Cathay Pacific Airways (0293)

[cyclone]

Cathay Buys Hong Kong Express to Enter Budget Airline Market

By Kyunghee Park
March 27, 2019, 7:29 AM GMT+7

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. agreed to buy Hong Kong’s only budget carrier to enter the no-frills market, after more than a decade resisting such a move to focus on premium services.

Cathay will pay HK$2.25 billion ($287 million) in cash for Hong Kong Express Airways Ltd., the flag carrier said in a filing Tuesday. The flag carrier will also be issued HK$2.68 billion in promissory loan notes for the transaction.

The deal is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, Cathay said. HNA Aviation Group Co. is the seller’s guarantor, according to the filing.

The acquisition will give Cathay a crucial piece of business that’s missing from its operations and will lift its market share to more than 50 percent in Hong Kong, home to Asia’s busiest international airport. It will also provide Cathay with a new revenue source as the region’s growing economies allow more people to fly and as Chinese rivals expand with direct flights to Europe and U.S., bypassing the need to transit in Hong Kong.

Asia Pacific’s burgeoning market will probably see the largest increase in air traffic worldwide, with almost 4 billion passenger journeys expected in the next two decades.

Cathay is more than a decade behind Asian arch rival Singapore Airlines Ltd. in entering the no-frills business, and has seen demand for some shorter routes eroded by low-cost airlines while Chinese and Middle Eastern carriers chip away at premium and long-haul demand.

As airlines from Australia to India acknowledged the travel aspirations of Asia’s rising middle class by setting up budget carriers including Jetstar, Peach Aviation and IndiGo, Cathay sat tight on its premium roots. Profits were further eroded as mainland carriers began offering cheaper, direct flights to the U.S. from Chinese cities including Shanghai and Guangzhou, reducing the need to fly via Cathay or Hong Kong.

In March 2017, Cathay reported the first annual net loss in eight years and said it was embarking on a three-year transformation program to improve its operational efficiency and returns.

More details in https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...emium-asia

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Cathay Pacific Airlines catches crew stealing booze, cutlery during spot checks

By Barnini Chakraborty | Fox News
Published 23 April 2019

A crackdown on Cathay Pacific Airways flight attendants over the weekend led to six crew members being caught red-handed pocketing everything from cutlery to bottles of booze. They have been placed under investigation.

Petty theft at Hong Kong's biggest airline had been treated as a perk in the past but employees were warned in January about the "unfortunate increasing trend of company property discrepancies" and were told that there would be spot checks at the airport.

“In view of an increasing number of reported losses of company property, we have informed our cabin crew that random inspections will be carried out,” a company spokeswoman told South China Morning Post. “We are dealing with cases in a fair and reasonable manner in accordance with standard internal procedure.”

Ed Higgs, general manager of in-flight services for the airline, said employees would be inspected by a security team on leaving an aircraft “for any items that you may have in your possession when you have been or are on company property."

One of the most popular items lifted are small containers of Häagen-Dazs ice cream that are served in-flight. Several members of the cabin crew are said to have large freezers at home packed with the product, the newspaper reported.

The six employees caught over the weekend at Hong Kong International Airport were a mix of senior and junior crew members. They were placed under investigation on Saturday and face disciplinary action which could include termination.

More details in https://www.foxnews.com/travel/cathay-pa...pot-checks

[BRT]

symptom of underpaid crew?

With Cathay Pacific’s profits finally soaring, flight attendants demand a pay rise to match
= Negotiations with cabin crew union could be industrial relations tightrope for Hong Kong’s flag carrier
= After two years of losses, parent company expects to deliver a HK$2.3 billion profit for 2018

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/tran...attendants

[soros]

CATHAY PAC AIR (00293.HK) announced that the acquisition by the Company of a 100% equity interest in Hong Kong Express Airways Limited was completed on 19th July 2019.

(reported on aastocks website.)

[cyclone]

Cathay manager Swire vows support for China; shares plumb 10-year lows

Jamie Freed, Brenda Goh
AUGUST 13, 2019 / 3:08 PM

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - The top shareholder and manager of Cathay Pacific Airways condemned protests in Hong Kong and vowed to follow China’s aviation regulations, after the airline suspended a second pilot on Tuesday as deepening unrest hit its operation and stock.

Cathay (0293.HK), whose strong British links make it a symbol of Hong Kong’s colonial past, has emerged as the highest-profile corporate target as Beijing looks to quell protests in the territory that have gone on for ten straight weeks.

Shares in the Hong Kong flag carrier sunk to a 10-year low, hit by concerns that Beijing could slap further sanctions on the airline, causing more damage to its brand.

Just last week, China’s aviation regulator demanded Cathay suspend personnel who engaged in or supported illegal protests in Hong Kong from staffing flights into its airspace, a directive the carrier complied with by suspending a pilot.

The airline also fired two ground staff and sent out a warning email to its employees.

“We condemn all illegal activities and violent behavior, which seriously undermine the fundamental principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ as enshrined in the Basic Law,” Swire Pacific Ltd (0019.HK) said in a statement.

Cathay’s manager said it supported the Hong Kong government, CEO and police in their efforts to restore law and order.

The protests began in opposition to a bill allowing extraditions to the mainland for trial in Communist-controlled courts, but have widened to highlight other grievances.

Demonstrators say they are fighting the erosion of the “one country, two systems” arrangement enshrining some autonomy for Hong Kong when China took it back from Britain in 1997.

Swire Pacific’s comments supporting Beijing come a day after China’s aviation regulator said its deputy director had met with Swire Pacific Chairman Merlin Swire.

While Swire Pacific declined to say what was discussed, its statement on Tuesday underscores the political pressure both it and Cathay are facing.

