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Quest Means Business
Airbus CEO Wants Answers About Alleged Spying; Amazing Rescues in Nepal; Aviation Industry Aids Relief Efforts; Hike to Quake's Epicenter; US Markets Suffer Steep Losses; Concerns Over Apple Watch; European Markets Close Higher; Hungarian PM Wants Death Penalty Debate; Tesla's Missing Piece; Tomorrow Transformed: Energy-Efficient Smart Homes
Aired April 30, 2015 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:59:55] (NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE CLOSING BELL)
RICHARD QUEST, HOST: Terrible day on the market. The Dow is off more than 1 percent, a loss of around 190 points, down for the entire session.
And as the closing bell rings --
(GAVEL POUNDS)
QUEST: Oh, I think that's a strong gavel on Thursday, it's the 30th of April.
Tonight, Airbus files a criminal complaint over industrial espionage. The chief exec tells me exclusively if there's so much smoke, there must be
a fire. You'll hear it on this program.
Also tonight, the first pictures from the epicenter of Nepal's earthquake. The chief execs of Airbus and Qatar tell me how they can get
aid where it's needed.
And ready to fight. The EU president is furious at Hungary's death penalty debate.
I'm Richard Quest. We have a very busy hour together, and I mean business.
Good evening. Airbus has launched a criminal complaint following complaints that the United States has been spying on the company with the
help of the German government.
As a major aerospace and defense company, Airbus has said it's not surprised it may be the target of espionage efforts, but the chief
executive, Tom Enders, told me exclusively a few minutes ago he hasn't heard anything from the German government, and he's worried, he wants to
know what's happened. And crucially, he says, if there's so much smoke, there must be a fire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM ENDERS, CEO, AIRBUS (via telephone): Richard, this is exactly what we want to find out. We have had almost a week of media reports, and
there's always been one company that has been mentioned in all this, and that is us.
We have heard nothing from the German government so far, so there are plenty of questions, also, from partners, from customers, from our own
managers. And let it prove that way.
It appears to be a reasonable suspicion of alleged industrial espionage, and this is why we filed an application for investigation with
the German prosecutor. We're asking for all those things, for clarification and for investigation.
QUEST: I mean, the rumor is, it's the Germans spying on behalf of the Americans. Is that your understanding?
(LAUGHTER)
ENDERS: I don't want to speculate about that.
QUEST: All right.
ENDERS: It's a very specific story, obviously, but nobody knows right now what the truth is. So, I will b every cautious. But we thought after
all this reporting and low clarification that it's time to file that application for investigation in order to find out what happened, really.
QUEST: And last question on this to you, Tom. When you had to do this -- and obviously, the decision to do this went all the way up to
yourself -- were you angry, were you frustrated, were you annoyed? What were you that this had come up and you had to do it?
ENDERS: Well, I'd say a little bit of all of that, Richard.
(LAUGHTER)
ENDERS: As I said, we've had, now, press reports in Germany, in Europe, for almost a week, and always one name came up, the name of Airbus,
or the former name of EADS. And hence, it's time to find out what's going on. If there's so much smoke, I guess there must be some fire somewhere.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Tom Enders, telling the story of the criminal complaint that Airbus has now launched against -- in Germany over industrial espionage.
And tonight, amazing stories of survival five days after Nepal was hit by its worst earthquake in more than 80 years.
Buried alive for 120 hours, this 15-year-old boy was finally rescued today. He was pulled from the rubble of a nine-story building in one of
the hardest-hit parts of the Nepal capital, Kathmandu. Pemba Tamang says he his behind a motorcycle when the massive quake hit, and that's what
saved him from being crushed.
Even more astonishing -- look at that. The shiny face of a five- month-old baby, rescued after more than 22 hours under the rubble. Baby Sonies has become a defining image of hope amid disaster as Nepal's death
toll rises. It now stands close to 6,000 people.
The aviation industry has been crucial and critical to the effort to get aid to remote places where it's needed. Air India is carrying relief
materials free of charge.
[16:05:02] Qatar Airways set up an air bridge to Nepal. We're going to hear from the chief executive of Qatar in just a moment.
Airbus delivered an A320 to Nepal Airlines that it had bought, and the plane was full of supplies to be flown back. It's also providing
helicopters and satellite imagery.
And an evacuation flight organized by Airbus Foundation was flown to Paris overnight from the disaster zone. It was met by the Airbus head of
commercial aviation, Fabrice Bregier.
For more on the relief effort, now, I'm joined by the head of Qatar Airways, the group chief executive, Akbar al Baker. He joins me on the
line from Doha, Qatar.
Mr. al Baker, when you heard about this, obviously the earthquake, I'm guessing the message was, do what you need to do and we'll worry about the
bill afterwards.
