sa express employee magazine | july 2014
Goodbye 2014
contents
03 CEO Letter 04 Special Rebate Announcements 05 A Rising Star: Nicci Butler 06 George Airport 08 SA Express Intranet
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09 Human Capital 10 Fabulous Galz - Career Awareness 11 Team Acknowledgement 12 Upcoming Events
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CEO Letter Dear colleague
s,
It’s been an am azing year. We’ re adapting, grow change we’ve en ing and learning countered this with every ye ar. As we procee to reflect on the d to the end of 2014 successes of the , it’s great year which includ We recently re e our 20th year m launched the ile st one. intranet for he great tool for ad office staff us to access th , w hich is a e latest inform to the outsta ation quickly an tions will be d ea sil y. Rollout co mmunicated so our communicati on. We also on models in or st reamlined der to ensure th a timely manne at we commun r by introducing ic at e eff ectively in a w eekly newsletter company inform which provides ation and upda al l th e relevant tes. We also hosted a lot of events an d development initiatives. We’ programmes th ve seen a huge rough our CSI an ris e in interest in our raise awarenes d sponsorship Cadet Program s for the need me due to inte for mathemati ra Staff also part ctions which cs and science in icipated in “M aviation career ov em s. be moustaches du r” which is an annual event fo ring the month cused on the gr of November to as prostate ca owing of raise awarenes ncer and othe s fo r men’s health r male cancers, Since Novembe is su an es, such d th eir associated r was also Dis charities. ability Awaren of SA Express ess Month, M Human Capita imi Lephoko – l and the Depar with the supp the Japan Inte tm en t of Social Dev ort rnational Coop el op m er en ati t on Agency) – (in partnership The aim of the conducted a di w ith workshop was sability awaren “to create inclus ess workshop. The marketing ive society by re and communic moving enviro ation teams ar nm drive which is en tal barriers”. e in the midst set to get tong of a huge SA Ex ues wagging an pr airline of choi ess Awareness d to give us pu ce. Keep an ey blic awarenes e out for these s as Follow/like ou the regional ex citing initiative r social networ s. ks so you don’ t miss out on al l the fun. Sincerely, Inati
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expresso | December 2014
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company news
• Nomination forms for new nominees will start from 1st January and will run until 15th February 2015. • New employees and nominees will be uploaded from the date of employment. • A companion or nominee may not be registered by more than one permanent employee. • Induction on rebates will commence at the end of February; look out for the schedule in upcoming newsletters.
December & January SAA Flight Embargoes Please note the following updated flight embargo dates for the December 2014 to January 2015 travel period. Please note that these are total embargoes, so NO stand-by travel will be allowed.
SA Express Flight Embargoes
DUR CPT: Standby Embargo: 15 Dec – 11 Jan
Standby Embargo:
CPT DUR: Standby Embargo: 15 Dec – 11 Jan
No: ID90, ID75 –
All Airlines No: Nominee – SAX JNB GRJ: Standby Embargo: 12 Dec – 31 Dec GRJ JNB: Standby Embargo: 31 Dec – 12 Jan CPTPLZ: Standby Embargo: 15 Dec – 11 Jan PLZ CPT: Standby Embargo: 15 Dec – 11 Jan
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expresso | december 2014
JNB PLZ: Standby Embargo: 15 Dec – 11 Jan PLZ JNB: Standby Embargo: 15 Dec – 11 Jan JNB ELS: Standby Embargo: 15 Dec – 11 Jan ELS JNB: Standby Embargo: 15 Dec – 11 Jan CPT ELS: Standby Embargo: 15 Dec – 11 Jan ELS CPT: Standby Embargo: 15 Dec – 11 Jan
company news
A RISING ST R: NICCI BUTLER Inflight concessionaire, Tourvest Inflight Retail Services, recently held its latest Tourvest Ambassador Sales Person Awards (TASPA) at the Premier Hotel in Kempton Park. Nicci Butler, who is a Senior Cabin Crew member, has been with SA Express for 11 years, walked away with a certificate for Product Knowledge, a certificate for Product Merchandise and was the winner in the Managing Adversities and Teamwork Award category. Nicci is a safety officer who provides excellent customer service, comfort and satisfaction to passengers on a daily basis as part of the flight deck team. “I’m a proud member of a great team within SAX. When I’m working, I enjoy interacting with and meeting unique people from different walks of life. I also enjoy taking on new challenges daily. The challenging thing about my job is when I deal with irate passengers due to delayed flights and missed connections, but I end up changing these adversities into customer satisfaction,” says Nicci. TASPA began over ten years ago and is a journey of selfdiscovery, realising potential in cabin crew, and developing their personal growth. “Being recognised and winning the award gave me a great sense of achievement and pride, especially going up against the biggest airlines and still holding my own. I’m inspired and motivated by the SAX team’s achievements at the awards event,” Nicci says about her recognition. “I now have a broader view of on-board sales and with the knowledge and experience I have gained, I can only hope to serve as an inspiration, and encourage greater teamwork to make duty free sales work for the benefit of SAX and the crew,” she concludes.
