© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Cathay Pacific plane takes off on the airport, through the coronavirus illness (COVID-19) pandemic in Hong Kong, China, March 31, 2022. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photograph
DOHA (Reuters) – Cathay Pacific Airways (OTC:), battered by strict quarantine guidelines which have led to a 98% fall in passenger numbers, is getting ready to deliver again extra planes to rebuild Hong Kong’s hub standing as restrictions ease, the airline’s chief govt mentioned.
“We’ve got about one-third of our passenger fleet nonetheless parked within the desert, not being utilised,” Cathay Chief Government Augustus Tang instructed Reuters on the sidelines of an airline business gathering in Doha. “We’re making preparations for them step by step coming again forward of the curve.”
Rival Singapore Airways (OTC:) has seen a surge in demand since Singapore’s quarantine guidelines eased. It was again at 61% of pre-COVID-19 capability in Could, filling 78.2% of seats in its greatest month because the begin of the pandemic.
Cathay, against this, operated solely 4% of its pre-COVID capability in Could and stuffed 60.5% of its seats.
The necessity for crew members on passenger flights to quarantine in a lodge for 3 days after flying to locations outdoors mainland China means it has few frequencies to supply potential transit passengers.
Passengers heading to Hong Kong additionally face per week of lodge quarantine on arrival, limiting demand.
Tang mentioned it was encouraging that Hong Kong had step by step been lowering the quarantine time required, which as soon as was as excessive as three weeks for passengers from locations together with the USA and Britain.
“It is transferring in the proper route, and the momentum is gathering and so we’re fairly optimistic that we’re going to see an increasing number of of this opening up,” he mentioned.
Cathay has 45 passenger locations again in operation at current, up from 30 at first of the yr, and plans for as much as 70 to be accessible by the top of the yr as demand improves, he mentioned. That compares to the 108 passenger locations it operated earlier than the pandemic.
(This story has been up to date to appropriate the final paragraph to 45 passenger locations as an alternative of 45 passenger plane)
