Cathay mothballs air freighters, offers unpaid leave

HONG KONG's Cathay Pacific Airways slashed growth plans for 2009, offering unpaid leave to staff, paring back passenger projections and mothballing 747 Freighters in California while beset with low visibility in the clouded global economy.

This is a very difficult time for our airline, said Cathay CEO Tony Tyler. We will continue to do all we can to keep our network intact and our team together.

Cabin crew will be given as much as a year of unpaid leave as the airline cut back earlier projections of 6-7 per cent growth in passenger capacity in 2009 to less than 1 per cent to reflect an expected declines.

Cathay will park two Boeing 747-400BCF freighters at Victorville, California, for a year in January, and airfreight service frequency to Australia, North America and Europe will be reduced, the airline statement said.

The airline will still receive four new Boeing 747-400 Extended Range Freighters in 2009, but the delivery of new Boeing 747-8Fs will be delayed until 2010.

Cathay has already submitted a request to the Hong Kong Government to delay construction of the new Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal at Hong Kong International Airport by up to two years. Preliminary work has begun on the HK$4.8 billion facility that was to open in late 2011.

Source: Shipping Guazette