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company news
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE OUTSTATIONS… george Submitted by mauren jacobs, airport manager: george
Name of station: George Domestic Airport (GRJ) Years in operation: Seven years. SAX took over from SAA when they pulled out of GRJ on 31st December 2006. Number of staff employed: 15 Operational functions (what happens at the station): George is a self-handled station. We also do handling for Mango Airlines. What makes your station unique? • George is the only station that can turn an aircraft around in 15 minutes. We manage to save an average of five hours monthly on rotational delays. • The combined amount of experience for the 15 staff in George is 285 years. What is the most challenging thing you experience at your station? • Weather, weather and weather! • Late flight arrivals • We are competing with low cost carriers and the competition is very tough. What is the funniest thing that’s happened at your station?
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• We had a live cat (Irene) that was checked in on one of the flights from Johannesburg. When Menzies opened the hold Irene jumped out and all the staff ran after her. • Another incident was an old lady who checked in a cat that had died on Nationwide Airlines and wanted to bury it in George. The staff thought it happened during the flying time and went looking for another cat that was alive to replace the dead cat! When the old lady received the container, she jumped with joy and thanked the lord for bringing her cat back to life! (the joys of working in the airline industry!) What do you hope to see happening in the future for your station? • A night stop from Johannesburg and/or Cape Town • OTP improvement • For SA Express to be the airline of choice Anything you’d like to tell us about your station? • Staff turnover here is the lowest of all the stations • We are situated in the heart of the Garden Route which makes the station the hub for tourism in and out of George and the surrounding areas.
company news
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company news
SA Express Intranet – A New Beginning
On 3rd November 2014 the SA Express staff intranet portal went live for head office staff and its landing page became the company’s default home page when using the internet. Staff now have access to the following information: • Company news and information in the corporate communications sections • Personalised profiles where you can add your picture and use it as a platform to socialise internally and follow/ friend/share news and information • Department information and FAQs • Quick, easy access to important information, templates, contact details and more The full rollout of the intranet to outstations will be announced soon, so get ready to open your world to new SA Express horizons!
SAMHS Golf Day SA Express sponsored two ticket awards to the runners in the SA Military Health Service (SAMHS) Golf Day which took place on 20th November 2014 at the Blue Valley Golf Estate in Midrand. SA Express staff members Mike Mlalazi and Joy Mabuza took part in this prestigious event.
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expresso | december 2014
human capital What You Say on Social Networks Can Get You Into Trouble! Social networks are part of life and employees are active on them on a continuous basis, both during and after working hours. A person’s posts can constitute serious misconduct by bringing the employer’s name into disrepute in the public domain and can, therefore, lead to disciplinary action being instituted against the employee. We restate the rule that SA Express employees are not permitted to make postings on social media that may be linked to the company or any of its employees, customers or suppliers during or after working hours. Included in this are sections 9.2 and 9.3 of the General Conditions of Employment policy that deal with Privacy of Information and statements to the press or third parties. We encourage every employee to familiarise themselves with the policies. We acknowledge that employees may not expressly use the name of the company or of any particular person, but if allusions are made to any of the above mentioned, the responsible employee will be disciplined accordingly.
Training and Development On 18th November at the SA Express Training Centre, Miranda (Mimi) Lephoko conducted a disability awareness workshop. This was done with the support of SA Express Human Capital and the Department of Social Department (in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency). The aim of the workshop was “to create inclusive society by removing environmental barriers”. The training covered questions like: • What is disability? • What do I do about it? The essence of the training was to help the participants discover how to better answer the above questions. In the process they got an opportunity to learn about disability as well as what social and medical models of disability are about. Thank you Mimi, you are a true inspiration!
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company news
CSI: SA EXPRESS AND FABGALZ CAREER AWARENESS
The SA Express CSI team – along with Pontsho Manzi, the founder of Fabulous Galz Foundation – visited two schools at two of our route destinations to motivate mathematics and science learners as part of our Transport Month initiatives. On 16th October 2014, the CSI team paid a visit to Imizamo Yethu High School located in the George township of Thembalethu, only 10 km from George Airport. On 24th October, the team landed at Bram Fisher International Airport in Bloemfontein to meet Atlehang High School learners who were on a matric exam preparation camp. The CSI objective with these initiatives was to stress the importance of mathematics and science when pursuing careers as pilots and engineers at SA Express Airways. Pontsho gave an inspirational self-confidence talk about how one can go about achieving their goals. At Imizamo Yethu High School, the CSI team was
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greeted by eager learners who showed a great sense of respect for themselves and for their community. At each school, questions were posed by leaners on the best careers to follow with their most loved subjects. The hall was full of inquisitive minds who also wanted advice on how to handle tertiary education and the best tips help them succeed. Surprising feedback came from the learners at Atlehang High School who showed a more advanced knowledge of career opportunities than one would expect due to their rural backgrounds. “I want to become an Aeronautical Engineer,” said Thandeka Nyathi. “I am going to study Biomedical Sciences,” said Lerato Modise. At the end of both sessions, the learners all received a copy of SA Express’ inflight magazine, Indwe as well as career brochures.
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letters
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Upcoming events:
Date Event 1 December 2014
World Aids Day
3 December 2014
Club Travel Suppliers Year-end Function at Kenilworth Race Course
5 December 2014
Travel Start Year-end Function
5 – 7 December 2014
International Civil Aviation Day (ICAD)
11 December 2014
Sithand’izingane Care Project - SAX Charity Drive Handover
January 2015
Back-to-school drive
31 January 2015
J&B Met
23 – 25 February 2015
Meeting Africa Tourism Conference