Robert Besser
24 Jun 2022, 11:25 GMT+10
HONG KONG: Impacted by strict quarantine rules that caused a 98 percent drop in passengers, executives from Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific said the airline will bring back more planes to rebuild Hong Kong's status as a flight hub amidst easing restrictions.
On the sidelines of an airline industry gathering in Doha, Cathay Chief Executive Augustus Tang told Reuters, "We have about one-third of our passenger fleet still parked in the desert, not being utilized. We are making preparations for them gradually coming back ahead of the curve."
Since Singapore eased quarantine rules, Cathy's rival, Singapore Airlines, has witnessed a surge in demand, which was back at 61 percent of pre-COVID-19 capacity in May, filling 78.2 percent of seats, their best month since the start of the pandemic.
In contrast, in May Cathay Pacific operated only 4 percent of its pre-COVID capacity, filling 60.5 percent of seats.
Hong Kong's decision to gradually reduce the quarantine time for passengers, which was as high as three weeks for arriving travelers, including from the U.S. and the UK, is encouraging, Tang stressed.
"It is moving in the right direction, and the momentum is gathering, so we are pretty optimistic that we are going to see more and more of this opening up," he added.
Cathay has resumed flights to 45 destinations, up from 30 at the start of the year, with 70 destinations to be available by the end of the year as demand improves, compared to the 108 passenger destinations it operated before the pandemic, he added.
Get a daily dose of Europe Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Europe Sun.
More InformationLANSING, Michigan: Michigan's Department of Natural Resources said by a wildfire in the state has burned through more than 3 ...
ISTANBUL, Turkey: In an interview with Reuters, Willie Walsh, director-general of the International Air Transport Association, (IATA), said airlines are ...
SACRAMENTO, California: Sixteen migrants from Venezuela and Colombia, who had entered the United States through Texas, were transported to California ...
GRAND ISLE STATE PARK, Louisiana: Almost two years after Hurricane Ida struck the barrier island and destroyed most of its ...
YANGON, Myanmar - A regime court sentenced to death five people detained for their alleged involvement in a deadly August ...
HARTFORD, Connecticut: Following a state Senate debate and vote to approve Connecticut's most comprehensive gun legislation since the laws put ...
LISBON, Portugal: Carsten Spohr, Chief Executive of Lufthansa, has said that as Portugal's government is still debating whether to sell ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were divided on Wednesday, with the technology and industrial sectors parting ways.Tech stocks ...
HOLLYWOOD, California: More than tripling the debut of its 2018 animated original predecessor, Sony Pictures' "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" opened ...
PARIS, France: European plane manufacturer Airbus is reported to be close to a record agreement to sell 500 narrow-body jets ...
TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan: DuPont, Chemours and Corteva have reached an agreement to pay $1.18 billion to resolve complaints of causing ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were directionless Tuesday as investors had little to digest ahead of next week's ...