“Small is beautiful”
With the fierce market competition, Lin has stated time and again that TransAsia has no plans of establishing a budget airline itself. Instead, it is seeking to expand its market share with operational agility and high-quality service.
Taking a page out of the budget airlines’ book, from March to October of 2013 TransAsia will be offering “early-bird specials” on international routes. For example, an economy class round trip ticket to Singapore will only cost NT$3700 (before airport taxes at both ends). That represents a discount of 65%. And unlike budget airlines, TransAsia will still provide meals to all passengers. The promotion has excited a lot of travelers who wouldn’t have previously considered making that trip.
With regard to service quality, Wang Zhongming, TransAsia’s vice president for services, says that TransAsia’s cabin and check-in personnel are friendlier and more flexible than those of other airlines, and go out of their way to accommodate the needs of passengers. Their outstanding service has earned them awards from Global Views Monthly for two years running.
For instance, on one occasion a business-class customer who suffered from claustrophobia realized at the last minute that he had forgotten to take his medicine. Instead of boarding, he lingered at the gate. Upon seeing an anxious passenger with rapid breathing and sweat running down his brow, most airlines would have promptly made a PA announcement to remove his luggage and get him medical treatment. But TransAsia communicated by phone, avoiding a big scene and allowing the passenger to save face. He in turn greatly appreciated the airline’s delicate handling of the matter and has become a loyal customer.
The growing praise heaped on TransAsia has stirred expectations about its future, but Lin, who is himself a recent winner of a prestigious Eisenhower fellowship, insists that the “small is beautiful” ethos will remain at the heart of the airline’s operational philosophy. “Even if the company continues to grow, it will still embrace the core ideals behind that philosophy.”
After emerging from dark times to spread its wings and fly high, TransAsia, guided by the nimble business strategies of its third-generation chairman Vincent Lin, has already turned Taiwan’s airline industry into a three-way game. The airline has ambitious plans for new lines of business—by opening hotels, for instance—and it hopes to launch new routes that serve markets throughout the Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, and even the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
All the signs are that this old, yet innovative company will continue to move ahead in elegant and dazzling ways, soaring high into blue skies.
TransAsia’s high-quality food and warm and considerate service have earned the airline numerous industry awards.