They'll be even more desperate after the HK Government's edict:
‘We won’t solely rely on Cathay,’ Hong Kong’s transport chief says as airport capacity increases
SCMP, 12 Jul 2024
- Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung says city cannot wait for Cathay recovery; other airlines lobbied to maximise traffic through airport
Hong Kong is turning to airlines other than
Cathay Pacific Airways to fill capacity opened up by the airport’s third runway as the city’s flag carrier has had to delay its full recovery to the first quarter of next year. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung has also urged Cathay Pacific to bring forward its target date for a return to full capacity.
A source said that because of Cathay’s slower than expected recovery, the Airport Authority would announce its own initiatives next week to encourage other airlines to open up more routes and increase frequencies to fill extra capacity opened up by the third runway at the end of this year.
“We won’t wait for Cathay any more and we’ll go ahead with our plans to invite other airlines to run more services to Hong Kong to cater to the third runway,” the insider said. “The carrier has been too slow in recovering its capacity.”