HONG Kong flag carrier cathay Pacific Airways says it has to stick to prudent spending despite last year's hefty profits, declining to offer passengers perks such as discounts on tickets amid growing calls for the company to give back to the community.
Speaking at a meeting of Hong Kong's Legislative Council, Cathay CEO Ronald Lam was grilled by lawmakers over the airline's recent performance, touching on cancellation of numerous flights amid holiday seasons and what lawmakers called the airline's 'chaotic' management.
Legislators also tried to push the company to dish out offers given its HKD9.78 billion (US$1.25 billion) net profit last year, reports Hong Kong's South China Morning Post.
But Mr Lam stopped short of offering any perks or discounts on its services in return for the government and taxpayers having propped up the airline during the pandemic.
The CEO noted the company lost HKD34 billion during the three years that Covid-19 crippled the travel industry.
'The best [way of returning the favour] is to restore our services as soon as possible and invest in the future,' he told lawmakers, pointing to the purchase of 70 planes for passenger flights and cargo.
'In the future, we need to be prudent with our expenditure ... We need to make investments to consolidate Hong Kong's status as an aviation hub.'
Mr Lam said Cathay's profits would partly be used to repay the government, 'which I know is taxpayers' money'.
The government provided a multibillion-dollar bailout to help the company survive the pandemic in 2020.
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Speaking at a meeting of Hong Kong's Legislative Council, Cathay CEO Ronald Lam was grilled by lawmakers over the airline's recent performance, touching on cancellation of numerous flights amid holiday seasons and what lawmakers called the airline's 'chaotic' management.
Legislators also tried to push the company to dish out offers given its HKD9.78 billion (US$1.25 billion) net profit last year, reports Hong Kong's South China Morning Post.
But Mr Lam stopped short of offering any perks or discounts on its services in return for the government and taxpayers having propped up the airline during the pandemic.
The CEO noted the company lost HKD34 billion during the three years that Covid-19 crippled the travel industry.
'The best [way of returning the favour] is to restore our services as soon as possible and invest in the future,' he told lawmakers, pointing to the purchase of 70 planes for passenger flights and cargo.
'In the future, we need to be prudent with our expenditure ... We need to make investments to consolidate Hong Kong's status as an aviation hub.'
Mr Lam said Cathay's profits would partly be used to repay the government, 'which I know is taxpayers' money'.
The government provided a multibillion-dollar bailout to help the company survive the pandemic in 2020.
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