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Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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Speaker 2: Let's get a farm Er International show where we can

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Speaker 2: frame the narrative a little bit further. Guy Johnson, it's

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Speaker 2: any time, but the see of cut aways. Guy, good morning, Manice,

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Speaker 2: thank you very much. Indeed, is the new CEO of

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Speaker 2: Cast Airways. It is fantastic to speak with him and

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Speaker 2: have him join us here at the farm Ber Ratio.

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Speaker 3: Nice to see you, really good to see you too.

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Speaker 3: Friday was a busy day for the Aviation Center.

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Speaker 4: Talk me through the effects on your airline. Took me

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Speaker 4: through the effect you're still seeing. Is there any effect

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Speaker 4: that we're still seeing.

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Speaker 1: I'll talk about our airline and our airport. Thank god

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Speaker 1: we were not affected out of our base and do

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Speaker 1: Everything was moving smoothly. Our ontime performance on that specific

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Speaker 1: day was around eighty seven eighty eight percent. But we

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Speaker 1: were expecting some delays after our wave because our early

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Speaker 1: morning wave has basically gone to Europe and the US.

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Speaker 1: Were expecting some delays for our flights coming back from

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Speaker 1: Europe and the US because the airports were getting busy,

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Speaker 1: so many flows were getting canceled. But luckily it was

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Speaker 1: better than what we expected from from what's the lesson.

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Speaker 1: Lesson You always have to have plan B. If technology

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Speaker 1: fails you need to go back to to You need

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Speaker 1: to have again you need to defend the dependent technology.

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Speaker 3: But you have to have a plan b Ryano this morning, dwngrading.

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Speaker 4: It's demand expectations, it's pricing expectations.

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Speaker 3: What are you seeing in terms of demand and pricing?

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Speaker 1: You know, we have recorded record profit last financial year,

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Speaker 1: and we keep getting asked this question and we continue

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Speaker 1: to say, no, demand is there, However, proof as in

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Speaker 1: the pudding our first quarter of this financial year as

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Speaker 1: another record profit. It is way more than the net

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Speaker 1: profit that we have recorded in the first quarter of

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Speaker 1: last year, and it is also exceeding.

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Speaker 3: Our So it's demand accelerating. Let us from what we see.

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Speaker 3: Let's okay, you.

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Speaker 4: Are going to unveil in an hour or so, your

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Speaker 4: new premium class cabin, your first class cabin, your business

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Speaker 4: class cabin.

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Speaker 3: It's what you've got.

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Speaker 4: It's the Q Suite, and it's going to go into

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Speaker 4: the Triple seven X, which is an airplane that we're

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Speaker 4: all waiting for. Yeah, it's the new Boeing and we've

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Speaker 4: been waiting for quite some time. And I'm wondering kind

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Speaker 4: of if you're prepared to wait that long to put

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Speaker 4: this new product into this new airplane, does it have

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Speaker 4: to be the new Q Suite with the new Triple

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Speaker 4: seven X.

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Speaker 1: You know, we're putting the new Q Suite on both aircrafts,

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Speaker 1: the Triple seven X and the three fifty year.

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Speaker 3: So it's going to go in the new three fifty absolutely, yes,

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Speaker 3: the Triple seven ACTS.

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Speaker 1: The date that we have now from Boeing is around

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Speaker 1: first quarter of twenty twenty six. Twenty twenty four is

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Speaker 1: already over, so you're talking about a year a year

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Speaker 1: and a.

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Speaker 3: Half confidence on that date.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, we got we got a confirmation and a commitment

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Speaker 1: from Bowing that they will be able to deliver the

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Speaker 1: aircraft on this date.

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Speaker 4: So where do we see it? Where do we need it?

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Speaker 4: Where do we you see this new Q Suite first?

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Speaker 4: Is it going to be on the three fifty or

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Speaker 4: the Triple seven X will be on the Triple seven X, right,

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Speaker 4: and if it's the layed any further ittle that that changes,

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Speaker 4: you'll put it into the three fifteen. Yes, we're also

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Speaker 4: expecting a big order from Cata. We thought it might

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Speaker 4: come at this air show. There were rumors, there.

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Speaker 3: Was some expectation there's civil owners.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, but you know it's a it's a big order,

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Speaker 1: so we want to take our time and evaluating the

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Speaker 1: bids or the offers that we got we received from

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Speaker 1: Boeing and Airbus. We're busy evaluating both offers. We're in

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Speaker 1: continuous discussion with with both manufacturers and and we're hoping

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Speaker 1: we're aiming to conclude the.

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Speaker 3: The the deal, the decision.

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Speaker 1: By I would not say and this year maybe in

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Speaker 1: the beginning of next year.

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Speaker 3: Where's it's a lake.

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Speaker 4: You're evaluating the offers, so you've got what you need

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Speaker 4: or are you still waiting for what you need?

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Speaker 1: We got what we we got partially, We got what

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Speaker 1: we need and the offers, but we asked for something

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Speaker 1: different this time from both manufacturers and and this is

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Speaker 1: where we're spending some time and this in the discussion

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Speaker 1: with them.

