Cathay Pacific responds

We are writing in reply to Ms. Ruth Shang's comments on the advertising of Cathay Pacific's Super Europe package (The Jakarta Post, Nov. 22, 2000).

We can assure Ms. Shang that Cathay Pacific did not intend to mislead customers by placing its Super Europe advertisement without stating the validity period of the package in the ad.

It was clearly stated in our Super Europe ad that terms and conditions applied. Moreover, we specifically asked customers to contact out office or their travel agents for more information. In asking this, we hoped that interested customers would call and seek further information about the program or request a brochure. In this case our Super Europe brochure listed all the necessary information, including the validity period, on the cover.

In addition, Cathay Pacific's Super Europe ad was released in early October 2000. The package's expiry date gave our customers enough time to prepare their vacations to Europe before Dec. 15, 2000.

As Ms. Shang implies, Super Europe was indeed a popular holiday package. Many customers have booked it and taken the chance to travel to Europe before the holiday season, and those who have traveled have been very satisfied.

Although we will look closely at incorporating more information into our print advertising, there are limitations to the amount of detail that can be conveyed, and we find that it is more effective to present an option and invite interested customers to call and check on further details. We are sorry that when she did this, Ms. Shang found our lines were busy or that we couldn't cater to her preferred travel dates.

We hope this clarifies any misunderstanding and we would like to thank Ms. Shang for her feedback.

JAMES W. GINNS

Country Manager Indonesia

Jakarta