Cathay Pacific Builds Capacity To Meet Year-End Goal

Cathay Pacific appears to be firmly on course to achieve its target of restoring a third of its passenger capacity by the end of 2022.

Data from CAPA and OAG indicates that for the week of Nov. 21, the airline was scheduled to operate 32% of its weekly seats versus the same week in 2019.

This comparison is skewed slightly because capacity had softened in November 2019 due to the Hong Kong protests. However, it still underlines the carrier’s improvement. The airline’s weekly seats were at just 16.5% of 2019 levels in the week of Sept. 19, the CAPA data shows.

Cathay reported on Nov. 18 that its capacity—as measured in available seat kilometers—was at 21% of 2019 levels for the month of October. The airline noted that its capacity and traffic were boosted by the Hong Kong government’s decision to lift mandatory quarantine requirements from the end of September.

The carrier said demand in the first half of October was mainly for flights to Bangkok, Singapore and Seoul. There was then a “surge in demand for travel” to Japan when that country relaxed some major travel restrictions on Oct. 11.

To achieve its target of restoring a third of its pre-pandemic flights, Cathay has previously announced it would add 3,000 flight sectors to its schedule for the period starting in October to the end of December.

“Travel demand for the rest of 2022 continues to improve and is promising for the Christmas holiday period,” Cathay said. The Cathay Group—which includes subsidiary HK Express—aims to reach 70% of pre-pandemic passenger capacity by the end of 2023, with a full restoration of capacity by the end of 2024.

Cathay estimates it will be operating in positive cash generation status for the second half of 2022. The carrier expects its financial results for the second half will improve markedly compared to the first half, although it still forecasts an overall loss for the full year.

Separately, the South China Morning Post reported that Cathay Pacific is planning to raise the average basic salary for eligible Hong Kong-based staff by 3.3%.