Fuel costs force Cathay into schedule reshuffle

Cathay Pacific Airways on Thursday said it is rearranging service to the Middle East, North America and New Zealand to focus on flights with the highest revenue-earning potential as fuel costs continue to rise.

On terms of its flight operations, the airline is working to redeploy capacity to routes where demand is high, starting with a service boost to two key Middle East destinations and a return to the normal winter schedule for flights to Vancouver and Toronto,?the Hong Kong-based airline said Thursday.

Starting Oct. 1, the airline will add four more direct flights a week between Hong Kong and Dubai, meaning the airline will provide a total of 18 flights each week to the Middle East hub. Each of the four new Dubai flights will continue on to Bahrain, while four flights each week will continue to be routed through Bangkok. Cathay is also adding services to Riyadh, including a four-times-weekly non-stop service between Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia's capital city. The airline serves the city with four flights a week each routed through Bahrain.

Meanwhile, the number of weekly direct services from Hong Kong to Vancouver will drop from 21 to 17, starting Sept. 16. Service to Toronto will revert to a daily non-stop service from Hong Kong, with the three seasonal flights per week routed through Anchorage being discontinued. And lastly, service to Auckland will increase by four flights per week.

The continuous rise in fuel prices is having a significant impact on airlines worldwide and on July 2 Cathay Pacific issued a profit warning to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange advising that its financial performance is being materially and adversely affected by the high price of jet fuel, the airline said. The average price paid by the airline in the first half of 2008 was 60 percent above that paid in the first half of 2007. That we are facing at the moment is a cost problem, not a revenue problem,?said Tony Tyler, Cathay chief executive. Demand remains high but the soaring cost of fuel means we have to operate more flights to areas with revenue-earning potential. We will not take a flash and burn approach to the problem. 

Source: American Shipper