Cathay Pacific Airways

With China reopened, travel demand across Asia normalizes.

Members of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines collectively have set an “aspirational target” of 5% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) usage by 2030.

Major Chinese airports are looking to grow by expanding regional connections.

Patrick Healy spoke Oct. 3 as a panelist at IATA’s first World Sustainability Symposium, being held in Madrid.

The boom in demand for travel to and from Australia shows no sign of abating.

Australia is a key part of international recovery strategies for many overseas carriers.

The airport authority of Hong Kong (AAHK) has invested around HK$9 billion ($1.2 billion) to spruce up its infrastructure.

Under a new, young CEO, Cathay Pacific is reconnecting with the world and its customers.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways has a long and proud history in passenger and cargo operations but with no domestic market.

Cathay is also looking at placing new orders for freighter aircraft.

Under its “mail as cargo” mantra, the Cathay Mail system integrates mail-handling data with air cargo systems using the postal air waybill.

Cathay Pacific is confident its hiring efforts are sufficient to support the airline’s plans to fully recover its pre-pandemic capacity levels.

The move comes as Hong Kong launched a tourism campaign to attract visitors back to the city by giving out a half million free flight tickets.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific expects to reach 70% of its 2019 capacity levels by the end of 2023 and 100% by the end of 2024.

Cathay Group CEO Ronald Lam has told employees that post-pandemic, rivals “have emerged leaner, fitter and they are eager to take customers away from us.”

The planned changes coincide with China dropping quarantine requirements for inbound travelers.

Cathay Pacific says the relaxation of COVID-related restrictions has prompted it to more than double its flights to the mainland.

The Cathay Group announced that Ronald Lam will take over as Cathay Pacific CEO as of Jan. 1, 2023.

The Hong Kong flag carrier has issued its most vociferous call yet for the government to produce a roadmap for the removal of remaining restrictions.

While Hong Kong has eased its COVID-19 entry rules slightly, Cathay Pacific is calling for more significant steps to remove constraints on passengers and air crew.

Improvements in the outlook for Cathay Pacific have prompted the carrier to cut its projected cash burn and inch closer toward achieving positive cashflow.

Cathay Pacific is launching a corporate sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) program, allowing companies to purchase SAF for their employees’ flights and reducing Scope 3 carbon emissions from business travel or cargo transportation.

While Cathay Pacific’s March statistics continued to reflect its dire predicament, April should see some degree of improvement as Hong Kong eases COVID-19 border restrictions.

The Hong Kong government has taken another step toward reducing COVID-19 travel restrictions for airlines, prompting Cathay Pacific to incrementally boost its schedule.

Cathay Pacific managed a return to profit for the second half (H2) of 2021, although this hard-won progress is under threat in the early months of 2022 due to stricter COVID-19 regulations in Hong Kong.