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Singapore budget carrier Tiger Airways caused something of a stir when chief executive Tony Davis, along with key shareholders Indigo Singapore Partners and Ryanasia Limited, sold 40 per cent of their share holdings in the airline soon after the announcement of its alliance with Thai Airways International to set up Thai Tiger Airways.

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Full service airlines change the budget carrier game

Liang Dingzi

In reaction, Thai Airways executive vice-president Chokchai Panyayong said: “We have to admit that it’s something we never knew before. Now our finance department is looking at more details and considering if the change will affect our plan to set up a new carrier with Tiger.”

That concern is likely to pass as a ripple of undue caution as budget carrier euphoria spreads across Asia. Following the Thai Tiger announcement, All Nippon Airways said it was seeking a foreign airline partner to chase the same rainbow.

The obvious trigger is the booming popularity of regional budget air travel, which is expected to grow from today’s 20 per cent of market share to 35 per cent by 2015 when Asean open skies is fully implemented.

What has been especially compelling is the growing competition posed by lowcost carriers to full-service airlines. Budget carriers are flying farther and, increasingly, seeking to fly where full-service airlines operate, no longer confined to remote destinations by-passed by the bigger carriers.

The result is that full-service airlines no longer enjoy market exclusivity.

Air Asia X paved the way for long haul operations, flying from Kuala Lumpur to London’s Stansted airport. Jetstar is competing with parent Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Emirates flying between Singapore and Melbourne.

Thai Airways — which already owns domestic budget carrier Nok Air — bets on Thai Tiger to check its loss of regional market share. Its president, Mr Piyasavasti Amranand, said: “We believe this move will provide opportunities for Thai (Airways) and allow (it) to be more competitive in the region.” He added: “If we don’t do anything, our market share will decline further.”

ANA too is concerned about the growing competition from Chinese and Southeast Asian low-cost carriers.

This is where the budget business game changes — when full-service airlines decide to drive the competition to protect their turf, albeit through subsidiary discount carriers which claim to be independent of their parents. The game has moved from inter-budget carrier competition to competition across the board.

The new mantra for air travel is cost driven.

The market is losing its clear demarcation between full-service and budget as consumers become less conscious of the segmentation. The choice is not between budget and full-service, but airlines that offer the best deal.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce did not hide his ambition for Jetstar when he announced structural changes at the budget carrier recently. He said: “This will ensure we are well placed to successfully expand our footprint to new markets throughout Asia.”

While some experts have questioned the wisdom of Qantas and Jetstar competing with each other on some routes, it is a strategy of staking an additional share of the pie as more players enter the fray, so as not to suffer a complete outflow of the business as it shifts downward from premium to other more economic alternatives. Keep it within the family, that is.

Yet this is not new in the history of aviation.

American and European full-service airlines have spawned budget off-shoots which they subsequently sold, shut down or absorbed back into the parent company. Examples include Ted by United Airlines, Song by Delta Airlines, Tango and later Zip by Air Canada, Go by British Airways, and Snowflake by Scandinavian Airlines System.

There’s also a plethora of defunct independent budget carriers. So, is the Asian budget carrier bubble at risk of bursting as it swells?

There are upsides — the economic recovery, more liberal open skies policies, the geography of the region that makes air connection almost necessary, accessibility to hitherto remote locations, new short-haul tourist attractions such as Singapore’s integrated resorts, and the growing travel markets in India and China as the economies shift from one that is primarily product-based to one that is increasingly service-driven.

There are downsides too — the uncertainty of rising fuel costs, disruptions caused by pilot shortages and market saturation despite the optimistic growth forecasts.

But the biggest risk is that of biting off more than one can chew. The long-haul is untested ground for budget carriers and demands a different business model. It is too early to assess the success of Air Asia X.

Hong Kong’s Oasis Airlines and Macau’s Viva Macau Airlines tried and failed. These airlines, however, could not boast the parentage that Air Asia X had in Air Asia — a budget carrier itself, but Asia’s largest and most successful — and Jetstar had in Qantas.

A more pertinent point is how these parent airlines would change the competitive landscape for budget carriers. It is likely a few of them will grow stronger and larger as the attrition of numbers begins. Singapore budget carrier Tiger Airways caused something of a stir when chief executive Tony Davis, along with key shareholders Indigo Singapore Partners and Ryanasia Limited, sold 40 per cent of their share holdings in the airline soon after the announcement of its alliance with Thai Airways International to set up Thai Tiger Airways.

