He was referring to the government’s multibillion-dollar rescue plan to help the company stay afloat in 2020 amid the Covid pandemic that has hit global travel hard.
“Now that the company is making huge profits, shouldn’t Hong Kong residents be given some concessions, such as ticket discounts or rebates, as they really had a hard time during Covid-19?” he said. “It has to go back to the community.”
Hong Kong government slams Cathay for 786 canceled flights in 2 months
Hong Kong government slams Cathay for 786 canceled flights in 2 months
HK$19.5 billion worth of preference shares were issued to the government as part of a recapitalization deal negotiated during the pandemic. In December last year, Cathay bought back half of the shares for HK$9.75 billion, saying it planned to buy the rest by the end of July.
Last week, Cathay said it had learned from the recent flight cancellations, pushing back its goal of restoring pre-pandemic capacity to early 2025.
But customers grumbled about fares, pointing to a series of recent flight cuts around peak holiday periods as a sign of declining service.
Cathay canceled 786 flights between last December and February, representing more than 4 percent of total operations.
The company attributed the layoffs to factors such as internal planning errors and underestimating pilot reserve levels, vowing to prevent disruption over the Easter holidays amid government criticism.
The city’s tourism sector recovered more slowly than the government expected in 2023, driven by flight capacity constraints.
Tourism lawmaker Perry Yiu Pak-leung called on the flagship carrier to offer more deals to travel agents, such as promotional airfare packages through partnerships with hotels.
“We hope the airline can provide more benefits and promotions for travel agents to facilitate the recovery of the tourism industry,” he said. “Cathay should take on the mission to cooperate with travel agents and hotels to launch promotional packages or group tickets to attract inbound overseas travelers to Hong Kong.”
Tourism Association chief executive Timothy Chui Ting-pong agreed, saying the move could help travel agents attract group tours while also benefiting Hong Kong residents leaving the city for holidays.
“This can help boost the business of travel agents as part of the recovery of the tourism industry,” he said.
“But the most important thing is for Cathay to restore flight capacity by hiring enough crew in an effort to consolidate the reputation of the aviation industry.”
Law Cheung-kwok, senior adviser for the Center for Aviation Research and Policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said Cathay had to cut its airfares because its fares were a bit expensive compared to other airlines.
Hong Kong’s Cathay ‘learns lesson’, delays capacity target by 3 months
Hong Kong’s Cathay ‘learns lesson’, delays capacity target by 3 months
“One of the reasons for Cathay’s huge profits is the high cost of air tickets. Therefore, Hong Kong residents and visitors expect ticket prices to drop to a reasonable level,” he said.
“Cheaper air tickets could be available to more visitors and would help revitalize the city’s aviation industry.” With huge profits last year, Cathay has an opportunity to lower its ticket prices.”
But Regina Exco head Ip Lau Suk-yee argued that Cathay should fulfill its social responsibility by recovering at a faster pace rather than handing out concessions.
“Cathae has other ways to fulfill its social responsibility. The recovery of our aviation sector depends on both the airport authorities and Cathay solving the problem of labor shortages,” she said.
“Government has a responsibility to cure its deficits and should not rely on private corporate ‘sweeteners’ to keep people happy.” Overreliance on sweeteners to appease the public undermines the government’s commitment to fiscal prudence.
Electoral Commission lawmaker Andrew Lam Siu-lo also said the best way for the company to give back to the community was to strengthen its competitiveness by improving in areas such as flight capacity and staff numbers.
“Cathay’s primary responsibility is to restore the reputation of the aviation industry by improving service quality,” he said.
The airfare promotions are just “gimmicks”, Lam said, adding that it was more important for the airline to regain its “glory”.
