Cathay Pacific budget carrier HK Express eyes mainland China for expansion, aims to boost capacity

Cathay Pacific Airways' budget airline, HK Express, aims to double the number of flights to mainland China over the next two years and increase its overall capacity by the end of 2024 as it seeks to expand its global presence. HK Express CEO Jeanette Mao offered an upbeat assessment of the carrier's outlook, saying she expected capacity to grow 20% to 30% by the end of this year, reaching 170% of pre-pandemic levels from the present 140%. She also revealed plans to increase the low-cost carrier's fleet from 35 aircraft to 40 this year and to 60 by 2028, as well as expand the number of destinations from the current 24 to 30 by the end of 2024. "Based on the number of flights, Northeast Asia - such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan - accounts for 70% of our total flights while Southeast Asia accounts for around 25%, with the remaining 5% to mainland China," she said on Tuesday. "So we expect in the next two years, our number of flights to mainland China can increase from 5% to maybe 10% of the total network." HK Express returned to profitability last year for the first time since it was acquired by Cathay Pacific in 2019, making HK$433m (US$55.3m) compared with a HK$1.36b loss in 2022, owing to high demand for short-haul flights. Cathay acquired HK Express for HK$4.93b. Mao said the company was going to announce its third mainland destination very soon as part of its plans to expand its presence in the nation.<br/>