The writer is a management consultant.

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Bosses, why you should help staff get a life

Options sought to better juggle work, family and personal commitments and aspirations

Claire Chiang

Last year saw the economy in the throes of a worldwide recession and many companies reacted strongly to sliding stock indexes and dwindling profits.

In Can We Have It All?, a book by the Employer Alliance, successful practices by smart workplaces here are showcased.

The writer is chairperson of the Employer Alliance, a network of corporations committed to creating an enabling work environment for better work-life integration.

Can We Have It All? can be bought through Employer Alliance (info@ employeralliance.sg, 6837 8681).

There are strong reasons for CEOs to commit to work-life integration, empower their managers to implement work-life programmes as well as flexible work practices and continually experiment with different options.

Employees, on their part, must realise they are the architects of their own destinies. It is time for everyone to take steps to work smart and live well.

Some employees, for fear of losing their jobs, put in more hours at work, while others had to shoulder a larger workload after retrenchments and company down-sizing.

Happily, Singapore is seeing a strong recovery and companies are again hiring and building up their staff numbers. But now that it is a job seeker’s market, companies will need to differentiate themselves from the competition to attract talent with experience and expertise.

The traditional strategy of emphasising salary and benefits no longer works as the primary pull factor in attraction and retention, especially among Generation X and Y employees.

Organisational values and corporate culture developed by Traditionalists and Baby Boomers need to be reviewed in light of the changing needs and expectations of today’s workforce.

A study, “Harnessing the Potential of Singapore’s Multi-Generational Workforce”, by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment, found that flexible working hours ranked among the top three preferred organisational benefits for Gen X and Y employees.

It also found that across the different generations, having the flexibility to manage work and life demands ranked among the top five motivating factors; and that work-life programmes were perceived to be an enabler in workplace productivity.

In a separate survey by StrategiCom and the Singapore National Employers Federation earlier this year, the need for work-life integration was found to be among the top five requirements for talent attraction and retention.

With employees and job seekers craving for options that allow them to better juggle work, family and personal commitments and aspirations, it is time for companies to sit down and re-evaluate human resources policies to gain an advantage over other employers competing for individuals in the limited talent pool. Today’s Work-Life Conference will discuss ways employers can tap on work-life strategies to gain that competitive edge.

Studies conducted around the world have demonstrated that effective work-life integration programmes not only benefit the employees; bosses and the business gain too.

A 2008 study, by the Corporate Executive Board in the United States which polled more than 50,000 workers globally, revealed that worklife benefits boost productivity.

People who are happy with such benefits work 21 per cent harder and are 33 per cent more likely to stay at the same organisation.

The results of a 2007 poll by the Center for Creative Leadership found that leaders who were rated “more effective” have work-life integration scores 16 per cent higher than leaders who were rated “less effective”.

Among companies here, KPMG’s extensive suite of flexible work arrangements to suit its staff’s varied needs, “respect for leave” policy and employee support schemes have enabled it to make working hours more efficient, reduce staff turnover and increase staff engagement.

MSD Singapore — which has factories operating round the clock and hires a diversity of employees including researchers, engineers, operation, sales and marketing staff — offers a wide suite of flexible work arrangements.

This includes a compressed work week, flexi-hours, telecommuting, part-time and job sharing to meet the diverse job requirements and individual needs.

This year, about 50 per cent more companies applied for the Work-Life Excellence Award organised by the Tripartite Committee on Work-Life Strategy than in 2008, giving an indication of the growing recognition of the importance of such strategies to workplace performance.

Factors that impact the success of work-life integration include a culture of trust, leaders walking the talk and managers with the right skills.

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Merchant of Death

MERCHANT whO causes DEATH

tO payIng cUstOmers

nOn-clIents

innOcent bystanders

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‘Merchant of Death’ stuck in Thailand

BANGKOK

There are still many legal steps to go through,” Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said.

Mr Abhisit’s comment came after a flurry of overnight rumours that the extradition had already taken place or that Bout would be escorted by commandos and handed over to the United States authorities yesterday morning.

Other Thai officials also indicated that the US was trying to speed up the legal process but said that Thailand would not be pressured.

Nicknamed the “Merchant of Death”, Bout faces accusations of trafficking arms since the ’90s to dictators and conflict zones.

