Ten years ago, I was travelling to Shanghai twice a month as part of a team tasked with establishing a new centre there in partnership with Fudan University. Before my first trip, I was duly presented with tickets for China Eastern Airlines. When I demurred, on the grounds that airlines in the PRC had an appalling safety record , and asked the HR drones to rearrange the flights with Dragonair, I was told that I would have to pay the difference. I told them that this was unacceptable and that safety concerns must come first. They dug their stilettos in, as only Hong Kong’s secretarial class can, and by the time that I moved on to my current position, with a different employer, the situation remained unresolved, and I was still owed around HK$3,000.
Once before in Hong Kong had I decided to dig my heels in with a relentlessness that matched the Chinese variety when I had been rear-ended by a truck whose driver had failed to see that there were a hundred cars tailed back in front of him. First, I was offered 50 percent of the claim, which went up to 80 percent – after 18 months – at which point I told them to give me the full amount or I would take legal action. Another six months later, and exactly two years and one week after I was shunted on Waterloo Road I went to Wan Chai to collect the cheque that reimbursed me for the damage sustained to my car.
Steeled by this experience, I prepared to hunker down for the long haul, with all the sidetracking of main issues, pretended incomprehension and delays that the local variety of negotiating inevitably entails. As luck would have it, that magic key that one always dreams will suddenly materialise in front of one’s eyes was indeed dropped into my lap. One morning, I received a call from a former colleague who had seen the expense claims of the directors of the company, and they had all been flying Dragonair. A quick phone call later and a cheque was winging its way over to me.
With a friend of mine currently based in Harbin, my first response to hearing about thedeadly plane crash in Heilongjiang was to check that he was okay. He seemed surprised with my concern, which surprised me in turn.
"I've got a driver who was trained overseas. You won’t catch me taking any tin pot airlines."
I had forgotten that he had a private pilot's license of his own.
Once before in Hong Kong had I decided to dig my heels in with a relentlessness that matched the Chinese variety when I had been rear-ended by a truck whose driver had failed to see that there were a hundred cars tailed back in front of him. First, I was offered 50 percent of the claim, which went up to 80 percent – after 18 months – at which point I told them to give me the full amount or I would take legal action. Another six months later, and exactly two years and one week after I was shunted on Waterloo Road I went to Wan Chai to collect the cheque that reimbursed me for the damage sustained to my car.
Steeled by this experience, I prepared to hunker down for the long haul, with all the sidetracking of main issues, pretended incomprehension and delays that the local variety of negotiating inevitably entails. As luck would have it, that magic key that one always dreams will suddenly materialise in front of one’s eyes was indeed dropped into my lap. One morning, I received a call from a former colleague who had seen the expense claims of the directors of the company, and they had all been flying Dragonair. A quick phone call later and a cheque was winging its way over to me.
With a friend of mine currently based in Harbin, my first response to hearing about the
"I've got a driver who was trained overseas. You won’t catch me taking any tin pot airlines."
I had forgotten that he had a private pilot's license of his own.
6 comments:
"They dug their stilettos in, as only Hong Kong’s secretarial class can"
love it, never seen a more apt description of what goes on in offices
If her boss has power, the secretary has disproportionate and awesome power.
I'm no expert on aviation safety, but I suspect some of the crashes in China may be more the fault of the country's antiquated smaller airports than its mostly modern fleet of planes and trained (often ex-military) pilots. In addition to aircraft maintenance and crew competence, airport topography and the quality of traffic control also play a part.
You have a point, but his airport opened just two years ago.
Have you gone Septic, old chap?
That comment went under the radar, I'm afraid, foamie.
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