Cathay Pacific CEO resigns

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Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 19 total)

  • cwoodward
    Participant

    Rupert Hogg who has been responsible for Cathays three year turnaround back to profit resigned yesterday.

    The Cathay board are seeking a new CEO which could perhaps turn up some interesting candidates

    This piece from FlightGlobal gives a good overview:

    https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/cathay-chief-executive-and-commercial-chief-resign-460319/?utm_campaign=website&utm_source=sendgrid.com&utm_medium=email

    Air New Zealand are also looking for a new CEO


    w8ster
    Participant

    I have an emergency that requires my immediate travel to Asia and regular logical airlines are Cathay and SIA. Normally my preference would have been CX but given the current situation where I do not know if HKG might be closed again as I travel that way, I had opted for SIA despite being slightly more expensive. Worrying situation indeed.


    CathayLoyalist2
    Participant

    Politics at its worst. By all accounts he was doing a good job. More to this than reported I suspect


    AMcWhirter
    Participant

    On August 7 (before the airport protests) it was being reported that CX’s advance bookings has declined “in the region of double digits.”

    https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-cathay-pacific-results/cathay-pacific-forward-bookings-drop-amid-hong-kong-protests-idUKKCN1UX0BF


    Swissdiver
    Participant

    How do you say resign in Spanish? We all have a common acquaintance who might be (should be actually) interested!


    cwoodward
    Participant

    Given the strength of Chinese governments ‘dressing down’ of the Cathay management initial comments and actions re the recent unrest in Hong Kong it seems to me that it is very unlikely that the Cathay will be in a position to appoint a ‘gualio’CEO any time soon.
    The Cathay Pacific group is a very large and expanding foreign controlled airline group operating in direct competition to the 3 large government owned airlines and the many other government controlled airlines in China and it would be odd indeed if there were not some strong forces that want to send ‘johnny foreigner’ packing or better still apply so much pressure as to force the group to sell their controlling interest.

    The above is but one scenario and after over 40 years in Hong Kong I have largely given up second guessing the mainland governments policy shifts and it may well be that the loud saber rattling was only ever designed as part of a wake-up call to Hong Kong to fix the unrest.

    The large Chinese airlines have learned fast over the past 10 years and are now close,but I believe still a few year away from being on par with the top echelon of international airlines. Much of this knowledge has come from Cathay particularly as regards Air China as Cathay has been training their people and particularly cabin crew for some years as a benefit of the substantial cross shareholding.

    It seems that in resigning Rupert Hogg and his 1st lieutenant ‘took one for the Swire team.

    How will all of this affect us business travellers?
    My guess is not at all in the short to medium term perhaps 5 years or so which in Hong Kong is a very long time. Hong Kong is a very resilient place and Swire after over a hundred years in Asia is not without friends in China.

    My wife went through the airport yesterday morning at 8am and the check in process was slow but friends who went to Bangkok late afternoon reported that there were no delays and RTHK this morning was saying that by yesterday evening both arrivals and departures were running well and apart from addition check of boarding pass in order to enter the check-in area the airport is back to normal operation.

    I rather hope that Tom will not spike this post as being overtly political as my intention is only to inform and to paint a picture for fellow travellers of what to expect in Hong Kong and with Cathay Pacific in the near future

    3 users thanked author for this post.

    Tom Otley
    Keymaster

    I think it is all very useful information so thank you.


    Michael Allen
    Moderator

    Our news article about this (with some comment from our aviation expert contributor David Yu) can be read here: https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2019/08/16/cathay-pacific-ceo-rupert-hogg-resigns/

    Thanks,
    Michael


    canucklad
    Participant

    [quote quote=953821]Given the strength of Chinese governments ‘dressing down’ of the Cathay management initial comments and actions re the recent unrest in Hong Kong it seems to me that it is very unlikely that the Cathay will be in a position to appoint a ‘gualio’CEO any time soon.[/quote]

    Cathay has played this out quite well .
    From what I can gather the appointment of Augustus Tang suggests a continuation of Swire thinking, purely because Cathay has maintained its rather sensible policy of promoting from within.

    He’ll need to steer the Cathay ship through some treacherous waters, keeping Beijing on side and more worryingly for him now, demonstrating to the protestors that their not Beijing’s poodle.

    Could the sacking of the 4 protestors lead to an expansion of #BoycottMulan campaign, or will Cathay under Augustus Tang emerge as Hong Kong’s beacon of democratic hope. Time will tell, very little time !!


    cwoodward
    Participant

    Augustus Tang is an experienced and safe pair of hands and a director of John Swire & Sons (HK) Limited having been with Swire and sometimes Cathay Pacific since 1982.
    He is however at retirement age and this is probably not a promotion for him as he was until last week also the CEO of Swire sunsiduary HAECO ( and may still be)

    This would have been very much an unplanned interim appointment and perhaps we will once again see a ‘Swire’ running Cathay Pacific.
    It would I feel be fairly difficult for China to object to this.


    CathayLoyalist2
    Participant

    David Yu´s article makes reference to questions about flight safety and security being factors in Hogg´s resignation. I am not aware of any issues in that regard. Is anyone else?


    cwoodward
    Participant

    No-I am not and no substantive rumours.
    This subject is unlikely ever to be I the public domain which is perhaps for the best for all given the big bear’s involvement.


    stevescoots
    Participant

    seeing as the authorities over the border are now going after the big 4 accountancy firms for “allowing” staff to demonstrate its pretty obvious what this sacking, because thats what it was is all about

    2 users thanked author for this post.

    cwoodward
    Participant

    I’m beginning to wonder,is Cathay going to need a second substantial hub going forward. Would Indonesia with a fast developing economy a vast population, a poor and weak national airline plus dozens of others of dubious repute make a good second hub for HKE and some insurance for Swire.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    rferguson
    Participant

    This seems a little far fetched and I doubt is true but:

    Wow: Backstory Of Cathay Pacific CEO’s Resignation

    I can’t really imagine that scenario happening but hey.

    2 users thanked author for this post.
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