He has been fighting extradition since his arrest in Bangkok two years ago.

Bout faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted in the US on charges including conspiracy to kill US nationals and providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organisation.

— Thailand’s leader delivered a thinly-veiled message to Washington yesterday that the extradition of suspected Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout had been delayed and could not be rushed. “We’re not sending Bout back today.AGENCIES

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MERITOCRACY retaIns mIndset and remaIns Imperfect ?

MEDIOCRACY CHANGES mIndset and attaIns PERFECTION ?

In the lOng term ?

MEDIOCRACY beats MERITOCRACY ?

pharoah88 ( Date: 26-Aug-2010 12:34) Posted:

Failure often better for success in long run: Study

COLORADO

That is because they gain more knowledge from their failures than their successes and the lessons are more likely to stay with them.

Professor Vinit Desai, who led the study at the University of Colorado Denver Business School, based his research on companies and organisations that launch satellites, rockets and shuttles into space.

Prof Desai compared the flights of the space shuttles

During the 2002 Atlantis flight, a piece of insulation broke off and damaged the left solid rocket booster but did not impede the mission or the programme. There was little follow-up or investigation.Challenger was launched next and another piece of insulation broke off. This time the shuttle and its seven-person crew were destroyed.Atlantis was considered a success and the Challenger a failure.The Academy of Management Journal.

The

The disaster prompted the suspension of shuttle flights and it led to a major investigation, resulting in 29 recommended changes to prevent future calamities.

The difference came down to this: The

“Whenever you have a failure, it causes a company to search for solutions and when you search for solutions, it puts you as an executive in a different mindset, a more open mindset,” said Prof Desai.

The professor, however, does not recommend seeking out failure in order to learn. The advice is for organisations to analyse small failures and near misses to glean useful information rather than wait for major failures.

“The most significant implication of this study ... is that organisational leaders should neither ignore failures nor stigmatise those involved with them,” he concluded.

The study was published in

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH— Researchers have found that people and organisations that disastrously miss their goals perform much better in the long run.Atlantis and Challenger.

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Failure often better for success in long run: Study

COLORADO

That is because they gain more knowledge from their failures than their successes and the lessons are more likely to stay with them.

Professor Vinit Desai, who led the study at the University of Colorado Denver Business School, based his research on companies and organisations that launch satellites, rockets and shuttles into space.

Prof Desai compared the flights of the space shuttles

During the 2002 Atlantis flight, a piece of insulation broke off and damaged the left solid rocket booster but did not impede the mission or the programme. There was little follow-up or investigation.Challenger was launched next and another piece of insulation broke off. This time the shuttle and its seven-person crew were destroyed.Atlantis was considered a success and the Challenger a failure.The Academy of Management Journal.

The

The disaster prompted the suspension of shuttle flights and it led to a major investigation, resulting in 29 recommended changes to prevent future calamities.

The difference came down to this: The

“Whenever you have a failure, it causes a company to search for solutions and when you search for solutions, it puts you as an executive in a different mindset, a more open mindset,” said Prof Desai.

The professor, however, does not recommend seeking out failure in order to learn. The advice is for organisations to analyse small failures and near misses to glean useful information rather than wait for major failures.

“The most significant implication of this study ... is that organisational leaders should neither ignore failures nor stigmatise those involved with them,” he concluded.

The study was published in

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH— Researchers have found that people and organisations that disastrously miss their goals perform much better in the long run.Atlantis and Challenger.

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fInancIal prOducts ? ? ? ?

nEEd tO bE ? ? ? ?

CERTIFIED ? ? ? ?

FORTIFIED ? ? ? ?

by MAS ? ? ? ?

prOtect InvestOrs ? ? ? ?

There is a LEGISLATION for children to take CARE of PARENTS ?

MAS is fInancIal GUARDIAN ? ? ? ?

LEGILATE for MAS tO take CARE Of fInancIal InvestOrs ? ? ? ?

whOever aUthOrises the prOducts must Undertake DUE CARE and FULL RESPOSIBILITY tO prOtect the INVESTORS whOm they INTENDED tO ATTRACT and ATTRACTED Or CORNERED ? ? ? ?

niuyear ( Date: 26-Aug-2010 11:43) Posted:

i was approached by one of them,,,,,,,,,,the land they wanted me to buy is somewhere in Canada or UK (i cant remember that), a mere S$10,000 can buy a small fraction of land.......or may be a small sand pitt where i can find in Sentosa..........hahaha!

pharoah88 ( Date: 20-Aug-2010 14:43) Posted:

CAD steps into Profitable case

SINGAPORE

The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) investigations are said to have followed numerous complaints against the six-year-old land-banking company, which promises exceptionally high returns of between 12.5 per cent and 900 per cent on investments ranging from real estate in England, to fuel products and art.

