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Air China Corporate Profile
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Air China Limited is abbreviated as "Air China" and its predecessor, the old Air China, was founded in 1988. According to "Civil Aviation System Reform Program" approved and passed by the State Department, in October 2002, the old Air China combined China National Aviation Company and China Southwest Airlines and founded China Aviation Group Company.
Based on the joint air transport resources of the three parties, the new Air China Company was founded. On September 30th, 2004, approved by the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of State Council (SASAC) as the main air transport company controlled by China Aviation Group, Air China Limited was founded in Beijing in due form, with 23,000 employees, registered capital of RMB 6.5 billion and the paid-up capital of RMB 9.433 billion.
On December 15th, 2004, Air China successfully listed in Hong Kong (HKEx: 0753 and London (trading code: AIRC). With excellent profitability, Air China has made profits for seven consecutive years since 2001, which is the leading position in China's civil aviation industry.
The enterprise logo of Air China is an artistic Phoenix pattern, the Chinese version of "Air China Limited" written by Mr. Deng Xiaoping and its English translation "AIR CHINA". The Phoenix is a divine bird in the ancient Chinese legend as well as the lucky bird adored by Chinese people since ancient times. According to records from "Shan Hai Jing", the phoenix came from an oriental country called Junzi; she flies across the great Kunlun Mountain and over all the oceans; wherever she flies, she brings auspiciousness and peace.
The logo of Air China is the phoenix and it also is the artistic transfiguration of the word "VIP". The color is the traditional Chinese red which implies auspiciousness, completion, peace and happiness, and expresses Air China's sincere passion to serve the society and endless pursue of the safety enterprise. Air China's corporate culture emphasizes service and transcends its values in the new era.
The desire and orientation of Air China is an air company with an international reputation, the connotation of which is to realize four strategic targets of achieving leading competitiveness in the world, continuously developing and steadily increasing profits and providing excellent and unique travel experiences for passengers.
Its enterprise spirit emphasizes "serve the world with a warm heart and guide the future by innovation".
Its enterprise mission is to "meet the requirements of customers and create mutual values". Its enterprise sense of worth is to "make a high level of service and get the universal approval of the public".
Its service notion is "reassurance, satisfaction, easiness, and sensation". The enterprise culture of Air China has expressed its notion of spreading love all over the world and pursuing excellent service quality.
Air China is the only airline company which carries the national flag.
It became a member of Star Alliance in December 2007 and it is also the airline partner of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
It has the first rank of brand value among domestic airline companies (the world brand laboratory evaluated it RMB 23.523 billion in 2007) and it leads domestic counterparts in passenger and freight air transport and related services.
It is known to all that Air China takes the responsibility of special plane task for Chinese national leaders visiting abroad, and foreign leaders and governmental leaders visiting China, which demonstrates the exclusive status as the national flag carrier.
With the headquarters located in Beijing, Air China has several branch companies such as Southwest, Zhejiang Province, Chongqing, Inner Mongolia, Tianjin, Guizhou Province, Tibet and bases in Shanghai and Southern China.
It also owns a project technology branch, a business plane branch, Aircraft Maintenance & Engineering Corporation (Ameco Beijing), China International Freight Transport Airline Co. Ltd. and Beijing Air Food Company.
Air China also holds shares of Shenzhen Airline and Cathay Pacific Airline. It is the biggest stockholder of Shangdong Aviation Group Co. Ltd., and controlled Macao Airline Co. Ltd. until the end of March 2008. Air China owns 224 Boeing and Airbus planes operates 243 routes covering 28 countries and districts, among which there are 69 international routes, 6 regional routes and 168 domestic routes.
It provides more than 6.000 weekly flights and offers 1 million seats. By traveling with Air China, passengers can easily reach 81 domestic destinations and 42 international and regional destinations through its strong and balanced global route network with Beijing as the major hub.
Air China has successfully established cooperative partnership with 20 well-known airlines globally. On December 12th 2007, Air China formally joined Star Alliance, the world's largest airline alliance, which further expands its service to 897 destinations in 160 countries and enables it to offer passengers more convenience and benefits.
Air China is committed to providing passengers with "Four Heart" services of reassurance, satisfaction, easiness and sensation.
