Beijing is not the only Olympic city this year _ equestrian events are being held in Hong Kong

Dragonaircraft at home at HKIA on Lantau Island

Mention the word airline these days at any dinner party where travel people are not the majority and apt to follow is a litany of vocabulary likely to include the words cutbacks, fees, arrogance, curfews, staffing, shortage, reduction, and others rhyming with truck and knit. Imagine what people in the industry are saying. The airline experience, so often dismissed as merely the pain to be endured in order to enjoy the glory of the Himalaya or the Ginza, these days can be a passenger's dream come true or worst nightmare.

And then there is Dragonair, Hong Kong's regional airline whose excellence in standards of service lift it above its competition. Clean air? Yes, thankfully, none of that neighbour-breath syndrome stowing away aboard full aircraft these days; Dragonair's high-filtration ventilation system ensures air is cleaner than yours at home. Attentive service? Yes, flight attendants coming to you to ask if all is well. Suede seats? Yes, in First Class. Your clients' bums will thank you a thousand times over. With Dragonair's recent membership in oneworld, frequent flyers can accumulate points on all Dragonair flights.

Dragonair's home, HKIA, is a state of the art facility

HKIA's spacious hall can handle high numbers of travellers without putting on the squeeze

All airlines face challenges these days, some more than others; not many face the unexpected closure of airspace due to military manoeuvres, for example, but when that happens, Dragonair turns on its charm and makes the best of a situation beyond its control. The forced delay led to missed connections for several passengers. Dragonair already had a handle on the situation; an apologetic Dragonair employee waiting at the end of the jetway had boarding passes for new connecting flights at the ready for affected passengers as they exited the aircraft, saving them the hassle of having to find a service desk and wait in a queue. That's what I call service, and it's just another day in the life of Dragonair; while such obstacles may be taken in stride as a matter of course, the reaction to minimise customer inconvenience is far from standard among other airlines - unfortunately. That's why it's always a delight to stick with a good one. Another pleasant facet to the Dragonair diamond is the fact that HKIA is its home airport, and having a top facility as your base of operations is a great advantage.

The Olympic equestrian events will bring horses to other places than the Hong Kong Museum of Art.