Pilot programme

27 August 2019 By Clara Ferreira Marques

Unrest in Hong Kong may prompt the local $5 bln airline to change course. Bookings have fallen, and Beijing’s ire over protesting employees forced out its CEO. The mounting pressure makes it a bit easier to see owner Swire selling out to its rival and big mainland shareholder.

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Cathay Pacific said on Aug. 21 that anti-government protests in Hong Kong did not affect its passenger business in July, but it expects a “much more significant impact to our revenue in August and onwards”. The airline also said business and leisure travel had weakened “substantially” and traffic out of Hong Kong had begun to soften.

Cathay and discount carrier Cathay Dragon carried 4% more passengers in July than in the same month a year earlier, but that was largely due to increased capacity: the passenger load factor dipped to 86.1%.

The carrier said on Aug. 16 that Chief Executive Rupert Hogg had resigned. He was replaced by Augustus Tang, a veteran from Swire Pacific, Cathay’s biggest shareholder.

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