1. Governance
Airline-Cathay Pacific Airways
!
Cathay Pacific Airplane Taking Off
! Cathay Pacific is an airline headquartered in Hong Kong, famous for it’s warm
service, but is the airline all that good on the inside, how is the company run? What system
of governance does it use? Why don’t we step inside the company’s governance system
for a look.
What is the system of governance? Explain how it works.
! The supreme top of the company is the chairman. He makes the final calls on
everything, even though he is the supreme top of the company, he is not full time to the
company. Below him is the board, the board is a group of people that assists the chairman
to make the decsion. As with the chairman, the board is not full time the company. Below
them is the Management Committee. That includes the Chief Executive, and his fellow
chiefs. Beside them is the Audit Committee. They are drafted in from a seperate company,
they audit the company about it’s financial stuff such as the profits, the losses, and that
type of stuff. Beside them is the board safety review. They review the safety of the
company’s jets, the cabin crew training on emergency procedures, and other stuff
concerning the airline’s safety record. Below them is the fleet steering group, which
includes the cabin crew and the pilots, they are... well... in charge of flying and operating
the planes, serving and flying the aircraft. Next to them is the long term action on climate
change group. They are the people who control the environmental issues of the airline,
including the use of fuel, the types of food (responsibly sourced food) and other issues
concerning the environment. Next to them is the Sustainable Development Group, these
are the people who are in charge of the airline’s development, making sure that the next
decision that the airline will make is gearing the airline for a sustainable future. Below the
sustainable development group is the inflight services department, they are responsible for
the cabin products such as the seats and the food. Next to them is the property services
department. They are the people who make sure that nobody steals anything from the
airline and are in charge of what to do with the property of the airline.
What impact does this system of governance have on individuals?
!
! Cathay Pacific’s employee satisfaction rates are quite a mixed bag, some cabin
crew simply love their job, they are passionate about flying and serving to the passengers,
these people are affected in a superb way because they enjoy their job. Other flight
attendants had a passion, but find that the hours are to tiring, and the pay was horrible.
Now, all they do is moan, groan, and protest, these people have just simply spoiled their
life by groaning and without knowing it, affected themselves in a bad way. Most of the
pilots enjoy their job, they like to fly the plane and have a passion for aviation. Cathay
Pacific gives it's pilots modern and efficient planes to fly, combined with good pay, almost
every pilot in Cathay Pacific enjoy's their job, they are affected in a good way. The office
staff are what makes the company's satisfaction rate a mixed bad, office staff say that
there are long hours, not-so-good pay, an office in the middle of nowhere, hierarchy is
running strong inside the company, and the office staff, who just so sit at the bottom at the

2. tree have to
listen to their
bosses,
although some
people like to
work like this,
chances are,
only about 5%
of the world
population
likes to be
bossed about
everything,
most of these
office staff just
had to do this
job because it
was the last
job left. Most
of the office
staff in the
airline just
simply hate their job, affecting them in a bad way. The final bunch is the executive office
staff, well, these are the high ups who make the calls, they live the high life (as if with any
other business), still they have to tackle many problems concerning the airline, putting a
lot of stress on themselves. They are affected in a good and bad way at the same time.
The good way is.. well… living the high life and the bad way of course is the stress that is
put on you.
! What are peoples roles in this system of governance?
! Cathay Pacific is a a fairly large airline. For the airline to be what it is, the people in
the airline (who play different roles) have to work hard to make the airline what it is. Let’s
start with the cabin crew, the flight attendants are basically the ambassadors for the airline,
they have to serve passengers, they have to learn how to cook meals for the passengers.
The flight attendants also have to attend a briefing before and after the flight. The flight
attendants are also in charge of the safety of the aircraft. Although it is the pilot who makes
the final decsions about the passenger’s safety (hierachy again) The cabin crew are the
second in command, they are in charge of ensuring that the emergency equipment in the
cabin is working and functional. As mentioned earlier, the pilots are the people in charge,
they also have to formulate the flight plans to make sure that the flight is as smooth as
possible for the passengers. Last but not least, they have to perform the mandatory walk
around check to make sure that the aircraft’s exterior is fine, making sure that there are no
dents or birds in the engine and the landing gear. The airport staff are in charge of checking in
passengers, serving the passengers in the lounges. Making sure that people who have a
connection to other places make their flight. They are also in charge of assisting people with
needs, such as wheelchair bound or disabled passengers. They also have to make sure that flights
depart on time by boarding the plane swiftly. Next up are the accountants. They are not full time to
the company, instead, they are drafted in from another company to audit the airlines profits and
other financial stuff. The next batch of office staff are the ones who are in charge of the airlines
sales, they are the people who man the call center, count the airlines sales and basicly controlling
the airline’s sales.The next group of office staff are the people in charge of the product, they decide
what the airline’s service, seats, and meals are. Another group of office staff are the lawyers, they
are the ‘official’ lawyers of the airline. They help the airline in court and wrangles with the law. The

3. executive management group (the people who govern the airline on a daily basis) have to make
sure that the airline runs smoothly, without any crashes, or incidents regarding the flight attendants
or the pilots, in case of any aircraft emergency, the executive management group will be in full
command of the airline. To make a long paragraph short, the different people have different roles
that they must play in order for the airline to function.
What are peoples rights in this system of governance?
!
! As mentioned earlier, Cathay Pacific uses hierachy to run the airline, the people who sit at
the to of the tree (the board and the executive management group) get all the say, they are like the
supreme leaders of the airline. However, the executive management group has to follow an
employers code of conduct. They have to let people take leave when they are sick, they cant force
the employees to do stuff and there will be high ethical standards. Still the cabin crew and the
office staff (who sit at the bottom of the tree) only have “minimum rights” they are bossed to do
things by a boss, if they speak out, they are threatened to be fired. Above them sit the pilots and
the head office staff. These people have more rights (especially the one where you get to boss
around others) but that’s really it. They don’t get bossed around as badly, but they are still getting
bossed by the management and the board, the pilots too are going be threatened about the sack if
they speak out against the company.
! http://downloads.cathaypacific.com/cx/aboutus/sd/2011/corporateGovernance/
index.html
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Cathay-Pacific-Reviews-E7531.htm
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-04/cathay-union-threatens-industrial-action-in-
absence-of-talks.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGEhidjLrI8
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xpD5OXmygk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDLnhUJvxs0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathay_Pacific#The_49ers_.E2.80.93_employment_dispute
http://downloads.cathaypacific.com/cx/CSR/CSR_Code_of_Conduct.pdf
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/pictures-cathay-chief-777-pilot-fired-after-low-
level-flypast-stunt-221793/