CX highlights Bangkok’s crucial role in aviation recovery

[reader]

From The Thaiger

Southeast Asia, particularly Bangkok, is showing promising signs of growth in terms of flight traffic, according to Cathay Pacific, which has ranked the Thai capital as one of its stronger-performing flight routes. Post-Hong Kong’s reopening, Cathay has reported a steady ascent, keeping pace with global passenger traffic.

One of the airline’s senior executives, Dominic Perret, highlighted Thailand as a key player in the recovery of the Asian sector. To further substantiate this point, in May, the company reported a 53% rise in recovery compared to numbers from 2019. Interestingly, flights from Hong Kong to Bangkok, Singapore and Manila are presenting the strongest growth amongst Cathay Pacific’s Southeast Asia portfolio, which comprises 13 destinations.

Perret also emphasised the reciprocal tourism between Thailand and Hong Kong. The former holds considerable allure for Hongkongers and foreigners alike, while Thai tourists show an equal fondness for Hong Kong and Japan. As things stand currently, Cathay Pacific operates five to six daily flights between Hong Kong and Bangkok, a reduced number from the nine it conducted pre-Covid times. The aspiration is to ramp up to at least seven daily flights by early 2024.

Adding to the strategic edge, the airline operates one to two daily flights utilizing Airbus A330s that offer more capacity compared to the A321neos used previously. Similarly, for the Bangkok flights, the deployment of wide-body jets like the A350-900s and Boeing777s has garnered an impressive 90% load factor recorded in May, expected to persist through July and August, reported Bangkok Post.

athay has now resumed service to all its destinations, bar Myanmar’s Yangon, while growth continues unabated in its efforts to match the flight capacity to 2019 levels. Aiming for a 70% recovery rate for global flights by the year’s end, a full recovery is projected for next year. Key to this upward trend remains a strong recovery in tourism and the overall economy in their aviation hub, Hong Kong.

Perret also revealed that the three-runway system at Hong Kong International Airport is slated to commence full-scale operations next year, and the previous shortage of ground personnel across Southeast Asia’s airports has already dissipated. The airline also recently entered a conversion scheme partnership with Siam Piwat’s loyalty programme, linking Asia Miles with Siam Piwat’s VIZ coins, devised to attract more tourists to Thailand.

.The group currently holds 222 aircraft in its fleet, with an additional 48 slated to be added by 2028, and 11 expected to be delivered within the year.

[PeterRS]

On 8/1/2023 at 6:27 PM, reader said:

From The Thaiger

Key to this upward trend remains a strong recovery in tourism and the overall economy in their aviation hub, Hong Kong.

It's hard to find statistics but I expect Cathay Pacific will have to continue to depend more on international transit passengers in the short- to medium-term. Heving twice visited this year, it is noticeable that tourism remains way down on pre-covid levels. Part of this is a result of the severity of the covid restrictions which led some expatriates to leave Hong Kong altogether. Another is the draconian Chinese national security law imposed a couple of years ago which makes criticism of China and its policies a jailable offence. Many Hong Kong Chinese have left for good to take up residency in other countries, especially the UK which has opened its doors to hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong citizens (albeit several decades too late). Just last month the Hong Kong government which is basically appointed by Beijing enacted the extraordinary and in my view disastrous policy of placing a bounty of HK$1 million (US$128,000) per head for the return of several of those who had been student activists. Not even after Tiananmen Square in 1989 did the Beijing government adopt such a policy.

Hong Kong has become a different city. Its total population has declined for the third consecutive year. In my view it will continue to depend to an even greater extent on short-haul tourists from China which will do little for Cathay Pacific's bottom line. So the long-haul market will probably concentrate on transit passengers from Canada and the USA - and perhaps some from Europe if fares are competitive - with Thailand and other countries as their final destination. 

[fedssocr]

I used to arrange long layovers of just about 24 hours in HKG to enjoy the city and a massage on my way home from Asia. But for the reasons you mention I don't expect to ever return. Given the big economic downturn in China is continuing to spiral downwards I'm not sure how many mainland tourists will be able to keep CX afloat. The reports I am seeing say everyone in China is saving as much money as they possibly can so discretionary spending like travel would seem to be one of the first things to stop.

