Cathay Pacific unable to forecast end to financial woes

Hong Kong’s flagship airline Cathay Pacific was unable to forecast an end to its financial strain, with the Delta variant causing significant problems for one of the few airlines without a domestic market. In its latest results on Wednesday, Patrick Healy, the airline’s chair, said it faced “the most challenging period in our history”, which would continue until borders reopened. “The emergence of new virus variants has led to the tightening of cross-border travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in Hong Kong and in many of our key markets,” he added. “Unlike many of our global peers, who have seen encouraging signs of recovery in some domestic markets, Cathay Pacific remains wholly dependent upon cross-border air travel.” Cathay recorded a HK$7.6b (US$977m) net loss in the first half of 2021, down from HK$9.9bn from the first half of last year, supported by a relatively strong cargo business. The group said it hoped to operate at up to 30% of pre-pandemic passenger capacity by Q4 2021 but “this is dependent on operational and passenger travel restrictions being lifted”. In the first half, Cathay operated at only 5% of pre-pandemic passenger capacity, and 47% of cargo capacity. Healy said cargo capacity was affected by Hong Kong’s 14-day crew quarantine requirements, which were imposed by the government for a period from February but had since eased. Cathay’s cargo business brought in more than 80% of group revenues in the six months. Passenger revenue plummeted 92.8% in the first half of 2021 compared with the same period in 2020.<br/>