out of fear.

We have done a remarkable job in demeaning the pilot group and the DFO will continue to do this at every opportunity and you will comply.


Please keep up the effort, you are doing a remarkable job.


To My Bonus.
The Management

[Obama57]

The math does not add up. 125 metric tons at $35 is $4,375,000. I would charter 744's all day at $500,000.

[Air Profit]

Anyone want to speculate on the following:

a) how much overtime has the company paid out since June
b) how much did the company spend on legal fees fighting indefensible lawsuits this year
c) how much has their hedging lost/saved overall this year (certainly not the 3B loss they predicted)
d) how big will Tony/Nicks, etal bonuses be this Christmas

Needless to say, they have effectively coerced several millions from the pilot group, the same group who has been denied proper pay and profit sharing for the past 5+ years....

[air pressure]

Stealing from your own staff is usually considered bad form. Of course, you would need to have a moral base to reference your actions....therein lies the problem.