Exclusive Interview: From Finance to Aviation Professional, Chiu Chang-Hsin, After 25 Years, to Take Charge of Tigerair Taiwan

(Central News Agency reporter Wang Shu-fen, Taipei, 6th) Chiu Chang-Hsin, the new General Manager of Tigerair Taiwan, will take office tomorrow. He studied finance and originally worked in the financial industry. After his boss told him he 'should go work in an industry first,' he passed the exam to join China Airlines, discovered the charm of the aviation industry, and immersed himself in it. After 25 years of training, he has become a professional aviation manager.

Chiu Chang-Hsin told Central News Agency in an interview that he studied finance and financial management at university and graduate school abroad, and after returning to Taiwan, he worked at an investment trust company. He originally thought he would stay in the financial sector his whole life, but after working for two years, his boss suggested, 'you should go work in the industry first, then come back to finance.'

Chiu Chang-Hsin, born in 1972, said that at that time he happened to see a recruitment advertisement for China Airlines. He thought of temporarily leaving the financial sector to gain experience in another industry, and he successfully passed the exam. He originally planned to stay for one to two years before returning to finance.

Unexpectedly, Chiu Chang-Hsin found the aviation industry to be too charming. Because for an airplane to take off smoothly, it requires full cooperation from numerous departments, but each department has completely different unique aspects. Each department is like a small company, which is hard to compare with other industries. Job rotations allowed employees to learn various aspects of aviation professionalism, making him unable to resist this charm, and his conviction to develop in the aviation industry grew stronger, gradually making him forget about returning to finance.

Chiu Chang-Hsin joined China Airlines in September 2000, initially assigned to the maintenance factory to carry out organizational separation tasks. Afterwards, he experienced various roles in the Public Relations Department, Corporate Customer Promotion Department, Passenger and Cargo departments, and Air Commercial Product Supply Unit. He was also seconded to Europe, serving as General Manager of the London, Vienna, and Frankfurt branches. Before joining Tigerair Taiwan, he was the Director of the Joint Control Department responsible for aircraft dispatch.

Chiu Chang-Hsin said that when he first joined China Airlines, he didn't understand anything. Fortunately, China Airlines' rotation system allowed him to learn various aspects of aviation professionalism. Whenever the company assigned a task, he regarded it as a rare opportunity, and even if outsiders saw it as an undesirable job, he didn't refuse.

Chiu Chang-Hsin gave an example: more than 10 years ago, when he was assigned to London as General Manager of the branch, it was to close China Airlines' London route at the time. The route was deemed unprofitable and was to be suspended, and someone had to handle the aftermath. He was the one to carry out this thankless task, as European labor laws are very strict. He stayed in the UK for one year, successfully completed the severance of all local personnel, and there were no lawsuits.

Chiu Chang-Hsin later successively worked in Vienna, Austria, and Frankfurt, Germany. During his more than three years in Germany, China Airlines' Taipei-Frankfurt flights increased from five times a week to once daily.

Chiu Chang-Hsin is grateful to the late China Airlines Chairman Hsieh Shih-chien, whom he considers his mentor at work. He said that when he was a salesman at the Taipei branch, Hsieh Shih-chien was the head of the Taipei branch, and Hsieh Shih-chien often told him, 'If you don't know, learn.' So whenever he went to a new department, he kept this in mind and constantly strived to learn, which became his nourishment at work.

During the COVID-19 (2019 Coronavirus Disease) pandemic, Chiu Chang-Hsin served as Chairman Hsieh Shih-chien's special assistant. Hsieh Shih-chien assigned him the tasks of implementing all company epidemic prevention, vaccine transportation, and crew vaccination, which was highly recognized by the company.

Many China Airlines employees describe Chiu Chang-Hsin as clear-headed, efficient in handling matters, and possessing a leadership style.

Chiu Chang-Hsin said that Tigerair Taiwan is a low-cost airline, different from China Airlines. He will still approach it with a learning mindset, using his expertise to help Tigerair Taiwan achieve more innovative development. (Editors: Chen Ching-fang, Liang Chun-ti) 1150506

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