Cathay Pacific's liquidity strong, Omicron impact unclear - exec

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways has maintained a strong liquidity position at a time when the impact of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on travel demand remains unclear, a senior executive said on Wednesday. The airline said its liquidity of HK$31.7b ($4.07b) as of Oct. 31 was only slightly down on HK$32.8b at June 30 due largely to a strong performance in the air cargo business. “It is too early to assess the impact on travel demand,” Cathay Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said of the Omicron variant in an analysts’ briefing. Cathay last month said it expected its second-half results to improve considerably from the first half, though it still forecast a substantial loss for the full year. The airline continues to suffer from COVID-19 pandemic-related travel restrictions, operating at only 10% of pre-pandemic passenger capacity in October and posting a 97.2% decline in passenger numbers from 2019.<br/>