AKBAR AL BAKER, CEO, QATAR AIRWAYS (via telephone): Yes, my country is very fast at giving aid whenever such natural disasters take place. We
readied an aircraft within six hours of the earthquake, and the first aircraft, as soon as we got clearances, took off for Kathmandu, and we
created relief delivery flights within 24 hours. We have sent four Airbus A330 freighters, taking it off from commercial flights to go and deliver
the aid.
We helped them in many other ways. We also have the Air Force C17s delivering aid continuously to the Nepalese. We are handing over the aid
to Red Cross to distribute it. We have also put people on the ground to assist this congested airport in handling the delivery supplies, and we
have given operational staff to the air traffic control services to help them to manage this air bridge.
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Mr. --
AL BAKER: Nepal has one of the most difficult airports to land in, so Qatar Airways pilots have expertise, especially that we have three flights
daily to Kathmandu, three commercial flights daily. So, our pilots are very well-versed with the airport.
We have also installed navigational aid in the airport to assist commercial flights getting in safely into the valley.
QUEST: Right, now --
AL BAKER: So, we are doing all we can to assist the needy people of Nepal, and Qatar is a country that is very well-stocked --
QUEST: Right.
AL BAKER: -- with aid supplies for needy people all around the world.
QUEST: Mr. Al Baker, this question of getting the aid in, the congested nature of the airport. We've heard time and again, of course,
it's a difficult airport, one runway at the best of times, and the expertise required for that air management is crucial if the resources are
not to be wasted, isn't that right?
AL BAKER: Yes, that's right. This is why we have given operational staff to assist them in managing the air traffic services in order for them
to maximize the use of this single runway. And also the place is very congested in order for the aid to be properly distributed.
What we have also done is because there are large numbers of people stranded in Nepal due to the closure of the airport, we have upgraded our
aircraft size in order to get --
QUEST: Right.
AL BAKER: -- these people out of this disaster area. So, we are doing all we can to assist people, and we are also collecting aid
internally --
QUEST: Right.
AL BAKER: -- from NGOs in Qatar and Qatar Airways staff as we have a very large number of Nepalese that work in the airline.
QUEST: We will --
AL BAKER: So we are continuously doing our best. And we have a very clear direction from the government of the state of Qatar to do everything
that is needed to help the needy people of Nepal.
QUEST: Akbar al Baker from Qatar Airways. Thank you, sir, for joining us and putting that side of the story, because this really is a
question of the aid that is necessary to get there.
Now, for the first time, CNN can bring you the pictures of the devastation from the epicenter of the quake itself. This is 1300
kilometers from the capital, Kathmandu. This is the area where there was the greatest fear, that when rescuers and people got there, they would
realize the magnitude -- the greater magnitude of disaster --
(AUDIO GAP)
QUEST: -- going to take you to the village of Kana (ph) near the epicenter. It takes 16 hours to get there, including 8 hours of trekking.
[16:09:58] Anger is boiling over at Nepal's government because of its inability to get food and water to remote areas like this. CNN's Arwa
Damon is seeing the devastation for herself and has sent this dispatch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There is quite a bit of frustration. We met some of the men and other residents from this
village down at the bottom, and there was a little bit of aid that had gotten there that was from the World Food Program and the Red Cross, 4.5
metric kilos, I think.
So not a huge amount. It's smaller trucks that are being built up, and they were kind of loading up and trying to bring it up here. But
that's really a fraction of what is needed.
And that's been a lot of the questions that are being asked, because we are seeing -- and look, yes, this is not an area that's easy to get to,
but the roads are accessible. We are seeing these smaller trucks coming out that are very much part of a localized effort. And a lot of people are
asking --
(AUDIO GAP)
DAMON: -- is capable of traveling out to the areas, not just being packed full of the all of the aid that is supposed to be in country and
being dispatched to these remote areas. Why is it still, five days in, a group of volunteers of good Samaritans that have come together, civic
society that has come together to try to set up this aid station where they just see floods of people.
When we were driving up here, we came across probably 30 or 40 people who were injured. We saw children with bandages, scratches, bruises.
We saw the elderly being carried by their relatives who had all been treated at this makeshift aid station by a team of four volunteers when,
perhaps, there -- one could make the argument that some of the doctors and the medical teams that are farther out in the main towns would be better
off if they were dispatched here.
People who are part of this relief and rescue effort, the volunteers, are saying that they feel as if there's something of an inability to
logistically get things out, a certain level of lack of coordination when it comes to actually disbursing, not just the aid, but the medical teams
that are needed, and assessing what it is that people in these remote areas need.
It's not just about food and water. It's about shelter. Last night, there were torrential downpours. These people don't have a roof above
their heads, and right now, there are great concerns that more landslides could possibly be triggered as well, because we've had an entire day of
fairly warm weather.
And so, they need to be able to somehow rebuild -- begin rebuilding from all of this. They can't keep living like this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Arwa Damon reporting from rural Nepal.
