Cathay Pacific Airways will boost the number of flights to Thailand's capital and the country's holiday destinations, as the airline aims to play a bigger role in Hong Kong's bid to seek closer ties with other countries in the region, the group's chairman has said.
Hong Kong's flagship airline would double the number of flights to Bangkok to four a day in December, from the current two, while resuming its service to Phuket in January, Patrick Healy said on Monday.
"It's our job to connect Hong Kong to the world and to connect the world to Hong Kong. And that's why we're busy ramping up capacity just as fast as we can," Healy said in the Thai capital.
"Hong Kong is coming back. And Cathay Pacific is coming back."
He added that Hong Kong Express, its budget subsidiary, would operate up to 12 flights a week to Thailand while restarting its Chiang Mai route.
Healy was among those joining Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu's 20-strong delegation to meet leading Thai business leaders in Bangkok, following Lee's debut at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit last week.
Cathay, which warned of substantial annual losses in a recent forecast, has said it hopes to return to 70% of pre-pandemic capacity by the end of 2023 and has been going all-out to recruit cabin crew and pilots.
With Hong Kong shifting its focus to Asean neighbours and China's allies amid heightened geopolitical tensions with the West, the Cathay chairman said he believed the company would benefit from the move, given the city had been earmarked by Beijing as an aviation hub in its 14th national development plan.
"We see our commitment to continuing to build Hong Kong as a global aviation hub, and to building the success of that hub with Cathay Pacific at the very centre of that," he said.
From a business perspective, he said he would love to see mainland China further opening up.
"Cathay Pacific, and I guess most businesses, would like to see all Covid restrictions removed as soon as possible. But clearly, that's not our decision," he said, adding that every government had its own approach.
He stressed the company's liquidity was healthy, despite reporting substantial losses earlier.
Asked when he believed the company could cut its losses, Healy said: "I can't give you a specific date but I am optimistic about the future."
