Experience 061. A Very Special Interview. Selling Airbus in China.

The Seat 1A Podcast

In this experience we are happy to bring you an interview with a wonderful guest Dee Leon. Dee met Vinod while working at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. When he told Vinod that he had sold Airbus in China, Vinod knew an interview was a Seat 1A priority.

Dee worked for Airbus in the 1990s as the aviation market in China was just waiting to evolve with exponential growth in the local market.

It was not an easy start for Dee as Boeing had a very strong presence in the Chinese market. This had started back when Nixon had visited China in his Boeing 707. Chinese aviation had copied Boeing through the 1970s and 80s. The selling of confidence for Airbus at the very beginning was more important than selling product.

We ask Dee what the selling factors were, if Airbus sent other items with the aircraft (e.g. simulators) and what was the first success.

China was previously not a hub and spoke system. And in the 1990s, the domestic bullet train was not yet a competitor.

We ask what the environment was like in neighbouring countries at the time. What exactly did "do a demonstration" entail? And what was the leasing market like in China at the time?

How was Dee's travel life like? How did physical aircraft get presented? And what did Dee do when a translator was not available for a seminar -- an incredible amount of reading followed!

We ask about Dee's love for aviation as a child. Did he think that Airbus in China would be as successful as it is now?

Dee has an interesting take on favourite airports along with personal travel recommendations. His favourite Airbus product may surprise you.

Seat 1A appreciates the wonderful and candid interview with Dee.

If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 038. Layover with a Special Guest. An Interview with Paul Papadimitriou. It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts.

News Items:

• simpleflying.com article "Bakkafrost: The Faroese Salmon Farm That Plans To Reduce Food Waste By Flying Fish In A Boeing 757."
• flyertalk.com article "Delta and American Express Turn a Retired 747 Into Credit Cards."

If you want to share a shoutout to Dee, have a story about aviation industry sales, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/