Jean-Emmanuel Hay: What about the network? How is the APG net- work doing? What’s new since the last World Connect? Do you have any new partners? Richard Burgess: Over the past 12 months, our main focus has been on expanding our cargo network. We now have 72 cargo offices worldwide, compared with about 25 a few years ago when we started largely through divisions of our passenger partners. While still short of the 120+ offices we have for passenger services, this is a significant step forward. We’ve also identified strong cargo markets where our competitors have little presence,
giving us a real advantage. In addition, we’ve replicated our Interline program on the cargo side, and we now have over 60 cargo interline agreements with airlines globally. On the passenger side, our net- work already covers the world very densely. We’ve added a few new partners, and we’re actively looking at Africa, where we see great op- portunities. Countries like Congo, Cabo Verde, and Angola are of par- ticular interest, and we’re keen to strengthen our already strong cov- erage across the continent. Jean-Emmanuel Hay: You spend a lot of time in Asia and have
long-standing relationships there, dating back to your time working for Air China. What are the funda- mental differences between avia- tion in Asia and Europe, and how do Asian businesspeople perceive our European problems? Richard Burgess: As you say, I have strong ties with China from my time at Air China, and I was pleased to be back there recently. China contin- ues to be a major driver of aviation growth in Asia, largely due to the huge demand for domestic travel. Competition remains fierce, so it’s no longer the easy cash cow it once was, but revenues are still strong.
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