Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd expects a lower first-half loss than last year, driven by strong cargo performance and cost-cutting, while warning that this year’s loss would still be “substantial”.
Cathay had added capacity in the second quarter after Hong Kong relaxed some crew quarantine rules, but its May capacity figures remained only about 4% of the passengers and 34% of the cargo it carried before the pandemic, it said
“Our consolidated losses in the first half of 2022, while substantial, are expected to be lower than … in the first half of 2021,” said Ronald Lam, the chief customer and commercial officer. Cathay would increase passenger capacity in the coming months as much as practicable within the confines of curbs as demand continues to improve, he added.
“Cathay Pacific started the year operating flights to 29 destinations and we target to double that by the end of the year,” Lam said. Cathay said the outlook for its cargo business is positive in the short term due to supply chain disruptions in China’s commercial hub of Shanghai and elsewhere globally.