Cathay Pacific to cut 10% of flights

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Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

  • AndrewinHK
    Participant

    Internal Communications have indicated that CX will cut 10% of capacity at the end of August.

    Specific service cuts have not been outlined but Bangkok will be included as BKK based staff have been asked to take unpaid leave during September.

    It is also expected that HKG based CX staff will be asked to take voluntary unpaid leave over the next 3 months.

    CX has also halted all new hiring and has indicated the business is facing intense yield pressure.


    MrMichael
    Participant

    Maybe (just maybe) CX has put too much effort in to gourmet food, top notch service & comfy seats and taken their eye off the ball of getting people from A to B at a decent price. They should look at BA’s model for amongst the best yields in the business.


    AndrewinHK
    Participant

    CX has been discounting heavily on intra Asia flights to try and use its capacity to squeeze out the low cost carriers.

    Round Trip fares to Singapore/Kuala Lumpur/Bangkok are regularly available for around $150usd, including checked luggage, food, inflight entertainment, frequent flyer miles, nice airports, crew and widebody aircraft.

    CX have openly said they are sacrificing yield for market share, some Airbus 330 aircraft have been reconfigured to a ‘P’ configuration which has a larger economy cabin and is used to KUL,BKK,CGK to compete with Air Asia/Jetstar/Tiger etc.


    AMcWhirter
    Participant

    This does not come as a surprise. Two months ago there was a report on scmp.com detailing the pressures that CX was facing.

    http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1946617/under-intense-pressure-cathay-pacific-chief-calls-hiring-freeze

    It appears the passenger cutbacks will, for the time being, be confined to Asia.


    cwoodward
    Participant

    I believe that ‘andrewinHK’ is drawing a rather long bow with this largely unsubstantiated Daily Mail like post
    A 10% reduction in total capacity is highly unlikely although it is possible that some high frequency Asian destinations could temperately see some reduction but I personally doubt that anything of the magnitude suggested is at all likely.
    The other points raised in the post are not new and are overstated in my view. The reconfiguring of some A330 aircraft taking out Premium Economy cabin was done some 18 months ago.


    AMcWhirter
    Participant

    Indeed, cwoodward. In 2015 it began removing premium economy from selected routes covering the Gulf and S Asia.

    Cathay to axe premium economy routes


    AndrewinHK
    Participant

    My comments are substantiated in as much as I have seen the internal communication and know that staff have been forced in some circumstances and asked in others to take unpaid leave, the last time staff were asked to take unpaid leave was during the SARS crisis. Services to Incheon will also be reduced and yes this is likely to be temporary, the 10% cuts are confined to intra Asia only so I apologise if the headline is misleading.


    cwoodward
    Participant

    AndrewinHK
    Unpaid leave – actually not correct
    The last time that CX staff were asked to take unpaid leave was long after SARS
    In April 2009 some 2300 staff took unpaid leave at the request of the company due to the world wide ‘crash’


    cotswoldsw
    Participant

    MrMichael, I love flying with Cathay and will try and do so whenever travelling to HKG and/or Oz. However, I don’t think they can be accused of putting too much effort into gourmet food… It is most definitely their Achilles heel!

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