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 Mexico Star 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 Mexico Star.
More InformationISTANBUL, Turkey: Turkish police detained dozens of people after local authorities banned Istanbul's annual Pride parade from going ahead this ...
Patna (Bihar) [India], July 3 (ANI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday expressed grief over the death of four ...
Geneva - The United Nations is warning that Lebanon is in a state of crisis, with millions of people out ...
Geneva - The World Food Program warns conflict, climate change, COVID-19, and skyrocketing prices of food, fuel, and fertilizer are ...
Guwahati (Assam) [India], July 3 (ANI): Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia on Sunday wrote to ...
New Delhi [India], July 3 (ANI): Union Minister of State for Education, Subhas Sarkar who is on a two-day visit ...
Tokyo, Japan: On June 28, Japan baked under intense heat for a fourth successive day, with temperatures breaking nearly 150-year-old ...
ALBANY, New York: A New York state judge has struck down a recent law giving 800,000 non-citizen New York City ...
DUBAI, UAE: The Arab states have built significant amounts of solar and wind power installations, and are in line to ...
LONDON, England: A second referendum on Scottish independence is set to be held in October 2023. The Scottish government, led ...
LISBON, Portugal: Tuvalu Foreign Minister Simon Kofe walked out of the opening cermonies of this week's United Nations Ocean Conference ...
SULAWESI, Indonesia: Using just a rope, an Indonesian man, supported by fellow villagers on the island of Sulawesi, captured a ...