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Airline will lose customer loyalty

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Your correspondent R. M. Clarke ('Angered by unfair charge for baby', South China Morning Post, April 8) asked why Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific were charging him $3,000 for his 18-month-old daughter to fly return from Hong Kong to Manchester.

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He raised the common bane of all Hong Kong residents: Why does it usually cost twice as much to fly out of Hong Kong as it does to fly in?

Presumably the airlines will say they can subsidise visitor flights to attract tourists. Alternatively it could be the high cost of using Chek Lap Kok, but that applies to all flights, in or out. Also, a Hong Kong-based airline such as Cathay Pacific is liable to less corporate tax than those based in other countries.

Cathay is invariably the most expensive airline to use, but that used to be a trade-off for experienced pilots, attentive cabin staff, and reasonable benefits as a frequent flyer.

In the last couple of years the airline has lost the confidence of its staff, so cabin crew are now often not motivated to perform as they did and frequent flyer benefits are too menial or too hard to obtain. The ultimate result is that the company will lose customer loyalty just as it is losing staff loyalty.

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I find Singapore Airlines to be more price-competitive and the cabin staff are very attentive and courteous.

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