OPERATIONS IMPACTED

Cathay, which was forced to cancel hundreds of flights after Hong Kong’s airport authority took an unprecedented step of closing the airport on Monday, has warned of further flight disruptions at short notice.

It is also encouraging customers to avoid non-essential travel from Hong Kong on Tuesday and Wednesday as protesters plan more anti-government rallies at the airport. The airport authority suspended flight check-ins late on Tuesday.

Cathay also suspended a second pilot on Tuesday, reportedly for encouraging protesters to keep protesting at the Hong Kong airport. Cathay said the action was taken over “misuse of company information” and declined to comment further.

Analysts and employees said there were fears that Beijing could take further action that could hit the airline, such as time-consuming plane checks at airports or even the closure of Chinese airspace and airports to Cathay flights.

The investment banking arm of China’s biggest lender, ICBC, has slapped a “strong sell” rating on Cathay and cut its target price to HK$6, below its current price of HK$9.55.

“We believe recent CAAC safety alert, together with management’s poor crisis management, will cause irreversible damage to Cathay Pacific’s brand perception as a premium quality carrier,” it said in a note, referring to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

More details in https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongk...me=newsOne

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Cathay Pacific CEO resigns amid Hong Kong protests

By Jill Disis, CNN Business
Updated 1025 GMT (1825 HKT) August 16, 2019

Hong Kong (CNN Business)Cathay Pacific CEO Rupert Hogg is resigning after a tumultuous week for Hong Kong's leading airline.

The company has been caught in a political firestorm because of the city's pro-democracy demonstrations, and warned earlier this week that it could fire employees who take part in illegal protests. Hundreds of its flights were canceled when protesters overran the airport.

Paul Loo, the airline's chief commercial officer, is also stepping down, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Friday. The resignations are effective Monday.

Hogg's resignation was first reported by Chinese state media.

"Recent events have called into question Cathay Pacific's commitment to flight safety and security and put our reputation and brand under pressure," said Cathay Chairman John Slosar in a statement. "This is regrettable as we have always made safety and security our highest priority."

Slosar did not elaborate further, but the airline has been swept up in numerous controversies related to the demonstrations. On Wednesday, the company said it had terminated two pilots, without disclosing the reason. A well-placed source within the company told CNN the pilots were fired in association with activities related to ongoing protests.

The company source said one of the pilots was charged with rioting in Hong Kong and had been suspended from duty since July 30.

Cathay has also drawn scrutiny from Beijing. China said last week that it would not allow Cathay flights crewed by people who have taken part in "illegal demonstrations, protests and violent attacks" to use its airspace, a rule the airline said it would follow.

China's aviation authority also said earlier this week that it met with Merlin Swire, the billionaire head of Cathay's biggest shareholder, Swire Pacific. Swire Pacific has been among the companies to condemn "illegal activities and violent behavior" in Hong Kong.

Worker participation in the protests is not the only issue that Cathay is grappling with. The political turmoil that has engulfed Asia's premiere financial hub for nearly 11 weeks is also starting to take a toll on Cathay's bottom line.

The airline was forced to cancel more than 150 flights last week amid a day of mass demonstrations and strikes. This week's protests at Hong Kong's international airport led to nearly 1,000 flights being canceled.

Cathay said last week that protests affected its passenger numbers last month, and were continuing to "adversely impact" future bookings.

Cathay's (CPCAY) stock has plummeted nearly 24% since April.

More details in https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/16/busin...index.html

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Cathay Pacific to cut global capacity by 30% amid coronavirus epidemic

Reporting by Jamie Freed, editing by Louise Heavens
FEBRUARY 4, 2020 / 4:58 PM

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd (0293.HK) plans to cut 30% of its global capacity over the short-term, including 90% of capacity to mainland China as it grapples with a sharp fall in demand due to the coronavirus epidemic, its CEO said on Tuesday.

More details in https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china...SKBN1ZY13X

[dreamybear]

Situation doesn't look good ...

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Cathay Pacific asks 27,000 employees to take unpaid leave as coronavirus outbreak hit demand
Updated: 05 Feb 2020 05:25PM

HONG KONG: Hong Kong's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific is asking its entire workforce to take up to three weeks of unpaid leave, its CEO announced on Wednesday (Feb 5), as the airline battles a fall in demand caused by a coronavirus outbreak.....

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asi...s-12395946

[Behappyalways]

Cathay Pacific’s surprise HK$344 million profit tempered by predictions of ‘substantial loss’ for first half of 2020
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/tran...it-despite

[cyclone]

Cathay Pacific sees H2 loss 'significantly higher' than H1

By Reuters Staff
DECEMBER 16, 20204:00 PM

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd expects a “significantly higher” second-half loss than its record first-half loss, driven by low demand, restructuring charges and impairments on its fleet of planes, it said on Wednesday.

The airline reported a HK$9.87 billion ($1.27 billion) loss in the first half due to the pandemic. Analysts had on average forecast a full-year loss of HK$18.3 billion before the announcement, according to 13 polled by Refinitiv.

Its previous record annual loss was HK$8.7 billion in 2008, during the global financial crisis.

“We are still not seeing any meaningful improvement in our passenger business,” Cathay Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said in a statement.

The airline reported a 98.6% fall in passenger numbers in November, though a smaller 26.2% decline in cargo carriage.

“Given the slow speed of recovery, we expect to operate about 9% of pre-COVID-19 capacity in December and slightly above 10% in January 2021,” Lam said of the passenger business.

Cathay said in October it would cut 5,900 jobs to help it weather the pandemic, including nearly all of the positions at its regional airline Cathay Dragon, which it shut down.

More details in https://www.reuters.com/article/us-catha...SKBN28Q11D