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The A330neo order is the third major aircraft order campaign completed by Cathay since the pandemic.
Cathay Pacific has selected the Airbus A330-900 to fulfill its midsize widebody requirement, signing a deal with the manufacturer to order 30 of the aircraft with purchase rights for an additional 30.
Deliveries are due to begin in 2028 and conclude in 2031. The deal was announced in conjunction with Cathay’s first-half financial results on Aug. 7. The order was approved by Swire Pacific and Air China, which collectively hold more than 50% of the carrier’s voting rights.
In a stock market filing, Cathay said the A330neos will “progressively replace [its] existing fleet of midsize widebody aircraft and enable future growth.” Cathay currently has 43 A330s in its fleet, including two stored, according to the Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database.
While the new aircraft will primarily be used on short-haul routes, they also provide “flexibility to serve longer-haul destinations at a later stage,” the carrier said.
The A330neos will be mainly deployed on 3-4 hr. flights to destinations in northeast Asia and southeast Asia, Cathay Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said during an Aug. 7 results briefing. However, they are capable of flying stage lengths up to 8 hr., which also gives the airline the option of flying them to some destinations in Australia or India, she said.
Cathay’s announcement aligns closely with comments about the selection campaign made by CEO Ronald Lam during the IATA Annual General Meeting in Dubai in June.
At that time, Lam said the carrier was targeting an aircraft type to fill the gap between Cathay’s narrowbodies and its larger widebodies, and would choose a single model to achieve this.
He noted that Cathay wanted an aircraft versatile enough to fill a wide variety of roles, including short- and medium-haul, and even some long-haul flights.
The A330neo order is the third major aircraft order campaign completed by Cathay since the pandemic. Last year it placed a major Airbus narrowbody order, and another for A350 freighters.
In its latest announcement, the airline said it is investing more than HK$100 billion ($13 billion) over the next seven years on its fleet, cabin products, airport lounges, digital initiatives and sustainability efforts. This includes the A330neo deal.
The Cathay Group has more than 100 aircraft in its delivery pipeline, with rights to purchase 80 more in the future.
Cathay plans to introduce new cabin products on its refreshed Boeing 777-300ERs later this year, on 777-9 deliveries from 2025 and on its existing A330 fleet in 2026.
Separately, the group reported an attributable net profit of HK$3.6 billion for the first half of 2024. This was down from a profit of HK$4.3 billion in the same period in 2023.
A major reason for the lower profit was the easing of passenger yields from inflated levels last year. The core airline’s yields were down 11% year-on-year, with passenger revenue rising 20% and capacity increasing by 42.7%.
Ticket prices have essentially normalized to pre-pandemic levels on short-haul routes, Lam said during the results briefing. On Cathay’s long-haul routes, prices are about 20% down from last year’s levels, with the exception of its U.S. routes, which have not dropped as much.
The group’s HK Express subsidiary reported a loss of HK$73 million for the first half, versus a profit of HK$333 million in the same period in 2023. Cathay cited the normalization of yields, increased capacity in the region and the grounding of many A320neos due to engine issues as primary factors behind the loss.
Lam stressed that the Cathay Group is still very confident in the long-term prospects for the HK Express model and will continue to invest in it. He noted that the LCC has been the “growth engine” for the group recently and has reached 140% of pre-pandemic flights.
Cathay Chairman Patrick Healy said the group remains on track to achieve its target of operating 100% of its pre-pandemic flights in the first quarter of 2025. The carrier aims to increase group staff numbers by 5,000 to reach a total of 29,000 by the end of this year.
The group will need 3,400 pilots by the first quarter of 2025, and is now at 3,100. Pilot training initiatives are progressing as planned, Lam said.
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