The Hungarian prime minister's call for debate has sparked an angry rebuke from the European Union. We'll tell you what Vik Orban said and why
the EU commissioner is saying he's ready for a fight if Orban goes ahead. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, good evening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: US stocks fell a second day. It closed the session nearly 200 points down. Take a look at the big board --
(RINGS BELL)
QUEST: -- and 195 down. A smaller point picture for the S&P 500. The NASDAQ fell even further. Paul La Monica. What have you done to the
market?
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN MONEY DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Ah! It is not me. Blame Apple. Apple is now in the Dow as well as the S&P 500 and the
NASDAQ. Apple really got hit hard today, down almost 3 percent. Concerns about problems with the Apple Watch, reports that maybe there is an issue
one of the key components.
[16:15:05] Also, this Tattoo-gate that we've reported, that it won't work -- the heart rate sensor -- if you've got red or black tattoos on your
wrist.
QUEST: I suppose the answer is don't have red or black tattoos on your wrist.
LA MONICA: Or just get a normal watch. That's my answer.
QUEST: Yes, but -- now, so, look. The Apple Watch hasn't even hit yet, and we don't know how many sales there are going to be other than the
pre-sales. So a 3 percent drop on prospects of worries, do you think that's overdone?
LA MONICA: It probably is overdone. Keep in mind that Apple hit an all-time high after phenomenal earnings on Monday. But you're correct,
Richard, this -- the stock is really more about the iPhone. If there were problems with the iPhone, that's a legitimate reason for worry. The watch
is not going to move the needle that much in the first few quarters.
QUEST: Right. And what's your gut feeling in terms of in this down movement, the weak -- growth numbers that we saw yesterday. Because the
way I read them, you can pretty much write off those numbers as being winter worries and woes.
LA MONICA: That's the big hope, because that's what happened last year. The Fed yesterday used the term "transitory" to describe the
weakness in the first quarter, which I guess is code for it doesn't snow except during the winter.
The hope has to be that the economy is going to turn around. We get a big jobs report next week. Jobless claims today fell to their lowest level
in 15 years, so that's great news, unless you want to be a skeptic and say, oh, wait a minute, 15 years ago, that's when the dot-com bubble burst. Uh-
oh, look out below.
QUEST: You're a little cheerful being today, aren't you?
(LAUGHTER)
LA MONICA: Adrenaline.
QUEST: Paul La Monica. Thank you -- either that or the cooking sherry. European markets inched higher during Thursday's trading. Take a
look at the numbers.
(RINGS BELL)
QUEST: Consumer prices in the eurozone held steady in April compared to a year ago. It ends four months of deflation. Some say it's deflation,
other people say it was barely, barely much.
Now, the European Commission president says he's ready for a fight with Hungary, and he's ready for a fight with this man. It's the prime
minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban. That's if Hungary goes to reintroduce the death penalty.
Now, Mr. Orban and his government has said that late tonight in Budapest, that despite the earlier comments, there are no call or there's
no need or they're not intending to try and reintroduce the death penalty, they're merely having a debate.
And the whole issue has been sparked in the country by a fateful stabbing. The government says it just wants to talk about the issue.
Here's what the EC president Jean-Claude Juncker, when said that Orban even wanted to have a debate and think about it. Here's what Juncker had to
say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: I'm a strong opponent of the death penalty for so many reasons. The charter of the
fundamental rights of the European Union is forbidding the death penalty, and Mr. Orban should immediately make clear that this is not his intention.
Would it be his intention, it would be a fight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: And he has made it clear that his intention tonight. But the real problem, of course, is whether or not he intends to have this or not,
it's the chapter on fundamental rights, which is part of the Lisbon Treaty and part of the European Law. Article 2, "No one shall be condemned to the
death penalty or executed."
So, what merit does having an argument or even a debate when clearly it's against European law? Let's talk to this. Zoltan Kovacs joins me on
the line from Budapest, the prime minister's and the government's international spokesman to talk about this. You can't do it. Juncker says
you shouldn't do it. What point having the debate?
ZOLTAN KOVACS, HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: Now, first of all, there's no need for any kind of fight. I think it just was made perfectly
clear with a telephone call with Mr. Schulz, speaker of the European Parliament, that there's no intention on behalf of the government to do
anything like that.
It is just intriguing to see how far the remark or the rather short answer on behalf of the prime minister at the press conference went when he
reflected or reacted to a question, indeed, as you have suggested, on the recent brutal killing, actually, in the countryside, that something should
be done.
And the suggestion is that if there's an ongoing debate in society, politics and politicians should reflect it. Therefore, we should listen to
what the people are saying --
(CROSSTALK)
[16:20:03] QUEST: But there isn't --
KOVACS: -- that there's a need --
QUEST: -- but, I mean --
KOVACS: -- for that as a debate.
QUEST: There isn't a debate. And there can't be a debate, because it's in the treaty. What I don't understand, sir, is why even raise the
issue when it's not a viable issue, other than to scaremonger?
KOVACS: You see, Richard, you are falling into the very same trap, actually, we are trying to, if I could say, fight against for the past two
days. Why deny the possibility of talking about an issue which is, indeed, including in international treaties and obligations, and there's no
intention to change it. Still, we have to carry on debate and discussion about this.
If you listen to the people in the countryside, their guts, their intentions, their opinion is going to be very -- how do you say? --
hyperactive on and reacting on --
QUEST: All right.
KOVACS: -- these events when these are happening. So, you have to handle this somehow, and there's only one way for this in a democracy. And
that is you listen to them and you talk to them.
QUEST: Well, I -- there's also -- it's also come about at the same time as this question that the prime minister -- that the government is
raising, this questionnaire that is going out on the question of economic migrants, which you are familiar with, the questionnaire that says should
economic migrants be illegally in the country be interned? Do you see see them as being good or bad for the future?
I mean, the whole thing, sir, the whole thing at a volatile time of immigration, I say to you, is stoking -- stoking -- resentment against
immigration.
KOVACS: Yet again, if I may call your attention to the official translation of this questionnaire, it would really take you closer to
actually understanding what we are trying to monitor at the moment. And that is, "detention" is not the word, it is, rather, custody, actually --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Oh! One man's custody is another man's --
KOVACS: Hang on.
QUEST: One man's custody is another man's detention.
KOVACS: If I could finish my sentence, please. And that is, "custody" is a word that is being used by European station at the moment.
QUEST: Ah!
KOVACS: Under European legislation and rules, it is possible to have in custody people only for 24 to 48 hours. It causes a lot of problems,
actually.
QUEST: All right.
KOVACS: Hungary for the past -- let me finish this -- for the past four months, witnessed almost 20,000 refugees, asylum seekers. That
equals, actually, the number for the past year. You have to handle this issue somehow. We are calling Hungary and we are calling the European
Union to provide --
QUEST: All right.
KOVACS: -- measures and proper measures, actually, to handle this issue. Mixing two completely different things together --
(CROSSTALK)
QUEST: Yes, OK --
KOVACS: -- it's very unfortunate to see that for the past day and a half, we've been --
QUEST: Let me get in here. Let me get in here. Let me get in here, sorry, if I may. Finally, the -- whether it's the immigration question or
the death penalty question, or the previous questions, what is it that -- I fail to understand, what is it about the Hungarian government that you seem
to want to pick a fight against all the established norms within the union?
KOVACS: That's not the case. Again, it's really intriguing to see how the remark at a countryside press meeting reaches the attention of
world media, and it is being related to another issue, actually, we've been talking about for the past, at least, two months this year, actually. For
the past three years continuously.
We are calling in terms of illegal migration for a general European solution also involving the local assets of the member states.
QUEST: Sir, thank you for joining us. We always -- it's always a robust debate, and we always appreciate you coming on the program and
putting the Hungarian --
KOVACS: Thank you.
QUEST: -- view. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS from New York. Elon Musk is sending cryptic tweets and holding Tesla events in the middle of the
California night. Hm. Why should the billionaire be doing this? We'll talk about it after the break. It's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(RINGS BELL)
[16:24:30] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:26:04] QUEST: "For the future to be good, we need electric transport, solar and, of course" dot, dot, dot. What are the missing
words? The cryptic --
(AUDIO GAP)
QUEST: -- by Elon Musk. It comes ahead of a much-anticipated Tesla event that's due to take place later this evening in the middle of the
night, if you please. The missing piece is thought to be a smart battery that can store enough energy to empower entire homes.
Smart batteries, I found out, are just one of the technologies making the homes of the future more connected, more energy-efficient. It's this
week's Tomorrow Transformed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST (voice-over): We all remember "The Jetsons," with Rosy the robot maid and flat-screen TVs. Half a century later, those visions are
not too far off, and our homes are more connected than ever. Remotely, we can control our heating, our lighting, and our coffee machines.
QUEST (on camera): The home of the future will be smarter and more energy-efficient as automation and self-learning technologies cut our
energy costs even further.
QUEST (voice-over): Technology, like the Nest thermostat, which uses motion sensors to learn our daily routine and patterns.
LIONEL PAILET, EUROPE GENERAL MANGER, NEST LABS: The saving is massive. On an average, we'll save about 20 percent --
(AUDIO GAP)
PAILET: -- about reinventing a learning home and deciding that objects should do a lot more for you than you do for them.
The next step there is the intersection between Nest products and products that you interact with in your life every day.
QUEST: Take a smart oven, or a fridge that will text you, as well as sensors learning our every move. Homes could have robotic brains, too.
COLIN ANGLE, CEO, IROBOT: The home of the future has smart appliances managed by sort of a head-of-household robot designed to be like the butler
who took care of your Victorian home back in the day. The technology is invisible and just works. That's what great technology well-executed
should feel like.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Tomorrow Transformed on energy. There'll be a lot of energy being consumed in Las Vegas. The lights will be bright, the noise will be
high when Mayweather meets Pacquiao in the fight of the decade, the century. Any bit of hyperbole with a few half-naked women will do. We'll
be in Las Vegas after the break.
(RINGS BELL)
[16:28:44] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:31:02] QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more "Quest Means Business" in just a moment when you're going to hear from the man who
invented the word `Grexit' and whether he thinks -- will there be a Grexit or an exit? Whatever's next for Greece.
Muhammad Ali's former business manager tells me how the boxing game has changed. We'll hear that on the program.
Before any of it, this is CNN and on this network the news always come first.
Rescue crews in Nepal have pulled a teenager -- alive -- from a collapsed building five days after the earthquake struck. A second
operation rescued a woman from the ruins of a hotel. Hopes though are dim that many more survivors will be found. The death number is now above
5,800.
The volcano in Southern Chile's erupted for a third time in recent days. Authorities have already cleared a 20-kilometer exclusion zone around
the Calbuco Volcano. Ash from previous eruptions is already half a meter deep in some areas.
According to local media reports, a probe has found that the death of Freddie Gray which sparked riots and protests in Baltimore was not caused
by police.
Sources said the medical examiner found Gray's catastrophic injury was caused when he slammed into the back of the police transport van,
apparently breaking his neck. The head injury he sustained matches a bolt in the back of the van.
Two days away from what's being called the fight of the century - well the century is only 15 years old - but anyway it is still the fight. It's
between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. You saw the press conference yesterday.
Don Riddell is in Los Vegas. Come on, Don, give me the hype, give me the energy, give me the moment!
DON RIDDELL, CNN "WORLD SPORT": It'd be hard to out-energize you, Richard, but I think people here are doing a pretty good job of it.
There's not really that much happening today. As you say, we had the press conference yesterday, the weigh-in is tomorrow.
I can tell you that the boxers are doing what they call the satellite media tour where they will be speaking to people like myself via satellite
feed in the next couple of hours.
But there's a lot of people just kind of hanging around here getting very, very excited and making their own excitement but looking forward to
the fight that we will hope will deliver because this has been a long time in the making and it's the two greatest fighters of their generation
finally going head to head.
QUEST: Now who is deemed or judged to have won the press conference battle?
RIDDELL: Well that's a good one. I mean, it - that - wasn't particularly exciting was it? I mean, even when it came to the stare-down,
Pacquiao just seemed so relaxed, so comfortable in his own skin, he was kind of laughing and smiling right in Mayweather's face which is not how
these things normally go.
If you're going to read anything into it, perhaps listen to the Pacquiao camp who said that Mayweather has been really subdued this week
and he was subdued even in that press conference - not like his usual self. Floyd's defense is that he doesn't have to sell this fight, it sells
itself.
But anybody kind of looking to try and read something into the boxers' demeanor, I would say that perhaps Pacquiao is more up for it than
Mayweather is.
QUEST: And finally, do you have a ticket to actually get into the fight or will you be in Hall 96J somewhere watching it on a large screen?
RIDDELL: (LAUGHTER). I don't know yet and I'm not going to give up hope. There's still 48 hours plus to go. I'm in Vegas which is something
a lot of people would like jus to be here, just to be close to the fight. But as you know, Richard, these tickets are going for an absolute fortune.
[16:35:00] And I would imagine if I was promoting the fight, I would try and keep as many of the media out so that I could sell more tickets and
make even more money as if they're not making enough as it is.
QUEST: Ah. You should be presenting "Quest Means Business." Thank you very much, Don Riddell with the business side. Don was just talking
there about whether or not he's going to actually get into the auditorium to actually see the fight in real time.
Well, this is the sort of - if you want to know what time the fight is, here we go - we've got the clocks ready for you. The fight is due to
take place at 20:00 8 p.m. in Las Vegas on Saturday. Now already - that's 8 p.m. west coast time. So that means it's 4 a.m. in the U.K. in London, 8
of course - 5 a.m. in Central Europe, 7 in Dubai and it will be 11 o'clock in the morning on Sunday before the bell rings in Manny Pacquiao's home
country in the Philippines.
The Philippines was the site of the legendary `Thrilla in Manila' between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier back in 1975. In a moment I'll be
getting a perspective of Muhammad Ali's former business manager. First, with all of these time zones, the core question is the revenue model for
the sport which has come a long way since the old days.
Now if you want to watch the fight in a bar or a pub, in the United States you'll pay a cover charge of roughly $20. In Britain if you're
wanting to watch it in a pub on hopefully something a little more up to date than that, -- but you never know, it could be the U.K. - it'll cost
you $10.
