Cathay Nears Next Recovery Target, But Chairman Stresses Cautious Growth

SINGAPORE—Cathay Pacific is continuing to make good progress toward full capacity recovery, although the carrier is wary of pushing growth too fast.

The airline achieved its goal of restoring 70% of its 2019 capacity by the end of 2023. “We were pretty pleased to [reach] that, given the very low base we had” at the start of the year, Cathay Chairman Patrick Healy told Aviation Week on the sidelines of the Changi Aviation Summit on Feb. 19.

Now Cathay has its eyes on its next milestone. It is confident it can reach 80% of 2019 capacity levels in the second quarter, Healy said.

Last year, Cathay often discussed its goal of achieving 100% capacity recovery by the end of 2024. It has since become a bit more circumspect about this target.

Extensive system disruptions and cancellations in late December and at the start of 2024 prompted Cathay to trim its schedule slightly in January and February. This experience taught the airline it has to be cautious about capacity growth, Healy said.

Cathay’s general aim is still a full recovery within 2024, Healy said. But the airline will emphasize growing at a rate it can sustain without major disruption. Expansion is not in the interest of the airline and its customers if it overtaxes the carrier’s operations, Healy said. Instead, management will take a more balanced approach.

The signs are good that Cathay has overcome the disruptions from early this year. The Chinese New Year travel period went very smoothly, Healy said.

Cathay has signaled its next fleet move will be a widebody order aimed at the replacement of its medium-haul fleet that serves destinations within the Asia-Pacific region. Healy said it is “still very early days” in the selection process, and would not divulge any timeline estimates for a decision or an order.