Air China PhoenixMiles, the frequent passenger program, has the longest history in China.
Air China is the first domestic civil airline to launch "Forbidden Pavilion" first class and "Capital Pavilion" business class, the two-class services in medium-to-long distance flights centering on "lie-flat seats" and "whole journey valued service" experience, which provides the passengers with valued, comfortable and convenient travel space and considerate service.
Air China owns an extensive high-quality client group and has become the first choice for many clients from Chinese governmental organizations and companies. The members of Frequent Passengers Club of Air China have reached 6.28 million as of the end of 2007. It also introduced in 2007 the new version of frequent passenger logo and the "Phoenix Junior" children card, the first children mileage accumulation card in domestic civil aviation industry.
Air China has a strong domestic and international transport capacity and a powerful sales network. Its abundant domestic routes, the largest number of international routes as well as the code-sharing with different airlines both at home and abroad, has resulted in a balanced and extensive air route network layout with domestic routes supporting the international routes and international routes supporting domestic routes.
Air China has set up 85 sales departments inland and overseas, 157 sales outlets, more than 27,000 sales deputies, more than 2,000 agreed key accounts, as well as 27 direct overseas sales websites. It has opened on-line check-in service in 36 cities including Beijing, Wuhan, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Dalian, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Qingdao and Ningbo.
Air China offers convenient non-stop and transfer travel service for Chinese and foreign passengers.
Air China has a team of pilots and stewards with excellent business technology, precise working style and good service skills.
Among 2,875 pilots, there are 369 meritorious pilots who have piloted more than 20,000 hours safely, and 800 golden prize pilots who have piloted more than 16,000 hours safely. Air China's piloting team has received many prizes such as the "International Civil Aviation Organization Honorary Medal", "National Safe Production Advanced Collectivity", and the "Safe Piloting Example Unit".
Among more than 6,166 air stewards who work on the passenger planes, including stewards with Japanese, Korean and German nationality, most have graduated from different academies with good professional skills and hardworking spirit. They are the best friends to passengers in the blue sky. They consistently put forward the "Four Heart", meaning reassurance, satisfaction, easiness and sensation. Their service quality has always been praised by passengers.
The planes of Air China own professional and standardizing technical guarantees.
Air China has set-up project technology branches with Beijing as the headquarter, which consist of 7 maintenance bases (in Chengdu, Chongqing, Hanzhou, Tianjin, Huhehaote, Shanghai and Guiyang), 4 affiliate enterprises, 79 domestic maintenance centers and 45 international maintenance centers. Thus Air China has established a maintenance network covering both inland and overseas.
It has been approved by CAAC, FAA and EASA and has received maintaining licenses issued by 18 countries. With 9 major hangars together with advanced equipment and facilities, it is able to conduct maintenance on all Boeing and Airbus series.
It can offer flight course maintenance to almost all Boeing and Airbus aircrafts, and is also able to provide repair and overhaul for Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney and the CFM56 engines. It has nearly 10,000 annex repair and overhaul capabilities. Air China's maintenance team includes more than 9,000 engineers and technicians. They not only offer well performed and safe planes for the piloting safety of Air China, but also ensure transportation capacity.
With their excellent techniques and first-class service, they have won Air China the approval and trust from more than 80 airlines in the world. Since the end of 1980s until now, the team has been awarded nearly 20 national maintaining projects and more than 50 scientific and technological advancing prizes issued by national and provincial ministries and commissions.
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The operation controlling center, which is the organizing and coordinating backbone of the Air China flight operation, commands Air China flights all over the world.
It has set up overseas controlling branches, domestic administration centers and some professional technical departments. Its main responsibilities include managing flight operation, operational manuals, aircraft performance and navigational information materials, coordinating tasks relevant to operation security together with related aviation administrative departments, air traffic control departments and airport authorities; organizing and coordinating the secure operations of day-to-day flights, overtime flights, charter flights and special mission flights, and participating in the security coordination of special plane tasks and in the coordination and command of various corporate emergency managements.
