jon68,
Ah but the supervisor was probably a local.That sort of call doesn't fit into the number crunching profile.I recall a Gweilo collegue getting bollocked for saving a lost PPl's life.Reason non standard R/T.What is standard R/T in HK?:ugh:
Having worked in that place a few years ago I'm not surprised by that dreadful response. I would have said thank you and I'll pass that on to the people cocerned.If you called EGPD ATC where I work now,I would say the same.The trouble with HK supervisors is that their heads are either stuck up their own arses remembering Kai Tak,or playing on the computer.They are without exception divorced from modern ATC in the real world and have zero people management skills.:)

johnathan68: Often when the supervisors phone is answered, it's by an assistant, or by the assistants supervisor. He/she will indeed answer "yes" to your query "Is that the ATC supervisor?" because that's all they can competently do. If and I stress the if, the real watch supervisor answers, then I for one would be most surprised if you didn't get a full and comprehensive acknowledgement of your "thanks". As a group, we controller's are quite happy to receive a "thank-you" from you people, but the assistants as a group, are not intimately involved, and more often than not, wouldn't understand. Did you see the movie "Lost in translation"?

Yeh, Bedder is probably right. The reason being, the Supe was probably plugged in doing Macau sector, caus we don't have enough staff for that. Or maybe he was checkin some bod caus we don't have enough authorised examiners. Or maybe he was training someone, coz we don't have enough instructors. Or maybe he was emptying the bins, coz ..... you get the idea. Seems that the only way out is to call back retired bods and run the place like an old folks home. I'm expecting handrails in the toilets and walking frames in the foyer any day now.:ugh:

Better warm up my zimmer now.Still goes faster than a DB golf cart.;)

Hey, throw a dyce. 10 years ago today! - or is that tomorrow for you ? :O.
Bloody Birdseed.

Bekol,
Hey happy 10th birthday.Yes thanks to BA mangling 3 747's I was a little late.
Good times.Gweilo Airlines at Moonbase CLK.Finding out that a boat is a form of transport.WHY do the Chinese do this? 10 bucks!! I remember my landlady in DB offering me a DB cart,for only HKD 3000.I said £250 that's very cheap to buy one of THOSE things.:=:=:
Anyway to everyone in the Jan 98 starters,I hope you're all well all over the world.:ok:

lol, maybe you should try saying good morning in chinese if you think the locals ain't responding to you, lol...

To Simon Parry (whoever you are)
 

I can't believe that a single beat up by a single Pilot (Alvega - Macau based by the look of it) that turns a minor specific into a sweeping generalisation can reach page 3 of todays (20th January) SCMP. Is it a "bad news day?", maybe we need a war. There will always be Controllers - and pilots for that matter, that will be pretty thin on the ground when it comes to pleasantries, there always has been. Likewise there will always be those that will greet and farewell whenever they humanly can, because that is the nature of their politeness.
You quote: "A Senior Hong Kong based Airbus captain said that the decline in courteousness showed the experience level had "dropped markedly"". What a load of rubbish. Maybe it's the controllers having to work at a much higher level for longer periods that is to blame. What has experience got to do with courteousness? Are we all supposed to prostrate ourselves snivelling on the ground in deference to the opinion of said Senior Airbus captain? Sure newer controllers (all locals) may be a little shy to open up at times, but that is human nature. After all, this job can be a bit intimidating at times.

Whatever happened to courtesy in Hong Kong ATC?
 

I'm new to this forum.

I fly into HK two to three times a month with a longhaul low cost airline and found an article in (I think it was) Sunday's South China Morning Post. Interesting how something as relatively minor can make an article in a national paper. But the contents did strike a chord.

For the mostpart I find HK ATC polite and efficient but I was more than a little dissapointed by one controller (from a large landmass to the south south east of HK by the accent) who, when he thought my FO had not replied to his request repeated it and then told him to 'listen properly next time'. It was the controller, not the FO, who had missed the reply. An easy misunderstanding but an unecessary display of bad manners which I have never heard in Europe.

And yes, there is time for a 'good morning' or 'cheers' even on a busy frequency. It takes some 2 seconds...I think we can spare that.

Not listening to readbacks.Oz controller tut tut:=

Hard to talk on mobile phone and do appr at the same time.:sad:

To Mr Parry
 

It was a pity that you did not write more about the need to recruit extra controllers for hong kong airport as its traffic workland increases. An opportunity lost.

I thought they were recruiting more? Locals and Real Time ad for a couple of days.:rolleyes:

Totally agreed. Not an issue.

Indeed so have I. The only difference is that before, we were contacting humans whereas nowadays it looks more and more like we are talking to robots. Different concepts of efficiency.

Not so rare anymore. And how about London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Rome, Madrid or even Beijing and Shanghai. I don’t think their stress levels are in any way lower than those in Hong Kong.
Anyway, I've noticed that things have improved a tad in the last few weeks and I salute those who have put a little bit of effort in that direction. Not such a big sweat, is it?

Alvega - Macau based

I only fly up to HKG about 8-9 times a year and have not experienced any lack of courtesy......just the opposite.

Why is that person allowed to do that? Where is the supervisor?
Civil servants.:cool:

The power of the press.......
 

I read the SCMP article on Sunday 20th January regarding this thread, with some surprise.

Obviously lots of HKATC controllers did as well, since when I flew the following day there was an outbreak of good manners!

It was comparable to the table talk when one is taken home for dinner/ to meet the future in-laws for the first time.

Things have settled down a bit as the week has progressed, but overall I think a valid point has "hit home".

Lets all keep up the good work!

Let's not get carried away by placing Hong Kong in the same league as the airports mentioned above.

In terms of pax numbers it is ranked 14th in the world, and more importantly in terms of movements it's not even ranked in the top 30.

Exactly my point.

Strange. Thats how it sounds from this end. :O



P.S. With 48 mill pax last year we might nearly make it to top 10! :)
Sadly still way outside top 30 movement.:(

Are you missing your right base at VMMC? :ok: