This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times.

Let’s face the facts. The service culture in Sakhalin is still extremely backward. Things are slowly changing but we can’t expect miracles overnight. It is disturbing though that the ground staff of the only Star Alliance Member operating from Sakhalin makes its counterparts from Russian domestic airlines look like they provide great service.

Over the last fortnight, I learnt that the ground staff of Asiana Airlines doesn’t understand the meaning of good service or even politeness. Checking in at the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk International Airport for a flight to Seoul, I had my first encounter. First of all, the check-in process is painfully slow with a waiting period of at least half an hour. Surprisingly, it’s not the customs that slows the process. The customs officials are not just efficient but extremely polite. It’s when I reached the check-in counter that I understood what I was in for.

The lady at the check-in counter spoke excellent English but was in no mood to listen to what I had to say. Although I handed over my ticket along with that of my Russian companion, not only did the lady refuse to give us an aisle seat (all window seats were taken) but kept us 13 rows apart! When I insisted that we want to sit close to or next to each other, the arrogant lady told us that nothing could be done and that we need to talk to other passengers on board. It was rather amusing that people who were behind us on the line, somehow managed to get seats together.
Thankfully, the cabin crew managed to get us places relatively close to each other.

We thought that this was just an odd-incident largely do the arrogance of the Sakhalin ground staff. However, we were proven wrong in Seoul. When checking in for our connecting flight for Bangkok, the lady at the check-in counter kept pestering us and wanted to know whether we filled out the Thailand visa-on-arrival form (which is only available at the Don Muang Airport in Bangkok) and whether we had photos (again which could be taken at the same airport). After a long explanation, the lady was kind enough to hand us our boarding passes and that too with a window seat and seats next to each other!

Since the cabin crew was wonderful on the flight to Bangkok, we imagined that we just had a bad day with the ground staff. On our return from Bangkok, we met a frequent flier of the airline who didn’t have too many nice things to say about the ground staff. Why was he a frequent flier? Because his company had a special arrangement, he said. The traveller’s words seemed prophetic. As soon as we reached the check-in counter at the Don Muang Airport, we were in for another round of headaches.

The (polite) lady checked my Russian visa and then wanted to see my return ticket out of Russia. Although, the Russian Government doesn’t insist on an outbound ticket, the pretty Thai lady wanted to ensure for them that I wouldn’t be an illegal immigrant. Seeing no problem, I handed them my ticket out of Russia. After keeping us waiting for 10 minutes, she asked us to go the manager and get our passports from her. The manager first asked me to wait until I reached a point where I refused to be my usual, polite self. The lady then said that my outward ticket from Russia is from Moscow and that she needed to see my Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk-Moscow ticket! Out of all the times that I have entered Russia, never did I have an onward ticket to Sakhalin from Moscow and never (not even in the house of horrors known as Sheremetyevo Airport) have I been stopped for such flimsy reasons. When I explained in not-so-polite terms that I didn’t need a domestic onward ticket from the place where I live and am registered, the manager reluctantly handed us our tickets.

Once again, the service on-board the aircraft was excellent but that doesn’t change or justify the horrible behaviour of the ground staff. It is disgusting that an airline that shows off about being a member of the Star Alliance has absolutely little or no regard for customers.

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

Most locals were amused to hear a few weeks ago that Sakhalin would supply electricity to Hokkaido. The scepticism comes from the fact that power cuts are a common feature in “international and modern” Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Sakhaliners know that there are settlements on the island and the Kurils that go without electricity for days, often in the peak of the winter.

As temperatures rose to over 30 degrees Celsius over the weekend, most parts of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk were without electricity. There were districts in the city that had electricity for just two hours on Sunday. Desperate Sakhaliners were unable to reach Sakhalinenergo over the weekend. Several calls even came to our office as our phone number is still listed in many directories as the Sakhalin Administration’s number. Distress calls kept coming in to the office through Monday and Tuesday.

Sakhalinenergo’s excuse about molluscs reproducing in the heat and clogging the water supply to the power stations is ridiculous but creative. For a small period in July, temperatures rose higher than they did during the present heat wave and there was no water or electricity shortage. Besides, such heat waves in August are an annual feature and the city has never faced such a problem. The very fact that the Sakhalin governor is in on holiday makes the electricity providers unaccountable, especially since they just have to deal with a timid and extremely tolerant public.

Despite all the hype of Sakhalin being an economic powerhouse and the most important region in Russia after Moscow and St Petersburg, the infrastructure and systems here are in a pathetic state. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, to top it off, has been in the midst of a power struggle between the regional and city administrations both of which take credit for any minor achievement and pass the buck when there is the smallest of crises.

It’s been five days since the power crisis started and there seems to be no sign that this will be sorted out on an emergency basis. Adding to the woes of the people of the city, there is also a water crisis now. Even the districts in the city that didn’t have power cuts have erratic water supply. These conditions are more akin to sub-Saharan Africa than an important region in a G-8 country! The present crisis is perfect fuel for a large number of foreign visitors in the city, who see Russia as backward. Could the authorities be bothered? One really has to wonder.

This is the editorial in this week's issue of the Sakhalin Times

Other than being the warmest month in the year, August marks the start of the Sakhalin conference season. The Sakhalin Region will host several important exhibitions and conferences over the course of the next two months. Annual features include the fishing industry exhibition and SIGOLD. The biggest conference, however, will be the 10th annual Sakhalin Oil and Gas Conference, which will be held in the end of September. With all previous editions being held in London, this is the first time that the Sakhalin Region will actually play host.

The Sakhalin Oil and Gas Conference is the perfect opportunity to showcase the region to the rest of the world. Along with senior oil industry executives and high ranking government officials, there will be a huge influx of the international media. The conference also offers the Sakhalin Region a chance to promote its other main industries including tourism and fishing. Unfortunately, the current state of infrastructure in the region is appalling. Considering the fact that the Sakhalin Region proposed to host the conference in February, it’s very unbecoming to see how little has been done to prepare Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk for the conference.

It’s impossible to expect a major overhaul over the course of the next two months but there are a few areas that the Sakhalin Administration can look at. The Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport is the first place that needs some work. The international terminal at the airport is pretty decent but the domestic terminal is in plain language, pathetic. Most of the participants at the conference will be flying into Sakhalin from Moscow and will have to face the irritation of waiting for close to half an hour to get their checked-in baggage. There is also a serious lack of facilities at the airport and no staff to assist travellers. These are things that international travellers take for granted in the West. The first impression that a place gives is through its airport. There is enough time to make the airport a friendlier place.

Another major problem on the cards is the lack of hotel rooms in the city. Towards the third week of July, the hotels in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk were so overbooked that multinationals even approached the so-called blacklisted hotels for accommodation, only to be told that they were also full. As the host of the conference, the Sakhalin Administration stands to be humiliated if all the visitors can’t be accommodated. The onus is on the administration to ensure that there are enough back-up measures taken for a larger influx of visitors.

These issues aside, the presentability of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is something that the administration needs to look at. The city is really beautiful in the summer and autumn but the roads are dreadful and many of the major streets aren’t even properly lit at night. The conference puts the global spotlight on the city and it must wear an international look.

Sakhalin has an excellent opportunity over the next two months to showcase itself as one of Russia’s most important and dynamically developing regions. Let’s hope that the Sakhalin Administration takes full advantage of this opportunity.