Cathay Pacific to cut capacity as demand for Hong Kong travel falls

Cathay Pacific said Wednesday it would cut capacity for the upcoming winter season after reporting an 11.3% fall in passenger numbers for August as anti-government protests in Hong Kong hit demand. The airline said inbound traffic to Hong Kong in August had fallen by 38% and outbound traffic by 12% compared with the previous year, and it did not anticipate September would be any less difficult. Hong Kong’s finance secretary reported earlier this week that visitor arrivals plunged nearly 40% in August, deepening from July’s 5% fall, as sometimes violent anti-government protests took a rising toll on the city’s tourism, retail and hotel businesses. The weak demand and cuts to capacity will place more pressure on Cathay at a time when it is grappling with management upheaval and is trying to complete a three-year financial turnaround plan driven by boosting revenue and slashing costs. “Given the current significant decline in forward bookings for the remainder of the year, we will make some short-term tactical measures such as capacity realignments,” Cathay Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said. “Specifically, we are reducing our capacity growth such that it will be slightly down year-on-year for the 2019 winter season (from end October 2019 to end March 2020) versus our original growth plan of more than 6% for the period.” Cathay has become the biggest corporate casualty of anti-government protests after China demanded it suspend staff involved in, or who support, demonstrations that have plunged the former British colony into a political crisis. Cathay said Wednesday demand for premium class travel had fallen more significantly than for leisure travel, with demand from mainland China and Northeast Asia severely hit, although Australia and New Zealand were more positive.<br/>