One of the most important tasks of the operation controlling center is to collect information from computer piloting plan systems, plan capability databases, the global navigation database and airport databases, and high altitude weather databases. This allows the operation controlling center to prioritize flight courses, make piloting plans, grasp plane capabilities, confirm piloting qualifications and perform strict checks.
Air China offers high quality ground service for 35 foreign airlines, 3 domestic aviation groups and airlines at the Beijing Capital International Airport, which occupies 55% of ground service of the Airport.
Ground services include passengers' entry, departure and transit services, special passenger services, irregular flight passenger services, passenger luggage services, tarmac load and unload services, cabin cleaning services and supply of various ground equipments and special vehicles.
Air China has operated full check-in via Beijing with more than 60 airports at home and abroad. After joining the Star Alliance, it jointly opens EDI full check-in services within the other 22 members, which offers great convenience for passengers transferring in Beijing. Through vigorous efforts, currently Air China is the operating center loading distribution in 26 domestic airports and secures nearly 170 flights each day, which makes it the first domestic airline using the "center loading distribution" work mode.
The ground service department of Air China has more than 5,700 employees. The assets of over 3,500 ground equipment pieces and special vehicles owned by this department are worth over RMB 320 million. It is the aviation ground service organization with the largest scale and strongest guarantee capacity in China civil air industry.
The strict training on pilots carried out by Air China guarantees the piloting safety and high quality service.
As the training base of Air China, the training department has under it five grass-roots units: the piloting training center, the piloting training team, steward training center, ground training center and training assistance center.
The piloting training center has world-class training capability and scale, being equipped with strong instructors group, rich teaching experience and first-class training facilities.
The piloting training team, which has its base located at Tianjin Binhai International Airport, applies the most advanced real-plane training mode with two Boeing 737-300 planes being specially used for pilots training.
This team assumes the education and management of newly employed pilots of Air China.
Its steward training center is the first large-scale multi-function training base in China. The instructors in the center have the title of top grade stewards, IATA teaching qualification and instructor qualification approved by IATA CRM training.
Except for systematic training of Air China stewards, the center has trained more than 80,000 students for nearly 40 domestic and foreign airline companies. It has also offered training service for many other trades such as post offices, restaurants, railways, highway transport, banks, hospitals, and insurance and telecommunication companies. With its rapid development, Air China's training also enters into a period of fast growth.
Moreover, the University of Air China formally began construction on April 27th 2007, which will be Air China's large-scale modern training base. The existing training department will gradually become the University with promising prospects and outstanding training capability.
The safe management of Air China makes new headway under the developing circumstances. On the basis of strict management, scientific prevention and effective control, it gradually introduces the concept of systematic management, strengthens the construction of rules and regulations, carries forward the information of safety management and vigorously improves the three teams of piloting, plane business, and transport control. This will create the environment and atmosphere of "legal safety", establish and perfect the long-effective mechanism of safety work, and ensure piloting safety, air defending safety and aviation ground safety.
For 53 years, the flight path of Air China's planes has covered more than 100 countries and districts, piloted more than 6 million hours safely, carried more than 240 million passengers, and performed more than 5,000 special plane tasks for leaders of the party and the state. Their excellent flying skills have received a good reputation. Air China has not only created the first class safe piloting record in the world, but also has 43 years (since 1965) of safe piloting on the flight course from Chengdu to Lhasa, which has the well-known difficulty of piloting and used to be deemed the "Air Forbidden Area" by the international civil aviation field.
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The management of Air China has been expanded and its brand value has been further enlarged.
Air China actively puts forward the "Four Heart" service projects, carries out the four major strategies, adheres to the connotation mode of development, implements the two projects of organizational restructuring and corporate culture construction.
Thus the management of Air China as a whole has been raised to a new level.
As the only elected civil aviation enterprise in China, Air China has been listed among the World Top 500 Brands 2007, which marks the brand of Air China as one of the world-class brands.
In June 2007, Air China has been appraised by the World Brand Laboratory as the 27th of China's 500 most valuable brands, and ranked first in the domestic aviation service field.
In 2003, 2004 and 2005, Air China got the prize of "High Quality Customer Satisfaction" for airline companies carrying more than 15 million passengers in the activity of "Passengers Opinion on Civil Aviation", and was also awarded "Golden Prize for Customer Satisfaction".
