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• Air China flies to Pyongyang

  From North Korea Economy Watch: Air China finally lands in Pyongyang According to Reuters, Air China on Monday launched service to North Korea, making it the world’s only foreign airline to fly regularly to Pyongyang... ... I predicted that Air China would primarily service Chinese customers, with Westerners sticking with Air Koryo, the North Korean airline. In separate conversations with Koryo Tours and Walter Keats both tour operators expressed a preference for Air Koryo because of its flexibility and unique atmosphere, neither of which Air China can easily match. The time-warp effect travelers feel when boarding an Air Koryo flight, however, might be soon diminished. Largely at the insistence of Beijing, Air Koryo has recently updated its fleet to meet international safety standards. Although the stewardesses appearance and speaker announcement welcoming arrivals to the land of “juche paradise” will likely remain the same, the 1950’s era deco interior will certainly take on a more conventional feel. This article is from Danwei.org Posted Monday, March 31, 2008 7:52 PM from Danwei - Media, Advertising, and Urban Life in China | 0 Comments Filed under: Airlines

• Are frequent flyer programs just a scam?

  One of the current advertisers on Danwei is Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. On Sunday they are hosting an event: a talk by Cheung Kong's Dr. Brian Viard about frequent flyer programs and other customer loyalty systems — are they actually of any benefit to the customer? Your correspondent is inclined to think that frequent flyer programs are marketing tools from which only very wily or very patient customers can get any benefit. After many years of flying with no airline cards and being told I was an idiot, I joined several frequent flyer programs. Having finally accumulated enough points to go somewhere, every time I try to use them, it seems the plane is already too full of frequent flyer cheapskates, I am too late, it's the wrong flight, no sir, you have to pay cash for this one, sorry. The Cheung Kong talk will cover a variety of industries in which companies are using customer loyalty programs to avoid having to slash costs and compete on price alone, and ask to whose benefit? The talk is on Sunday March 9 from 2:30 - 5 pm at Cheung Kong's campus in Wangfujing, Beijing, from 14:30 – 17:00. You can register for it here. Disclaimer: Cheung Kong is a regular advertiser on Danwei.org. This article is from Danwei.org Posted Thursday, March 06, 2008 4:46 PM from Danwei - Media, Advertising, and Urban Life in China | 0 Comments Filed under: Airlines