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Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific plans to reduce capacity by approximately 30% over the next two months in response to depressed demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The reductions include service cuts at Cathay as well as Cathay’s regional subsidiary Hong Kong Dragon Airlines.
The route changes will be centered on mainland China, where approximately 90% of service will be cut, but Cathay also said that significant reductions would be made to the rest of its network. The carrier flies to eight U.S. destinations.
“These reductions are temporary for now and are driven by the commercial and operational realities at the current time, as well as projections in short-term demand,” the carrier said.
Cathay said that its financial condition remains strong. Nevertheless, the airline said Wednesday that in an effort to preserve cash it is appealing to employees to participate in a voluntary unpaid leave program between March 1 and June 30. Cathay employees will have the option to take three weeks of unpaid leave during that time.
The coronavirus outbreak came as Cathay Pacific was already struggling from the demand loss caused by ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
Source: travelweekly.com