Now, so that's if you're going to have a communal viewing. If you want to gather friends to watch it in the comfort of your home, then you're
talking about pay-per-view. In pay-per-view it's $99 pay-per-view on HBO or Showtime in the U.S., $30 with Sky Network in Britain. We should
mention to you that like CNN, HBO is owned by Time Warner.
And we've been having a quick scoop `round everybody in the office. Apparently those people who are pending to pay $99, are going to charge
their friends when they come `round to try and recoup the money. Seems a bit cheap to me.
Movie theaters have been a popular gathering for - spot for - boxing fans since the days of Ali. Cinemas are charging around $35 a ticket if
you want to view it on the big screen. Of course miscreants will no doubt try to watch pirated versions of the fight. HBO/Showtime have gone on the
offensive and are already moving to shut down the pirates.
So joining me now from Las Vegas is Muhammad Ali's former business manager Gene Kilroy. Mr. Kilroy, sir, thank you for joining us and, I
mean, this is - this is - big and it's very big.
GENE KILROY, MUHAMMAD ALI'S FORMER BUSINESS MANAGER: Yes, Don, it's amazing. You know when you look here and - I'm very blessed to be here in
the capital of the boxing history - Las Vegas, Nevada. And looking back over fighting history - the Jack Dempsey/Gene Tunney, the Joe Louis/Max
Schmeling, the Ali/Frazier, the Ali/Foreman and here we are in Las Vegas.
But what is unbelievable, the gentlemen Kirk Kerkorian who owns the MGM, when he was a young boy he and his brother Nish would - was - were
boxers and they did that to feed their family.
QUEST: Right.
KILROY: And Manny Pacquiao came from a humble beginning and so did Floyd Mayweather. And here we are in the boxing capital of the world being
able to watch this great event. I'm lucky to be here, I'm fortunate to be here. And this is the only place that this fight should be.
QUEST: All right -
KILROY: We have the hotels, we have the service of the people -- the unsung heroes are the working people who are so nice to everybody, digging
in and making this a big success and they really don't get that much credit but they should as well you know.
QUEST: Right. Now, sir, good points. But can the fight itself - surely it can't live up to the hype. The hype is so huge, do you worry
that the fight will be a disappointment?
KILROY: Well I hope not. You know, just being here is excitement. But they're two great fighters and they're fighting and everybody wants to
see it and that's why it's so expensive and it's going to be an interesting night. I'm sure the fight will not die out on the hype.
The press handled this so great, and behind - without the press this fight wouldn't be as big as it is. So when you say you can't get a ticket,
I think that's very disrespectful. You should be allowed in - all the guys should be - because without the press today.
If Muhammad Ali was fighting today and the networks were as big as they were with the closed circuit and everything, God knows how much money
he would make because he was so available to all the press at all times, his workouts were open to the public.
[16:50:00] And at this time I want to thank all of his fans for being loyal to him and still thinking about him and praying for him.
QUEST: Now, and we associate ourselves with those thoughts and prayers, sir, -- we do indeed. Finally, with this fight. Finally, with
this fight - pay-per-view, cinemas showing it, your gut feelings, sir, on who is the stronger fighter and who wins on Saturday.
KILROY: Well, I know both fighters very well. I took Manny Pacquiao on to his first pro fight here in Las Vegas. He sat with me, nobody knew
him and when Floyd was a young kid, he would come and have dinner with me. But I think it's going to go the distance and I think the 12th round, the
fighter that wants it the most is the one that will be spectacular.
It's going to be a great fight and it's good for the city, it's good for boxing. Boxing is dying. We needed this to put it back on the map.
And I think it's going to be a great fight and everybody who buys it and everybody who comes to it, they're not going to be disappointed.
QUEST: Sir, thank you for taking the time and talking to us from Las Vegas. I look forward to the fight and I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for
joining us tonight.
From Grimbo to Grexit as Greece teeters on default, economists are inventing a veritable language to describe the potential fallout. The man
who coined the term `Grexit' will join me after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: To our top story tonight and getting relief supplies to quake-hit Nepal and the crucial role the aviation industry's playing. I've
been speaking to the Airbus Group chief exec Tom Enders whose been sending tons of supplies to the disaster area via various Airbus aircraft.
Mr. Enders told me there wasn't a moment's hesitation about putting the company's muscle behind the aid for support (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
TOM ENDERS, CEO, AIRBUS GROUP: We have a great advantage, Richard, but we have Airbus flying Airbus - six (ph) planes, helicopters, satellites
that can help, that can support in the - in the -- humanitarian crisis, catastrophes like now in Nepal.
And when the word came the other day, within hours our people at Airbus Foundation jumped into action and, yes, we are - we already sent a
plane down there - an A350 with lot of cargo - I think more than 30 tons. Got more than 200 people out -- the second plane - Nepal Airlines plane.
