LettersHong Kong can’t afford Cathay Pacific’s new check-in policy
- Reader discuss the difference 20 minutes make to the city’s appeal as a business hub, boardwalks for Lantau, and how the UK riots compare with the Hong Kong protests
Twenty minutes gives a busy executive the time to sign a contract or finish a business lunch. It also gives a happy tourist one more round of shopping or a meal downtown.
Hubs compete on ease of doing business and speed of turnaround. Instead of a convenient 40-minute cut-off period for checking in before the flight, the longer cut-off period of 60 minutes before boarding makes travelling from Hong Kong that much more of a hassle.
Cathay says its decision was made to standardise check-in times for different cities, based on customer views and operational needs. Instead of standardising cut-off periods to 40 minutes to improve services, it seems to have lowered its prompt service standards.
Unlike some peers, Hong Kong does not have a downtown airport. Because its only airport is far away from the city centre, Hong Kong has to work even harder to make sure it offers the same convenience and turnaround time as other airports, whether downtown or not, in the region.