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Speaker 4: The engines is the aircraft, what is where's the where's

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Speaker 4: the challenge of the will?

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Speaker 1: And no, there is no challenge. It's very clear what

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Speaker 1: we are asked for. But the other element that we

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Speaker 1: asked the the the the manufacturers to bid for or

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Speaker 1: to propose it for us, because it is something new

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Speaker 1: maybe maybe in the industry or the way the bid

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Speaker 1: for for tenders. This is where we are in continuous

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Speaker 1: discussion with them.

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Speaker 4: Okay, that's the key, Sweet, What difference is that going

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Speaker 4: to make? What do you how do you think this

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Speaker 4: is going to change the product that you are going

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Speaker 4: to be able to offer? And how do you think

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Speaker 4: it's going to keep you competitive?

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Speaker 3: You know, for us, the Q suite.

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Speaker 1: Everybody knows the Q sweet, either you tried it or

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Speaker 1: you read or read about it. So it's been there

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Speaker 1: for for many years. It raised the benchmark for many years,

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Speaker 1: and you know, we won so many awards. Our team

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Speaker 1: decided to take a new challenge by basically push the

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Speaker 1: bar once again, raise the the benchmark and too basically

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Speaker 1: do some some modification and the and the and I'm

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Speaker 1: not talking about colors or fabrics or no, it's structural

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Speaker 1: changes in the end.

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Speaker 4: Okay, Well, that takes me to my next question. Perfectly,

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Speaker 4: structural changes, a reassessment of what the airline does. You've

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Speaker 4: come in as the new CEO used around the airport,

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Speaker 4: you step stepped into the to the airline role. Now

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Speaker 4: all I hear about is you changing the culture in

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Speaker 4: a significant way. Structural changes at this airline in terms

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Speaker 4: of the way that it operates. Taught me through some

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Speaker 4: of the some of the metrics you're looking at in

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Speaker 4: terms of the effect that that is going to have.

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Speaker 4: You're listening people's the way they work, You're giving them

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Speaker 4: more autonomy. What effect is that going to have? What's

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Speaker 4: the effect is it going to have on things like

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Speaker 4: job retention? Tall me through the numbers you're looking for.

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Speaker 1: You know, what we are trying to achieve out of

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Speaker 1: this is to make people, our people in the company

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Speaker 1: feel that they're listened to and they're part of the

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Speaker 1: decision and they're not scared or stressed to speak up

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Speaker 1: their opinion. By the end of the day, we are

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Speaker 1: getting the best the experts in each field in each area,

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Speaker 1: and this is what we want to do, basically, to

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Speaker 1: have them talk about areas that matters for the company.

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Speaker 1: This is on one side, so basically it's a culture

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Speaker 1: of empowerment and trust and also basically holding people accountable

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Speaker 1: and liable for decisions they make. On the other hand,

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Speaker 1: we've noticed with some of the easement and some of

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Speaker 1: the policies that we have in place for our staff

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Speaker 1: that we see some good outcome of it. Previously, we

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Speaker 1: had a problem in certain areas with the attrition of

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Speaker 1: ourself to us double digit person and percentage eighteen nineteen

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Speaker 1: percent every month. This number dropped by seventy percent. So

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Speaker 1: people want to say in the company, people really appreciate

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Speaker 1: working for paper Airways and they see that their future

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Speaker 1: is with the best airline.

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Speaker 3: In the world.

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Speaker 4: So staff retention is already improved significant.

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Speaker 3: Absolutely, yes, in terms.

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Speaker 4: Of what that means in terms of your ability to

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Speaker 4: the live products and control costs. What effect have in

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Speaker 4: terms of the bottom line.

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Speaker 1: You know, by the end of the day, we're talking

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Speaker 1: about numbers. Last year we recorded again the highest profit

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Speaker 1: in the history of the company. This quarter we are

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Speaker 1: recording the highest profit and the history of the first

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Speaker 1: quarter and the company. We're talking about percentage wise triple

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Speaker 1: digits compared to last year. So this is this is

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Speaker 1: a prove that we're looking at revenue plus, looking at

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Speaker 1: reducing costs and cutting costs wherever it is necessary, as

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Speaker 1: long as it will not affect the customer.

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Speaker 3: Experience. I've got one final quick question. I'm going to

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Speaker 3: get told off for this.

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Speaker 4: Rwanda Rair and some of the South African airlines and

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Speaker 4: other areas.

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Speaker 3: Took me through what we're going to see in terms

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Speaker 3: of deals.

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Speaker 1: You know, I was I was hoping to announce our

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Speaker 1: investment and in the South African Airline in this interview, however,

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Speaker 1: because of some final stages.

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Speaker 3: Which name are we talking about again? It's one of

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Speaker 3: three companies and I promise you you will be the

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Speaker 3: personal I will be the person.

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Speaker 4: I paraoma see casa away, sir, Thank you very much.

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Speaker 3: Indeed,