The Air China brand has been jointly appraised as one of "China's Top Ten International Brands" by the Financial Times of Great Britain and American McKinsey Management Consulting Company. It has been ranked as the "Best Chinese Airline" by industry magazines such as Business Journey and TTG for three consecutive years; it has also been named as "2007 Best Chinese Airline", "Greatest Explorer" and "2007 Best Corporate Public Image Award" respectively by sohu.com, baidu.com and tencent.net.
It has won the title of "Top 25 Exemplary Annual Brand of China – Brand China Huapu Award" in the selection of brand china (2006-2007).
On December 28th 2007, Air China got the "Chinese Brand Annual Prize No.1" in Chinese brand annual prize evaluation activity held by the World Brand Laboratory. The fast growth of brand influence reflects that the enterprise management of Air China has been improved and its comprehensive strength has been further reinforced.
Air China will continuously take the management notion of "safety and passengers first with trust at the root", follow the mission of "meeting the requirements of customers and creating mutual value", pursue the enterprise sense of worth for "having a high level of service and get the universal approval of the public", and sincerely offer customers " reassurance, satisfaction, easiness and sensation".
It will make continuous steps forward towards its strategic goal of "achieving leading competitiveness in the world, continuously growing development impetus and steadily increasing profits, and providing remarkable and unique travel experiences for passengers", to stand among world leading large-scale network carriers in the global aviation industry by 2017.
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Set in Zanzibar in 1910, it is the story of two people from different worlds falling in love. Susan immerses herself in Zanzibar. Asim falls in love with this woman from the nation that killed his wife. Susan is a spy. Asim is the chief advisor to the Sultan of Zanzibar. Germany and France are holding secret negotiations to form a Pan European alliance, which would isolate Britain and destroy her power. Susan and Asim are caught up in all this and their love is finally dashed on the cold, hard reality of international high politics.
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Chapter One
Zanzibar
'A maharaja’s ruby cast on a Persian carpet by the blackest of hands'
Their souls danced, honouring his promise.
The ancient dhow stirred in the soft morning breeze, moving through the water like a sated lion, snuffling about the other boats on the harbour; some scurrying, some at anchor, some darting before a brief gust of wind. The lateen sails a bustling panorama of blood-red and sun-bleached white.
Aft, the woman's eyes searched the skyline, drinking in the architecture of Stone Town, the heart of Zanzibar; its jagged, cluttered silhouette so familiar, so much a part of her soul.
Abruptly, her eyes ceased their restless searching, jagged by an invisible hook, transfixed by the grand buildings on the northern shore, Beit-al-Ajaib, the House of Wonders, Palace to the great Sultan of Zanzibar. The distinctive architecture captured in the tropical light: coconut white outlined by contrasting shadow plays of pepper black.
A smile, ever so slight, started to play on the edge of her mouth then disappeared. A memory that should have been fond instantly turned to sharp unbearable pain. Her eyes hardened and moved on.
Without warning the captain threw the rudder over. Stumbling, the woman barked her shin on a wooden box, a rough-hewn coffin. She recoiled, knocking over an untidy stack of cane baskets. Imprisoned in the baskets, rusty cockerels, their scruffy heads straining through the latticework, snapped at her, cried out to her; their raucous din overwhelming her, drowning her.
Dimly, through the fog of noise, the strident swearing of the sailors in Kiswahili seeped into her conscious. Understanding, she smiled mirthlessly.
The coffin had been carelessly stowed, a chore, rather than a labour of respect or love.
London 1910
“Hello, who are you? I am Oliver, is Edward at home?”
The words were spoken by a tall, impeccably dressed young man as he rushed into Edward’s flat shaking off surplus water and calling for whisky while shoving his umbrella into a stand. It was a blustery, grey, bitterly cold February afternoon in the heart of London. He brushed a curl of soft auburn hair from his forehead and smiled charmingly.
Susan laughed, her hazel eyes dancing with the exhilaration of the new. “Yes, he is having a bath. I think he is trying to get warm. I’m Susan, Susan Carey, his sister.”
