I refer to the letter by Ken Gerrard headlined 'Cathay should stick with present policy' (South China Morning Post, June 28), in response to my letter suggesting Cathay Pacific should focus on hiring Hong Kong Chinese staff (Post, June 22).
Mr Gerrard suggests that Cathay has become a leader in cabin service and a world airline by hiring cabin crew from many countries.
No company in the world becomes a 'leader in cabin service or a world airline' by just hiring people from different nationalities.
It is the training of the crew, their personal attitude (no matter where they are from) and a company's policies towards its customers and staff which make a true world-class airline. However, people get a certain attitude from the surroundings in which they grow up, which means that the general attitude of people in one country differs from the way people think in another country.
There is even a difference in attitude with different racial groups within a country as Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad pointed out, when he praised Malaysian Chinese and criticised Malays. I am well aware that there are many staff members of Chinese descent from different countries and in my original letter I talked of Hong Kong Chinese staff, with HK in brackets.
My remark about Chinese crew and non-Chinese crew was not based on racism, but on personal observation.
