Cathay Pacific is boosting capacity of its flights between Hong Kong and Sydney from October 1 by replacing one of its existing A330 flights with the larger B777-300ER.
The aircraft replacement is an unsurprising move given that load factors on the route have been healthy. Cathay had already done a similar upgrade to one of its four daily flights last year.
Airbus A330
In addition, slot restrictions in Australia prohibit the airline from adding extra flights to the route, which means that an aircraft replacement is required in order to increase seating capacity.
The deployment of the B777-300ER will offer 90 more seats than the A330, including two in business, 11 in premium economy and 77 in economy.
Premium economy
As per a report by The Sydney Morning Herald, Cathay Pacific’s general manager Southwest Pacific Nelson Chin notes that there has been a growing demand for the airline’s premium economy class on flights between Australia and other European destination.
"Hong Kong is a stable market for us and we fly four times a day from here so we do get the biggest [market share from Australia]," said Chin. "But the growth in the market we see is beyond Hong Kong. It is very much the connectivity to the other 22 destinations we fly to."
Economy class
In related news, Cathay Pacific has also revealed that it will offer a new business class product on its upcoming A350s. The fuel-efficient aircraft is expected to be delivered in February 2016, and according to the airline, will be used to open up routes to secondary European cities.
Cathay's general manager product Toby Smith emphasised that the new business class product would be an “evolution of [the] current seat”. The existing Zodiac Cirrus seat has been popular with customers, and therefore the airline is unlikely to make any drastic changes with its new product.
Business class
"We don't want someone getting on an A350 from Europe to Hong Kong and then coming down here on an A330 or a 777 and having a vastly different experience," said Smith.
For more information, visit cathaypacific.com
Clement Huang
