Dragonair turns challenges into opportunities

Dragonair received the World’s Best Regional Airline and Best Regional Airline in Asia awards, so what did Dragonair do to win these awards?

This is the third time we’ve received the award for the World’s Best Regional Airline and we were the first airline to have taken the accolade. This demonstrates the continuous commitment of our staff to achieving service excellence. Whether on the ground or in the air, our objective is to make every journey a pleasurable and enjoyable experience.

I believe this is the main reason we’ve received these awards, and why passengers continue to choose Dragonair. However to remain among the best we need to continuously innovate. We are rolling out a number of new products to upgrade our in-flight experience.

What’s your assessment of Vietnam’s aviation sector after managing one of Asia’s biggest airlines like Dragonair? What areas could the domestic aviation sector improve?

In any business or industry, there will always be opportunities to grow and improve the services offered to customers. Looking at Vietnam, it’s clear that the country is benefitting from political stability, accelerating urbanisation, an increasing public desire for quality products and stronger trade ties with the rest of the world.

On this basis I can only see Vietnam’s aviation market continuing to improve as it becomes more integrated into the global market. In fact, further improvements in the aviation sector in Vietnam are already on the way. One particularly exciting area that I’m look forward to as a resident of Hanoi, is the opening of the new international airport terminal there. I’m confident the new airport will help to support the growth of the aviation sector as well as the wider economy in northern Vietnam.

What do you think about Vietnam’s tourism industry at this particular moment, and which promotional packages are you prepare to Vietnamese customers?

We’ve been seeing growing demand for flight and hotel packages to Hong Kong over time. Dragonair, together with Cathay Pacific, will launch a grand promotion offering passengers up to 50 per cent off the regular fare for travel to Hong Kong, the US, Europe, Australia and other north Asian cities. Passengers will be able to travel with these fares between August and December this year.

After nearly half a year since launching your Hong Kong-Danang air route, what do you think about the potential of Vietnam’s central region? Do you plan to offer new destinations in Vietnam in the future?

We’re very proud to have launched our new three flights per week services between Hong Kong and Danang back in March, making it the second Dragonair destination in Vietnam. The flight has proved popular and we even added a fourth weekly flight on July 6. Even in the relatively short time that Dragonair has been flying to Danang, it is clear that the central coast is a vibrant and fast growing region, full of potential. We are seeing many people from around Asia take advantage of the new route to visit Danang with its famous beaches, and the nearby historic cities of Hue and Hoi An.

We have no plans to launch any additional destinations in Vietnam just yet, but we’re always on the lookout for new opportunities and are strong believers in the potential of the Vietnamese market.