'Air Macao will Fly High Amid Market Tussle,' Says CEO

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, August 21, 2002

'Air Macao will Fly High Amid Market Tussle,' Says CEO

For Air Macao, Wednesday is a day of "double happiness" -- it took delivery of an A-319 airliner from Air Bus and, its Macao-Singapore route was inaugurated.

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For Air Macao, Wednesday is a day of "double happiness" -- it took delivery of an A-319 airliner from Air Bus and, its Macao-Singapore route was inaugurated.

Chief Executive Officer Zhang Hongying said in an interview with Xinhua, "We are confident that in 2002 Air Macao will be in the black for the fourth straight year despite fierce market tussle, due to sound development of Macao and our market expansion efforts."

The air carrier had been suffering from losses since it was established in 1995, but began to become profitable in 1999, the year when Macao returned to the motherland.

And its net profits reached 76 million patacas (9.5 million US dollars) last year, defying air passenger fears after terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, thanks to influx of large numbers of Taiwanese travelers shuttling between China's mainland and Taiwan via Macao.

Robust tourism business is set to further fuel the aviation sector. According to statistics, the Special Administrative Region(SAR) played host to a record of 5.48 million tourists in the first half of this year, with inlanders soaring to one-third of the total.

Zhang Hongying noted it was a wise step for the SAR government to liberalize the gambling sector by issuing three casino licenses, putting an end to monopoly by tycoon Stanley Ho over the market, as more tourists and punters will come to Macao following the move.

"But we should not forget that Macao is not only famous as a gambling city, but has a long multicultural history. We should make good use of this privilege to develop Macao as a relaxing destination," he said.

The aviation industry will be the first direct beneficiary when Macao becomes a resort city, a more popular gambling center and a hub for conferences and exhibitions in line with an ambitious government plan.

"When this comes to fruition, Air Macao will surely capitalize on the emerging opportunities," he said.

The CEO said that his airline, however, now faces two challenges. One is that Air Macao will have to make more provisions for passenger premiums in tandem with other international air carriers; the other is that fights have been added on the Hong Kong-Taiwan air route, which may take a toll on the business of Air Macao.

Zhang, who has headed Air Macao for more than two years, said his carrier will upgrade services, adjust air fees in an more active way and give passengers more benefits.

Macao as a whole should add different kinds of restaurants, boost traffic network and improve services to address the tourism and aviation growth, he noted. "While short-term objectives should be reached, Macao's long-term image is extremely important."

So far, Air Macao's fleet has increased to 11, with weekly flights to Taipei reaching 79 as well as other ones to China's mainland and southeast Asian counties.

Zhang said the carrier will exert more efforts to expand the inland market and diversity business in neighboring countries and regions, citing that flights between Macao and Beijing will soon be added.

Source: Xinhua

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