“Ahhh yes, from Australia. How do you do?” said Sir Oliver, smiling broadly and offering his hand. He had noticed the laughter in her eyes, and the depth, particularly the depth, intensified by jade flecks that made them striking and alluring. “So, you have arrived, good trip I trust.”
“I am very well thank you, and yes, it was a good trip,” replied Susan.
He laughed and glanced at the sitting room, “whisky?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, please come in…….. that was silly of me, after all, it is your flat.”
Oliver smiled and gestured for Susan to lead the way. He followed her into the room, and after helping himself to a generous portion of whisky, walked over to the fire.
Shortly after, Edward, wrapped in a huge ruby-coloured dressing gown and wiping soap from his ear strode into the room. He was of similar age to Oliver, late twenties, well built, if slightly podgy, with dark auburn hair and a full moustache. Susan looked up and smiled to herself, she could see now where he had picked up some of his new mannerisms.
“Thought I could hear voices. I see you two have met, no need for introductions then.”
As he was speaking, Edward walked to the side table and grabbed a whisky decanter by the neck. He glanced at Oliver who nodded. A long finger snaked into one of the tumblers followed by the distinctive clink of crystal. He swept the decanter off the table and carried it to where Oliver was sitting. After pouring the whisky, he sank into a lounge chair and sipped from his glass, enjoying the warm glow as it spread through his body.
Suddenly he sat up exclaiming, “Sorry sis, would you like something to drink?”
“Kind of you to remember, but no thank you, and yes, Oliver has already inquired.”
Edward nodded and sank back into his lounge chair.
They chatted, tentatively at first, getting to know one another. Edward had not seen Susan for two years and was unsure how his sister would take his new relationship. Oliver was intrigued by Susan. An attractive, self-assured young lady of high intelligence with a degree was a rare find. And, as fate would have it, she was also a trained and experienced teacher. He suggested a picnic at Oxford, which was met with ready acquiescence. Arrangements were made for the following Sunday.
“I’ll see if the Rolls is available,” mused Oliver. “Must ring father, haven’t spoken to him in ages.”
Oliver, Sir Oliver Marchmaine, was an unaffected young man of intense intelligence who saw life as a great adventure to be lived to the full. He was also unyieldingly loyal to his country, England, which is why he had joined Military Intelligence on leaving Oxford.
It was 1910 and Europe was stirring. It was a time full of interest, intrigue and danger. The European chessboard was becoming increasingly complex, the moves more subtle. A time when an unexpected move or feint could have profound consequences.
Regaining her balance, the woman’s eyes were drawn, hesitantly at first, resisting back to Beit-al-Ajaib. She wondered if it was still the same. Still the same centre of power and intrigue that had been so much a part of her life all those years before; that had defined her life.
She remembered those first few moments, remembered standing in the foyer of the palace, .………… remembered the breathtakingly beautiful Persian tapestry ........
The sea breeze stirred her clothes. She smiled a little sadly, and in her mind the tapestry gently swayed. Two small apparitions ran giggling up the stairs: two small exquisitely rich burkas disappearing along the first floor landing. Childish squeals of mischief and joy left in the air.......
“Move to seaward, you accused of Allah! Move!”
Her thoughts were clawed back to the dhow, the captain crashing the tiller over to avoid another boat on the crowded harbour. The woman instinctively ducked her head to avoid the heavy boom as it swung over her, the rusty cockerels squawked their raucous indignation, their heads straining through the latticework, relentless.
The collision avoided, the dhow continued on its way. The cacophony dying down to the occasional command by the captain or the cry of a seagull.
The woman's thoughts returned to Beit-al-Ajaib
…………. laughing and giggling, girls of seven or eight. A door on the first floor slammed and all sounds of them disappeared. Silence. The woman smiled. She could see herself, a young woman, dressed plainly, unselfconsciously, her sexuality tantalisingly just out of reach, hidden beneath the thin veil of her clothing. She remembered standing alone in the foyer, looking around, perplexed. Asim came through a door to the left of the tapestry.
“Salaam.”
The woman started and looked around. Then, realising, was cold again. Alone again. Alone, rocking to and fro to the rythm of the sea. Alone, beside a rough-hewn coffin.
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