China Southern Airlines has appealed to the trade and public to be patient while it strives to makes improvements to the quality of its service.
The carrier admitted service standards are below that of competitors and must be improved to meet the “expectations and requirements” of Australian travellers.
President and chief executive Tan Wangeng said it was one of the “difficulties” facing the carrier as it looks to develop its Australia-Guangzhou-Europe “Canton Route”.
Speaking through an interpreter to Australian media in Guangzhou yesterday, Tan said onboard catering, inflight entertainment and communications with overseas passengers need to be, and will be, stepped up.
Airfares will rise as its service quality improves, he said.
“There is much room for improvement,” Tan admitted. “But we’re still nurturing this travel market so it takes some time.
“Airfares should always live up to the service quality so right now, while we are improving, our airfares are relatively lower. But as time goes by our price will go up a little as our service quality improves to catch up with those big names in the world aviation industry.”
The recruitment of Australian cabin crew will help achieve that aim, he said, with the carrier aiming to put one English-speaking flight attendant on each flight.
Tan said their task onboard will not be to serve passengers but to act as “ambassadors”.
“Their key assignment is to communicate and see what the needs of the foreign traveller are, what kind of assistance they need from China Southern,” he said.
Executive vice president He Zonkai said recent letters of complaint from Australian travellers have helped the airline learn from its mistakes.
“We thank them for their letters and suggestions,” he said. “They show us the direction in how we are going to improve our service and standard.”
He added that China Southern has traditionally concentrated on its domestic Chinese passengers. But it must shift that focus to international markets to raise its brand profile and appeal to foreign passengers.
