Cathay Pacific is in talks with Airbus and Boeing about buying next-generation freighter aircraft as it seeks to renew and replace some of its cargo jets, people familiar with the matter said. Hong Kong’s main carrier, also one of the world’s biggest cargo airlines by capacity, is mulling purchasing either Airbus A350 freighters or Boeing 777-8F jets, the people said, declining to be identified because the discussions are private. Cathay could buy as many as six new freighters, one of the people said. Cathay is currently evaluating the specifications and capabilities of both aircraft types and hasn’t determined how many new freighters it may order, the people said. While it’s studying the current generation of Boeing 777 cargo plane and freighter conversions, Cathay has traditionally favored new builds. Cathay said in a statement that it is “constantly looking into our freighter fleet requirements” but has “not come to any decision whatsoever,” reiterating comments given by CEO Augustus Tang to Bloomberg News in June. Boeing declined to comment; Airbus said it doesn’t comment on discussions with customers. Cathay recently restored its freighter aircraft operations to full capacity, the first time it was able to mount a complete schedule after suffering under Hong Kong’s strict Covid-19 rules. The airline’s cargo fleet operates up to 100 freighter flights per week.<br/>
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Qantas’ new seasonal service from Rome to Perth has likely become one of the most successful in the airline’s history after it saw 98% of seats full during July. The Sydney-Perth-Rome flights launched on 22 June with 787-9 Dreamliners and will operate three times a week until 6 October 2022. New BITRE data from the Department of Infrastructure shows its ‘seat utilisation’ was 97.7% on inbound services and 91.9% on outbound services. Upon launch, it was also the only direct service between Australia and continental Europe. Customers were able to combine the Rome flights with the Flying Kangaroo’s double-daily direct flights between Australia and London, meaning they could fly in and out of different cities on one return ticket through to October 2022. Overall, international passenger traffic in July 2022 was 2.057m, still significantly down on the 3.736m in pre-pandemic July 2019.<br/>