Cathay Pacific adds flights in new winter schedule

Cathay Pacific Airways today announced it would add 20 extra return flights a week during its new Winter Schedule, strengthening links between Hong Kong and seven regional cities. The additional flights are between Hong Kong and Cebu, Denpasar (Bali), Hanoi, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Surabaya, and Taipei. The new schedule will operate between 29 October and 24 March, and see an increase of 4% in Cathay Pacific's total seat capacity compared to the current Summer Schedule.

The new flights are being added in response to the continued recovery in demand from both passengers and cargo shippers around the region. Cathay Pacific will have extra capacity to operate the flights due to the addition of five new aircraft to its fleet between now and next March. The new aircraft include one Boeing 777-200, one Airbus Industrie A340-300, and three Airbus A330-300s.

Cathay Pacific's Director Corporate Planning Augustus Tang said: "We have seen a strong pick-up in demand around the region over the last year, and we will be using our new aircraft to add extra flights to those growing markets. These new services will also add further strength to the Hong Kong hub and enhance Hong Kong's position as Asia's leading aviation centre."

The details of the additional flights are as follows:

During the upcoming Winter Schedule, Cathay Pacific will also begin to install its new First Class cabin on its fleet of Airbus A340-300s and A330-300s. As announced last month, the new cabin will be placed on 12 A340s and four A330s.

Cathay Pacific flies to a network of 50 destinations in 29 countries and territories. This year the airline has added two new destinations: Karachi in Pakistan, and Wellington in New Zealand. Cathay Pacific currently operates 66 aircraft, namely 7 Boeing 777-300s, 4 Boeing 777-200s, 19 Boeing 747-400s, 3 Boeing 747-400 Freighters, 7 Boeing 747-200 Freighters, 14 Airbus A340-300s, and 12 Airbus A330-300s.