Air China eyes improvements in services
Air China, the nation’s largest international carrier, said it is working on more than 100 service improvements as it competes with Cathay Pacific Airways and Delta Air Lines on overseas routes.
Targets include onboard catering, seat comfort, inflight entertainment, call-centre operations, maintenance and cleaning.
Senior vice-president He Li said in an interview in Beijing, reported in China Daily, “This year we want to focus on improving services. We couldn’t do it during the financial crisis as then we were tied up with avoiding losses.”
Air China’s plans may help it win more sales in the nation’s international air-travel market, which the industry regulator expects to surpass 50 million passengers a year by 2015.
The improvements may also help the carrier boost first and business-class traffic on domestic routes as the government liberalises pricing rules.
“There’s clearly still some difference in the service quality between China’s airlines and international ones,” said Zhang Jing, an analyst at Philip Securities (HK) Ltd in Shanghai.
“The verdict remains open if the new fare rules will result in better inflight services.”
Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines, the nation’s big three carriers, all have three-star ratings from London-based Skytrax.
Delta, the world’s biggest carrier, also has three. Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines have five stars, the highest ranking.
Ian Jarrett
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