[PeterRS]

7 hours ago, fedssocr said:

I used to arrange long layovers of just about 24 hours in HKG to enjoy the city and a massage on my way home from Asia.

Depite the doom and gloom in my earlier post, I do think Hong Kong is still worth visiting for stopovers or short trips, the more so as there are fewer tourists and crowds. The sights are still well worth seeing, shopping remains competitive with most Asian cities due to the absence of any sales tax (except on perfumes, liquor and tobacco products), the gay bars and saunas are especially busy at the week-ends and some of the guys are stunning. Historically It also remains a fascinating city.

As for Cathay Pacific, it opted out of the mega aircraft market by not replacing any of its 747 fleet with A380s. Consequently, for example, pre-coved it ran 5 services daily to London and 4 to New York. Whereas many airlines dependant on long-haul services have brought their once thought of as obsolete A380s back into service (Singapore Airlines has 12 of which 10 are now operating again), CX depends on ageing and smaller A330s and 777s complemented by the newer A350s as its long haul fleet. Stil, wth an average age of 11 years, its fleet is still relatively young compared to some of the behemoths of the sky. 

[reader]

I flew out of the US east coast on a CX A359 in the three-class configuration in May and it went out full. They have 47 350's currently in the fleet. Future wide body orders are for 21 Boeing 777-9's (aka, 777X).  CX has 37 777-300ER and 17 777-300's in use.

The carrier appears to be benefiting from the delayed return of the major China carriers to international service.

It was my first CX flight and I came away satisfied with the service and on-time performance. I was surprised just how cool the cabin temperature was maintained after the initial meal service was completed. Fortunately, they provide a substantial comforter.

CX has reopened its BKK lounge.

[hojacat]

On 8/6/2023 at 9:38 PM, PeterRS said:

Depite the doom and gloom in my earlier post, I do think Hong Kong is still worth visiting for stopovers or short trips, the more so as there are fewer tourists and crowds. The sights are still well worth seeing, shopping remains competitive with most Asian cities due to the absence of any sales tax (except on perfumes, liquor and tobacco products), the gay bars and saunas are especially busy at the week-ends and some of the guys are stunning. Historically It also remains a fascinating city.

I agree. Returned over there in May for a week after a few years and still had a great time. The city, the landscape, the food and definitely the guys are all amazing. focused more especially on the new venues in West Kowloon which were still under-construction when i last visited HK.

You will end up paying the same as in Singapore, but I prefer HK over it. If you choose the right time of year the weather is also much more pleasant than in Singapore.

[PeterRS]

5 hours ago, hojacat said:

If you choose the right time of year the weather is also much more pleasant than in Singapore.

For those not acquainted with Hong Kong, Hong Kong virtually has four seasons. The best times of year to visit are November, December, February, April and May. June to October is typhoon season. If one gets close or even worse there is a direct hit, Hong Kong has an excellent early warning system and the city basically shuts down - even public transport. Up to mid-September it's also extremely humid which usually gets to visitors more than the heat. And of course it's also the rainy season. I have omitted January because this is the most likely month when for a few days the winter monsoon will blow down from the north. If it's freezing in Beijing, you can be sure Hong Kong will be in for temperatures in the 6 - 12 degree range a day or so later and usually lasts a few days! March is when the humidity starts to rise dramatically and you can often see banks of fog rolling in over the hillsides.

That said, naturally there can be glorious days in those winter months with low humidity when the sun will shine in bright blue skies and the mercury rises to around 25 in the daytime. Just take a few warm clothes to be safe.

[PeterRS]

Getting back to the OP, CX seems to be having some difficulty filling its flights from Bangkok. It has been reducing fares and they are now about the cheapest I have seen for years.

[hojacat]

1 hour ago, PeterRS said:

Getting back to the OP, CX seems to be having some difficulty filling its flights from Bangkok. It has been reducing fares and they are now about the cheapest I have seen for years.

That's actually a great. Personally, I always found CX to have the best food among the 5-stars airlines, even slightly better that the gourmet meals you can order on ANA.

There is also this:

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3231306/hong-kongs-cathay-pacific-offer-100000-discounted-tickets-reveals-nearly-hk293-million-dividends

I guess a good reason to visit or revisit HK, if all the reasons we mentioned above weren't enough.