Land-banking is the practice of speculating on land in the hope that it could be developed for residential housing or commercial purposes.

Not all CAD probes unveil wrongdoing.

A police spokesman said in an email reply:

“It is inappropriate to comment on police investigations, if any.”

This newspaper’s efforts to reach the company’s management by phone and by an email address provided on the company’s website were unsuccessful.

When MediaCorp visited yesterday afternoon, the company’s Stanley Street office was closed.

There were no signs that the office workers had packed up the place. Neighbouring tenants could not recall when the office last opened for business.

A couple of months ago, more than 50 disgruntled investors turned up at the Speakers’ Corner to vent their anger at the group following failed efforts to get their money back upon maturity of their investments.

Another dozen or so confronted operations director John Nordmann at the group’s office, which boasts a staff strength of about 100.

These investors were said to have invested between $3,000 and $200,000 in various products.

— In May, the Profitable Group was placed on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Investor Alert List. Now, Today understands that white-collar crime busters have stepped in and begun a probe into its dealings.Conrad Raj and Teo Xuanwei

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MAD CHANGE

TIME to BURY STRUCTURED PRODUCTS

CREATE and INNOVATE

STRADDLED PRODUCTS

LEARN frOm CHINA

THINK lIke CHINA

HEARD:

CLIENTS HATE tO bE STRUCTURED

WHO lIkes tO bE STRUCTURED ? ? ? ?

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STRUCTURED PRODUCTS

WHOLLY MAN-MADE ? ? ? ?

SPECIFICALLY TAILORED tO ACHIEVE CERTAIN OBJECTIVES ? ? ? ?

WHY STRUCTURE ONLY BAD TAINTED PRODUCTS which cause CLIENTS TO LOSE THEIR PANTS ? ? ? ?

STRUCTURE the ONLY GOOD PRODUCTS with INTEGRITY and GUARANTEE CLIENTS with PROFITS ? ? ? ?

LEADERS ALWAYS PROMISE WIN-WIN-WIN ? ? ? ?

WALK THE TALK WIN-WIN-WIN ? ? ? ?

SELL ONLY ALL WIN-WIN-WIN STRUCTURED PRODUCTS ? ? ? ?

SO SIMPLE ? ? ? ?

WIN-WIN-WIN

pharoah88 ( Date: 26-Aug-2010 11:34) Posted:

Structured products to be simpler

SINGAPORE

To date, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has allowed nine out of the 10 financial institutions concerned to resume selling structured products after a ban of between six months and one year. Observers say institutions will now tread carefully when offering structured products.

“You’re not going to see a very difficult-to-understand product. It will not have many layers of opacity where people can never comprehend what the underlying risks are,” said Associate Professor Annie Koh, Dean at the office of Executive and Professional Education at Singapore Management University.

She said these products may likely be structured as more equity- and currencylinked or as dual deposit and dual-currency deposit going forward.

Many investors who bought structured notes lost money when Lehman Brothers collapsed about two years ago. After the incident, financial institutions strengthened processes and improved policies.

Despite simpler products, observers said investors should not be too quick to sign up for them.

According to Mr David Gerald, president and chief executive officer of the Securities Investors Association (Singapore), investors should not assume there would be no more cases of tainted financial products in future.

“It may happen because you don’t understand the nature of the product.

In a structured product, there are many layers of complexities,” he added, citing the need for customers to ascertain their risk appetite before making their investment decisions.

— Following the Lehman Brothers minibond scandal, structured products offered in future will be simple and less sophisticated, according to industry watchers interviewed by MediaCorp.May Wong

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cannOt UNderstand ? ? ? ?

WHY ? ? ? ?

STRUCTUROR[S] nOt JAILED ? ? ? ?

TAINTOR[S] nOt HUNG ? ? ? ?

FRAUD INTENT PRESENT ? ? ? ?

TOO POWERFUL ? ? ? ?

UNprOsecUtable ? ? ? ?