HONG Kong's cathay Pacific Airways is in talks with Boeing and Airbus SE about expanding its fleet, seeking to bounce back from the Covid pandemic as the opening of Hong Kong airport's third runway swells capacity.
Speaking at an interview last week in London, chief customer and commercial officer, Ronald Lam said the airline is exploring possibilities for adding both passenger aircraft and freighters and would be seeking deliveries from 2025, when the new landing strip comes into full service, reports Bloomberg.
While the company is keeping its options open, Mr Lam said it would like to have consistency and synergy with its existing fleet, comprising Airbus A321neo jets for short-haul flights and A330s, A350s and Boeing 777s used on longer routes and some regional services. Low-cost unit Hong Kong Express Airways has an all-A320 family line up.
After two-and-a-half bruising years during which the coronavirus crisis severely restricted operations, Cathay has grounds for optimism now that Hong Kong has finally dropped mandatory quarantine rules. While some virus restrictions remain, the carrier is positioning for a resurgence in travel.
'We have had some short-term setbacks because of the pandemic, but I think we will come back strong,' Mr Lam said. 'In particular, we play a very key role connecting between Hong Kong and Europe and that role will not change and will only get stronger.'
Cathay is currently operating about 16 per cent of pre-pandemic seating, set to rise to about one-third by the end of the year, Mr Lam said. It plans to return to normal levels by the end of 2024 or early 2025, though HK Express will recover earlier. Freight capacity should reach two-thirds of 2019 tonnage this year.
He said Cathay is in active discussions on renewing its cargo fleet and is looking at both Boeing's 777-8F and Airbus's A350 freighter, confirming a Bloomberg report. New planes would be in addition to its twenty 747 freighters, most of them the final iteration of the jumbo.
On the long-delayed 777X, which Cathay ordered in 2013, Mr Lam said the airline has agreed a delivery plan with Boeing from 2025 and currently has no plans to reduce the size of its order.
The group plans to hire 8,000 staff through next year across functions including pilots, cabin crew, check-in and ground handling, said the executive. That includes 4,000 at the main airline, a number that will still leave staffing only at 2009 levels. Employee numbers fell about 40 per cent from the end of 2019.
The Hong Kong Aircrew Officers' Association last week warned that Cathay faces an unprecedented pilot shortage, particularly among the most senior crew, after mass resignations in response to harsher employment terms.
For much of the pandemic the carrier was operating just 2 per cent of 2019 passenger capacity as Hong Kong virtually outlawed international travel. It underwent a HKD39 billion (US$5 billion) government-led recapitalization in 2020, shuttered regional arm Cathay Dragon and cut thousands of jobs.
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Speaking at an interview last week in London, chief customer and commercial officer, Ronald Lam said the airline is exploring possibilities for adding both passenger aircraft and freighters and would be seeking deliveries from 2025, when the new landing strip comes into full service, reports Bloomberg.
While the company is keeping its options open, Mr Lam said it would like to have consistency and synergy with its existing fleet, comprising Airbus A321neo jets for short-haul flights and A330s, A350s and Boeing 777s used on longer routes and some regional services. Low-cost unit Hong Kong Express Airways has an all-A320 family line up.
After two-and-a-half bruising years during which the coronavirus crisis severely restricted operations, Cathay has grounds for optimism now that Hong Kong has finally dropped mandatory quarantine rules. While some virus restrictions remain, the carrier is positioning for a resurgence in travel.
'We have had some short-term setbacks because of the pandemic, but I think we will come back strong,' Mr Lam said. 'In particular, we play a very key role connecting between Hong Kong and Europe and that role will not change and will only get stronger.'
Cathay is currently operating about 16 per cent of pre-pandemic seating, set to rise to about one-third by the end of the year, Mr Lam said. It plans to return to normal levels by the end of 2024 or early 2025, though HK Express will recover earlier. Freight capacity should reach two-thirds of 2019 tonnage this year.
He said Cathay is in active discussions on renewing its cargo fleet and is looking at both Boeing's 777-8F and Airbus's A350 freighter, confirming a Bloomberg report. New planes would be in addition to its twenty 747 freighters, most of them the final iteration of the jumbo.
On the long-delayed 777X, which Cathay ordered in 2013, Mr Lam said the airline has agreed a delivery plan with Boeing from 2025 and currently has no plans to reduce the size of its order.
The group plans to hire 8,000 staff through next year across functions including pilots, cabin crew, check-in and ground handling, said the executive. That includes 4,000 at the main airline, a number that will still leave staffing only at 2009 levels. Employee numbers fell about 40 per cent from the end of 2019.
The Hong Kong Aircrew Officers' Association last week warned that Cathay faces an unprecedented pilot shortage, particularly among the most senior crew, after mass resignations in response to harsher employment terms.
For much of the pandemic the carrier was operating just 2 per cent of 2019 passenger capacity as Hong Kong virtually outlawed international travel. It underwent a HKD39 billion (US$5 billion) government-led recapitalization in 2020, shuttered regional arm Cathay Dragon and cut thousands of jobs.
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