[PeterRS]

30 minutes ago, hojacat said:

I guess a good reason to visit or revisit HK, if all the reasons we mentioned above weren't enough.

As far as I can see, the problem is that the tickets must be ex-HKG. And although the promotion has only been going for 2 days, already those for popular destinations like London Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Sydney, Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei are sold out!

34 minutes ago, hojacat said:

Personally, I always found CX to have the best food among the 5-stars airlines, even slightly better that the gourmet meals you can order on ANA.

One thing I do not like about the CX biz class meal service is that it is from a trolley. Presumably this is so you can see the meal you wish to consume. The problem is that some of the dishes stay on that trolley for several minutes and are less than piping hot if you order them.

Best economy meal by far was one on JAL to BKK 4 years ago pre covid. The airline had asked some chefs to come up with ideas for better quality economy meals. The five courses were all delicious.

[PeterRS]

Yesterday Qatar's limited time offer of 10% off fares from Thailand ended. This morning i had an email from the airline offering up to 12% off for premium fares. Checking flights I want for next year, the discount was just over 11%. I expect further discounts in the months to come (but only judging by previous years).

[vinapu]

prises will drop only after big Chinese carriers return to the skies en masse

[PeterRS]

10 hours ago, vinapu said:

prises will drop only after big Chinese carriers return to the skies en masse

I wonder why you think that. Chinese are not going to travel in anything like their pre-covid numbers for several years. Too many Chinese are still trying to make up income lost during covid. On top of that the Chinese economy is in serious trouble. In turbulent times Chinese save rather than spend.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/21/economy/china-economy-troubles-intl-hnk/index.html 

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, PeterRS said:

I wonder why you think that. Chinese are not going to travel in anything like their pre-covid numbers for several years. Too many Chinese are still trying to make up income lost during covid. On top of that the Chinese economy is in serious trouble. In turbulent times Chinese save rather than spend.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/21/economy/china-economy-troubles-intl-hnk/index.html 

Before covid we had 4 Chinese airlines flying from here to Asia, each at least 3-4 times a week. So obviously it added a lot of capacity depressing prices.

You are right though , with current conditions in China chances they return to the skies soon are not big

[reader]

Big airlines have an added incentive to keep every seat filled now that American Airlines inked a new contract with its pilots calling for immediate raises of 21% with compensation increasing more than 46% over the duration of the four-year agreement. Some would see this signaling higher fares but tickets are--and always have been post deregulation--price elastic. Demand ultimately determines what passengers are willing to pay and what carriers need to do to maximize yield.

Other major carriers are also following suit as unions representing flight attendants and mechanics also take advantage of the resurgent interest in travel.

[PeterRS]

On 8/19/2023 at 12:16 PM, PeterRS said:

Getting back to the OP, CX seems to be having some difficulty filling its flights from Bangkok. It has been reducing fares and they are now about the cheapest I have seen for years.

It seems I was wrong in my thoughts re CX. In just three days the prices for travel to HKG any day next week on CX have doubled! Mind you, other carriers are in the same boat. I was supposed to go to HKG next week but have postponed to the second week of October when flights and hotels are much more reasonable.

And biz class flights on QR from BKK to the UK in March have also started to jump up. I just changed my trip from March to May at a very considerable saving. 

[vinapu]

6 hours ago, PeterRS said:

 In just three days the prices for travel to HKG any day next week on CX have doubled!

cashing in on incoming Chinese golden week ?

[PeterRS]

24 minutes ago, vinapu said:

cashing in on incoming Chinese golden week ?

I wondered about that. But Golden Week is the following week starting on National Day on October 1, several days after my planned return. It is also exclusively a holiday within China when almost all businesses and factories close down for the entire week and so travel at the start would be out of China. Basically it's the opposite of Chinese New Year.

There are no public holidays in Thailand during Golden Week. So I think it's unikely that many Thai-Chinese would be travelling, especially at the start of the week prior to Golden Week. I could be wrong - but it still doesn't really explain why prices suddenly went up so quickly by so much. My outward flight was supposed to be Tuesday 26. Looking at the seating availability, it's the outward flights to HKG that are almost full. Flights HKG/BKK on my planned return date of Friday 29 are mostly less than a third full.

Not sure if there are major holidays in other parts of the world.