Today there we have 15 helicopters there we support with space images. We have a -- the crisis teams can better -
QUEST: Right.
ENDERS: -- see what's happening or what happened on the ground - all that is going on.
QUEST: And within this area, I mean, we know that the complexity of getting resources there and then even the difficulty of getting so many
planes in, landing, disgorged, refueled, and the helicopters, they need more. How much more do you think you might be able to offer up here?
[16:45:10] ENDERS: Well I don't know. I mean, I heard some of the stories from our pilots already that they had difficulties (ph) getting in
the Indian airspace already being (inaudible). It's obviously very, very difficult. What we did, we flew in medical supplies, we flew in some staff
into the - you know - emergency staff, plus emergency teams from France from Germany and certainly I think that the helicopters could also be very
helpful, but for here it's pretty complicated to get them into the air.
QUEST: Right. Is this one of those situations where you as the chief exec say, you know, `Do what we can and we'll worry about the bill
afterwards'?
ENDERS: Yes, that is certainly the situation like that and, you know, as I said, we are very lucky that we have assets that can directly help.
We have our own little fleet of test aircraft and one of them - the 350 bus flying there. You know, and then we have regular contacts with customer.
It just so happened that Nepal Airlines was picking up an Airbus aircraft in Hamburg. So rather than flying empty, we loaded the belly cargo, we put
the teams onboard and off we went today.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: Tom Enders joining me earlier before we went on air. The International Monetary Fund said it does not expect Greece to leave the
Eurozone. The Greek government's been clear it wants to stay in the currency block and the IMF believes it will take the right actions to so
do.
Joining me now is Ebrahim Rahbari, the director of global economics at Citigroup. Sir, you - well I suppose when you retire you'll be known as
the man who came up with the phrase "Grexit."
EBRAHIM RAHBARI, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL ECONOMICS, CITIGROUP: Well I hope I'll be known for some other things too, but the word is certainly making
headlines again.
QUEST: Right. So do you - the view at Citi is what? Grexit, yes or no?
RAHBARI: We don't think Grexit will happen, at least not in the foreseeable future. But I don't think the choice is between Grexit yes or
no, I think there are a couple of scenarios actually - not just a binary choice.
QUEST: OK, but at the end of the day, Greece needs money and it needs a lot of money. How much do you estimate?
RAHBARI: Depends on the time horizon, but we think it's going to take a long time for Greece to go back to the markets, so probably about $50
billion if it's supposed to take them three years or more to return to markets.
QUEST: Now they can't even agree to the existing arrangement to get the last $6 or $7 billion from the existing charge. How on earth are they
going to negotiate another $30 or $40 billion?
RAHBARI: It's going to be extremely difficult, and I think it will have to be one of these last-minute clincher deals. And I think we're a
long way away. As you said, we might get an agreement on the smaller deal first, and even if we do that, we're just going to run into the next
negotiation on an even bigger package which is even harder - going to be to pull off.
QUEST: That's fair enough but what's the fundamental sticking block here? Because everybody's position is well known. I mean, the E.U. or the
Eurozone and the negotiate (ph) when he says Greece has to maintain its commitments, Greece says it's not going to and needs new commitments.
RAHBARI: Yes, and it's exactly the main sticking point. At the end of the day, it's about money. It's about fiscal issues at this point.
Previously the Europeans said maybe you'll be OK without additional cuts. At this point, they need additional cuts and that's going to be
extremely (inaudible) -
QUEST: But the government of Greece is not going to do it.
RAHBARI: Well that's what they say. But they've already backtracked on a number of things. And I think at the end of the day, quite a lot of
concessions have to come from them, but you Europe has to move a little bit too.
QUEST: Well what you mean Europe has to move? Change the dates? Change the maturity? Change the rate?
RAHBARI: Probably all of that, but also just on the - on the pure fiscal targets. They will need to give them some breathing room not to
have to impose too many cuts this year.
QUEST: Do you believe Greece defaults?
RAHBARI: For now I don't think so. But the risk is really high. And the longer this continues, clearly the closer we will move to it.
QUEST: And even if Greece doesn't default and they do get a deal, with the rate at which money is pouring out of the country and the country
surviving on emergency liquidity, do you foresee - is it likely - credit controls? Does gecko (ph) (inaudible) controls?
RAHBARI: I think there's an even bigger risk of capital controls than of a default but for now our very marginal base is probably that they'll
get to a deal even without these capital controls, but it's very hard to tell.
QUEST: Hard to tell but we're glad you are here to help us understand it. Please come back.
RAHBARI: Pleasure for me to be here.
