HongKong

Cathay Pacific plans to regroup all aircraft in storage by 2024


Carrie Lam, chief executive of Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific, told Bloomberg Television that the company hopes to reach 100% of its pre-pandemic capacity by early 2024 and restart all parked planes. The news comes as the airline continues to see a rebound in travel demand across the region.


67 out of service jets

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong has been one of the most stringent places in the world with quarantine requirements and travel restrictions. So, like many other airlines, Cathay Pacific has been badly affected by these events and has had to reduce its flight schedule and ground many of its planes.

However, with the reopening of mainland China and the lifting of travel restrictions in Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific’s passenger traffic is continuing to recover.Still, the airline still has 67 out-of-service planes in its fleet, according to ch-aviation.com

Photo: Cathay Pacific

Of these, 11 of the decommissioned jets are currently being stored for maintenance, while others are parked in various locations, including Hong Kong, Alice Springs, Xiamen and Ciudad Real, pending recommissioning. The fleet of inactive aircraft includes the Airbus A330, Boeing 777-300, Airbus A320 and Airbus A321.

Commenting on the situation, Lam said:

“After three brutal years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are finally entering an exciting new phase as we rebuild Cathay Pacific for Hong Kong.”

It is worth noting that Cathay Pacific currently has a fleet of 191 aircraft, including 51 Airbus A330s, 41 Boeing 777-300ERs, 28 Airbus A350-900s, 18 Airbus A350-1000s, 17 Boeing 777-300s, 14 Boeing 747-8F, nine Airbus A321neo, six Boeing 747-400ERF, four Airbus A320 and three Airbus A321-200 jets.

50% of pre-pandemic capacity by end-March

In a recent interview with Simple Flying, Paul Johannes, Cathay Pacific’s European regional head of customer travel and lifestyle, said that by the end of March 2023, the airline will be operating around 50% of pre-pandemic passenger traffic to more than 70 destinations.

Cathay Pacific Airbus A330

Photo: Cathay Pacific

Commenting on the recovery, Johannes added:

“The airline continues to add more destinations to its flight schedule. We expect that by the end of 2023 we will be operating about 70% of our pre-pandemic passenger capacity, covering more than 80 destinations, with the goal of returning to the pandemic State before. Pandemic level by the end of 2024.

“As more flights resume, the airline is gradually reopening lounges for customers across its network, giving customers more ways to relax before their flight.”

In February 2023, the airline carried 1.1 million passengers, a significant increase from the 31,253 passengers it carried during the same period last year.

Source: Bloomberg TV, ch-aviation.com

  • Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-367(ER) B-KPM

    Cathay Pacific remains one of the airlines in the world hardest hit by COVID-19.Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flight

    Cathay Pacific

    IATA/ICAO code:
    Customer Experience/CPA

    Airline type:
    Full Service Carrier

    hub:
    Hongkong International Airport

    year established:
    1946

    alliance:
    a world

    CEO:
    Augustus Don

    nation:
    China (Special Administrative Region)



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