Cathay Pacific Records 1st Profit After 3 Years Of Losses

Summary

• Cathay Pacific recorded $1.3 billion profit in 2023, a turnaround from previous losses because of travel surge.
• The airline saw a major increase in passengers in 2023, reaching 18.0 million, with higher load aspects.
• Cathay Pacific is investing in fleet development, with orders for Airbus A321neo, A320neo, and A350F freighters.

After being one among the worst-affected airlines in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cathay Pacific has now recorded its first profit in years. The airline managed to capitalize on the growing travel demand and convert the trend into profitable figures for 2023.

$1.3 billion profit

Cathay Pacific has announced its annual results for 2023 and revealed that it made a net profit of HK$9.8 billion (US$1.3 billion). This was a relief for the carrier, which made three consecutive annual losses before this, including in 2022 for around $840 million.

The airline’s current profit got here against a revenue of around $12 billion, a rise of 85%. Cathy Group Chair Patrick Healy said that the attributable profit for 2023 included a non-recurring non-cash gain of HK$1.9 billion as a result of a

The airline’s available seat kilometers (ASKs) increased by 326.8%, while traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), increased by 396.8%. Nevertheless, Cathay Cargo’s revenue in 2023 decreased by 17.9% compared with 2022, mainly as a result of the increased passenger flight schedules providing more belly space for cargo.

Travel surge boosted numbers

The airline carried a complete of 18.0 million passengers in 2023, amounting to a median of 49,300 per day – this was a whopping 541.4% greater than in 2022. Last 12 months, the load factor was 85.7%, compared with 73.6% in 2022.

Cathay’s first profitable 12 months since 2019 was as a result of a notable surge in travel demand following three years of pandemic-related restrictions. Healy stated that the

By the tip of 2023, the airline was at 70% of its pre-pandemic passenger flights, covering around 80 destinations. Ronald Lam, the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, commented,

Fleet development

The airline felt confident enough to begin investing in its future fleet enhancement in a major way. It announced an order for 32 additional Airbus A321neo and A320neo aircraft and secured the appropriate to amass 32 more. This complemented its existing order of 32 A321neos.

Cathay also ordered six Airbus A350F freighters and secured the appropriate to amass as much as 20 more of those aircraft. In all, the airline ordered over 70 aircraft and buying rights for an extra 52 planes.

Looking ahead, the airline group, comprising Cathay Pacific and HK Express, is hopeful of reaching 80% of its pre-pandemic passenger flights throughout the second quarter of 2024 and is steadily working towards reaching 100% throughout the first quarter of 2025.

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  Cathay Pacific

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  CX/CPA

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Hong Kong International Airport

  12 months Founded:

  1946

  Alliance:

  oneworld

  CEO:

  Ronald Lam

  Country:

  China (Special Administrative Region)

  Region:

  Asia