QUEST: Thank you. The old phrase `imitation is the sincerest form of flattery' - Scoot and Spirit Airlines been laying it on thick. We're going
to be talking to the chief executive of the Singaporean carrier about his banter over branding. In a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16: 51:28] QUEST: You know we like airlines and aero planes on this program, "Quest Means Business." Time for a quick game of spot the
difference. Two planes -- they may look the same but they belong to airlines on opposite sides of the globe.
On this side it is Spirit Airlines. It's the Florida-based budget carrier that's more budget than most. It's - on this side, it is Fly Scoot
or Scoot, a Singapore low-cost airline that's part of Singapore Airlines.
Scoot is now accusing Spirit of pinching their lock. In an online video, Scoot's chief executive says the similarities between the two - and
you can see the similarities there - the similarities don't end just there.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
CAMPBELL WILSON, CEO, SCOOT: This is our ad, this is theirs. No, this is our ad and this is theirs. These are our product icons and these
are theirs. This guy seems to be protecting his crown jewels. This guy seems to like his crown jewels too. Uncanny. This is our color and this
is their color.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
QUEST: A Spirit Airlines spokesman says that any similarities are pure coincidence. Scoot's chief executive Campbell Wilson joins me now for
an exclusive interview. He's live via Skype for us in Singapore. It's early in the morning for you there, sir. So I'm guessing - what time is
it? - it's 5 o'clock in the morning or something.
WILSON: Is indeed.
QUEST: All right. Why have you decided to take on the mighty Spirit? What's in it for you?
WILSON: (LAUGHTER). Well we started in 2012, we launched our brand in 2012 and it's got good resonance and good traction in this part of the
world. We've adjudged marketer of the year in Singapore and we've been adjudged Asia Pacific's best low-cost airline for 2015.
So we've got a bit of pride in what we've created and everyone that's contributed for. So when we saw that Spirit had adopted something that
looked very, very similar in May 2014, --
QUEST: Right.
WILSON: -- we thought we'd assert our ownership and also have a bit of fun with it.
QUEST: Right. Now, Spirit are congratulating you at one level but they're not - they're not playing fully, are they? They're not getting
into the boxing ring. (Novembertize) is not prepared to go ten rounds. They say you're doing a good job creating a lot of publicity for yourself.
Do you accept that?
WILSON: No, it's not about me. It's that all the staff we've got nearly 1,000 staff here in Singapore who've contributed a lot over the last
three years -
QUEST: No -
WILSON: -- and they've created something (inaudible) -
QUEST: No, no - when I say yourself I don't mean you personally. I mean that you're doing a really good job. How much of this - I mean this
battle obviously with Spirit is good-natured and both sides are having good fun. But in the industry, Campbell, how important is it to raise the
profile to appear to be - in a low cost carrier - to appear to be human?
WILSON: Well I think it's very important. There are some folk that still hold the perceptions that low-cost airlines mean cheap and nasty,
whereas when we started, we took a clear view that we would be cheap but we certainly wouldn't be nasty.
And so, you know, we're carrying leisure travelers, we're carrying people that are traveling for vacation. They want to have the holiday
experience when they get on the aircraft, not just when they get off.
QUEST: Right.
WILSON: And so we've really employed people with the right spirit, the right attitude - what we call Scootitude - to engage with people and
have fun. And this whole campaign is really just to reinforce some of that fun and reinforcement of what we stand for as an airline.
QUEST: All right. Thank you very much, Campbell. Good to talk to you and I have to say you've got - talking about crown jewels you've
certainly got some of them if you're prepared to take on Spirit in quite such a fashion.
WILSON: Well, we're also going to be sending a replica of our marketer of the year award to Ben this week. I've got a copy here. We've
taken our name off, we've put Spirit's on it. I'm sure it'll hold pride of place in Ben's office and he'll enjoy the reminder every morning when he
comes to work.
[16:55:27] QUEST: (LAUGHTER). I await to see the picture of it on his desk. Good to see, sir. Thank you for joining us.
WILSON: Thanks.
QUEST: Now, before we quickly go to a break, look at this - there is Don Riddell. He told he's not going to manage to get into - he doesn't
know yet - if he's got a seat. But we've caught a word he did manage to get into the ring at the MGM. That is the ring. Don Riddell having some
fun while there. "Quest Means Business" - there's a "Profitable Moment" after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." The gloves have come off and it's not just in Las Vegas. Tom Enders on this program basically throwing
down the gauntlet saying that there is a real whiff of industrial espionage when it comes to Airbus and the American's and German governments may be
behind it.
There's no smoke without fire. That's what he told us tonight and that's why Airbus has formed a complaint - a criminal complaint - that now
has to be investigated. This will be fascinating. If it transpires that the Americans have asked the Germans to spy on Airbus, Europe's largest
military contractor, that will be an amazing story and an amazing event. We'll be following it closely.
And that is "Quest Means Business" for tonight - spying or otherwise. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead,
(RINGS BELL) I hope it's profitable.
[17:00:00] Let's get together tomorrow.
END
