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| Sunday, 5 September 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Cathay's daily services a major plus point Ed Higgs is the new Country Manager for Cathay Pacific Airways in Colombo, taking over from Ronald Lam who returned to a posting in Hong Kong. Higgs is focused on addressing two key issues - consolidating the growth which Cathay Pacific has experienced during the past few years which prompted the airline to operate daily services, and to generate more interest in Hong Kong as a destination. Higgs feels the airline's daily services are a plus point in attracting corporate business. "The way things are developing with low-cost carriers, we need to focus on our services and schedules", he said adding: "Singapore is doing very well - we just had a very strong July, and August looks pretty reasonable as well". "I intend improving the perception of Hong Kong in Sri Lanka", says Higgs explaining that it is a spectacular city and he feels that New York comes closest by comparison. Promoting Hong Kong as a destination for holiday makers and business travellers from Sri Lanka is top on his list of priorities, as is bringing visitors from that part of the world to Sri Lanka. With the opening up of travel between China and Sri Lanka through granting of Preferred Destination Status to Sri Lanka, existing barriers for travel between the countries have been removed and what remains is promoting attractions which would serve as an incentive to encourage such travel. Higgs himself a very keen golfer says Golf is a sport enjoying immense growth and popularity in China. "It is booming, and this is just one area which could be focused on", he says. The fact that Cathay Pacific Airways has one of the youngest fleets in the world, and will soon reach the milestone of owning over one hundred aircraft, is of immense satisfaction to Higgs. Cathay Pacific announced very recently the acquisition of eight additional 747-400 aircraft to complement the existing fleet and over the next couple of years we envisage a very strong growth, which would bring our fleet to a total of 103 aircraft. Having graduated in English and Spanish from St. Andrew's University in Scotland in 1998, he spent a gap year between school and university, teaching English in Hong Kong. While at University he did a holiday job with Service Air, a handling agency in the UK. "The Swire Group takes in a small number of Graduates to work in anyone of the Swire interests, and it was quite by chance that I was recruited in the UK and seconded to the airline division with the Swire Group in Kong Kong", says Higgs. year based in Mumbai as Assistant to the Country Manager for Cathay India was followed two years later by a posting as Cathay Manager East Indonesia covering Surabaya and Bali. Back in Hong Kong Higgs was with the airline's Planning Division before being given his current posting as Country Manager for Cathay Pacific Airways for Sri Lanka and the Maldives. |
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