The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a huge toll on Cathay Pacific’s business, which had focused on serving the needs of passengers traveling to and from its base in Hong Kong, as well as providing connections at its hub for passengers traveling between Mainland China and its other destinations. Due to the Hong Kong government’s stringent quarantine measures, and Beijing’s policy of keeping COVID out of China, Cathay has had to turn to its cargo sector instead.
Cathay Pacific Cargo’s tiers of service
Last month, Cathay Pacific announced that it will now offer three types of service for its cargo clients. This change will in some ways parallel the offerings of cargo-only airlines, such as UPS and FedEx.
The most expensive service, also known as First, “includes access to capacity even on very high-demand flights” and has 24/7 live chat support for its customers. Cathay has even stated that a money-back guarantee will be activated when the Hong Kong government no longer has pandemic restrictions, thus enabling Cathay to resume its pre-pandemic operations.
The middle tier, Essential Plus, is an upgraded version of their standard tier, Essential, which will give clients access to more capacity, and will ensure that clients’ packages are delivered more quickly than its standard tier.
Cathay Pacific’s cargo operations
Cathay Pacific Cargo operates a fleet of 747s, including both the 747-400ERF and the 747-8F variants. It also utilizes the cargo hold of passenger planes when possible.
The cargo branch of the airline flies not just to destinations served by its passenger fleet, but also has destinations that are geared towards cargo operations. For example, Anchorage Airport in Alaska (ANC), receives multiple Cathay Pacific aircraft per day as it is the ideal stopover point for cargo flights between Hong Kong and the Americas. Other airlines, such as UPS and FedEx also take advantage of Anchorage’s geographical location on their transpacific routes.
These cargo-only operations have largely been unaffected by the pandemic, as essential supplies are still needed around the world.
Passenger flights on Cathay Pacific have become extremely rare. Destinations such as London, which were served up to six times daily, saw just two flights a month during the heights of the pandemic. Thankfully, Cathay has now ramped up its daily schedule and expects to fly from London Heathrow (LHR) to Hong Kong daily from June. The airline expects passenger demand will be high as international students travel back to Hong Kong for the summer.
Other destinations, such as Los Angeles (LAX) and New York JFK (JFK), which were previously served four times daily, will still only see one Cathay flight a week.
The future of Cathay Pacific Cargo
This announcement brings hope that Cathay Pacific is anticipating a return to its normal services soon, especially in light of the Hong Kong government’s decision to allow travelers to enter the city once again. However, barriers remain, as travelers still have to undergo a seven-day quarantine in a government-mandated hotel upon arrival.
Cathay Pacific is also set to operate more cargo flights in the coming months, especially compared to its January numbers, when it was forced to shut down all long-haul cargo operations by the government. Therefore, the operations of Cathay Pacific in the coming months will depend on Hong Kong's pandemic policy.