Cathay Pacific is arguably the missing giant in Asian aviation at the moment. The airlines suffered heavily with the travel restrictions imposed by the Chinese government and is still working to claw its way back to its former elite status. So far 2023 has been a year of hard work to try and achieve this goal. However the efforts seem finally to be paying off somehow.
Cathay Pacific’s 2023: Making up Lost Ground
There have been many hurdles on the path to pre pandemic recovery for Hong Kong based airline Cathay Pacific. However it seems like things are finally looking a little rosier for the carrier.
For the first time since the pandemic the group, comprised of Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Express, has announced it operated in a single month over 9,000 flights. With about 70% of pre pandemic flights back in the skies connecting to 80 destinations worldwide.
All key indicators are green for the latest month of data, October 2023, and the outlook is looking good for the final months of the year.
What Is Driving The Recovery?
Passenger volumes have been very healthy in the past months. In September the airline stated that the large number of students travelling boosted results. However October was mainly helped by the strong demand for business and premium travel to Hong Kong and nearby Shenzhen particularly for conventions and live events.
Finally the reopening of the flight to Chicago brought back online a transpacific, very lucrative, stream of passengers. Finally cargo is also helping push financial results in the right direction. CX is still seeing good levels of demand and Black Friday an Single’s Day in November will further boost this trend.
Cathay Pacific Set Up For A Profitable Second Half of 2023
The bottom line is that Cathay Pacific for the first time in post-covid years is looking to close a semester with a profit. It must be said though that the overall 2023 results might still see the airline register a loss, but there is a lot more to be hopeful about looking at 2024. Next year the Hong Kong airline will be bringing back online more capacity and more routes which should help finally close the gap with pre pandemic flight movements across the network.
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