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AIRLINE NEWS Cathay ‘in active discussions’ over HKE shares


Cathay Pacific has responded publicly to speculation it is eyeing an acquisition of its home market rival and HNA Group-owned budget airline Hong Kong Express Airways Limited (HKE). An announcement made to the Hong


Kong Stock Exchange this month addressed directly media reports that the Hong Kong- based airline was interested in snapping up shares in HKE and Hong Kong Airways Limited (although the latter was not referred to as part of the discussions). Bloomberg first broke a story noting the


interest in February. Should debt-laden Chinese conglomerate


HNA decide to hive off its asset, Cathay Pacific would obtain a strong springboard in the low-cost market. In a statement, Cathay Pacific said:


“The Company hereby confirms it is in active discussions about an acquisition involving HKE.


“No agreement for the acquisition


has been entered into and there can be no certainty that any agreement will be entered into. Further announcement(s) will be made as and when appropriate.” Cathay was yet to issue its full-year


results at the time of writing (due 13 March) but it is widely tipped to stem its losses, (which amounted to HK$263m/$33m in the first half of 2018), when they release.


As reported by TRBusiness, the carrier


is more than half way into a three-year transformation plan and is concentrating on sourcing new revenue streams, with inflight retail considered a key piece in its ancillary revenue development.


3Sixty views next level inflight POS platforms


Inflight concessionaire 3Sixty (formerly known as DFASS Group) has revealed to TRBusiness plans to introduce more seamless applications for inflight crew to understand passenger preferences and drive spending. Advanced data analytics allows the


firm to deliver more sophisticated and personalised sales promotions, with an emphasis on simplifying POS platforms to mirror standard tablets and smartphones. Dylan Cabaldon, Senior Vice President


Share inflight ‘risks and rewards’, urges Dutyfly Solutions


Pressures on cabin crew to sell inflight duty free means concessionaires and airlines should work closer to equally absorb the associated impacts and rewards, Dutyfly Solutions CEO Louis Dambrine has told TRBusiness in an exclusive interview. Dambrine stresses that in most


cases, more than 95% of the inflight concessionaire’s sales are triggered through crew engagement with passengers. He admits the ‘ideal’ onboard retail


partnership is not easy to identify, but stressed: “The global performance of inflight is highly dependent on the crew’s motivation and dedication, meaning the risks and successes must be shared between the airline and inflight retailer. “Imagine one airline decides to reduce


the amount of crew onboard, they will obviously have less time to do the boutique


MARCH 2019


business. This impact of these decisions need to be shared somehow.” Asked to comment on supplier listing


fee levels, an issue that frequently splits opinion, Dambrine said: “To me, they should not always be compared to the sales performance onboard. You should also consider it somehow as advertising. “When you are in the catalogue as


a brand, even though you might not transform your sales inflight, it is still an excellent communication medium.” Dutyfly Solutions currently operates


concession programmes for 10 airlines: Air France, XL Airways, Alitalia, Luxair, Iberia, Air Tahiti Nui, Transavia, Czech Airlines, Blue Panorama and Air Burkina. The two top performers across the


spread of product categories in 2018 were Transavia and Luxair, the company added.


www.scorpioworldwide.com TRBUSINESS 11


Global Head of Inflight Business, 3Sixty said: “We believe that passenger engagement begins with crew engagement. We are investing heavily in Android and iOS point-of-sale platforms to ensure that airline crew have the best tools available to engage with the passenger and drive conversion. Crew engagement remains paramount to our retail programmes.”


Source: Cathay Pacific.


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