Cathay Pacific is a much different airline now to what it was and looked like prior to 2020. The Hong Kong based airline is a much leaner operation now which has caused two things to happen. Operating margins recovered faster than you might have expected post-2020. On the other hand though, the route network and operations also took longer than what we all thought to return in reach of 2019 levels. Slowly, but constantly, the airline has been rebuilding its network. The latest announcement sees CX make a return to another Indian destination.
Cathay Pacific Returns To Hyderabad With Flight CX673
India is undeniably rapidly becoming a key market for many airlines. The aviation sector and demand for air travel are on the rise. More and more passengers are flying for the first time every year in the country and therefore, there is a lot of untapped potential for both point to point and transit traffic.
As every other carrier out there, Cathay Pacific too knows this. That is exactly why it is returning to one of India's largest cities, Hyderabad. Flights to the central Indian city will resume in spring 2025, more precisely March 30th 2025 with this becoming Cathay's fifth destination served in the country. Hyderabad joins the already served:
- Chennai
- Bengaluru
- Delhi
- Mumbai
CX673, that will be the service's flight number, will have a frequency increasing over time. Initially the Hong Kong to Hyderabad flight will operate 3 times per week with flights every:
- Wednesday
- Saturday
- Sunday
Starting September 1st 2025, though, Cathay Pacific will up its frequencies to 5 per week adding services on Thursday and Friday.
Not The Newest Plane For a Classic Redeye Flight
As an ex cabin crew, this is not going to be an easy service to work on. I'm quite sure this will be a turnaround flight for the crew meaning they don't get an overnight stay and the timing sets the service up as the most classic of redeyes. The flight out and back to Hong Kong will operate through the night departing just before 10pm and arriving back just before 10am.
| Flight Number | Departure Airport | Airport Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Airport Code | Arrival Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | CX673 | Hong Kong | HKG | 21:35 | Hyderabad | HYD | 00:45+1 |
| CX672 | Hyderabad | HYD | 01:50 | Hong Kong | HKG | 09:30 |
Timings change slightly twice during 2025, specifically from May 16th to September 15th, when departure time out of Hong Kong is 10 minutes later and landing back into HKG in the morning is 20 minutes later than the original schedule.
The airline will be operating this flight with its rather old fleet of A330-300s which it is now using primarily for medium haul flights within Asia.
