Continuing our airline deep-dive series, today’s video will examine the fleet of Hong Kong
carrier Cathay Pacific.
The airline featured in today’s video comes from a poll posted on the community section
of this YouTube channel.
So, if you want to have your say on other airlines that we cover, be sure to participate
in any polls that come from us in the future!
With that out of the way, let’s get started…
Based on data from Planespotters.net, Cathay Pacific has a total of 170 aircraft in its
fleet at the time of this video’s production.
However, if we exclude the carrier’s full, cargo-only freighters, then that number goes
down to 150.
Sticking with tradition, we won’t go too deep into the airline’s cargo-only fleet,
keeping our focus on passenger operations only.
However, we should note that it operates both the Boeing 747-400F and 747-8F for its dedicated
freight operations.
Cathay Pacific has 14 -8s while the remaining six are the older -400s.
These jets have been important in keeping the airline afloat throughout the pandemic
as travel restrictions have severely suppressed regular passenger activity.
Starting with the airline’s smallest jets, we have nine Airbus A321s with an average
age of eight and a half years.
However, this further divides into four older A321-200s, which are nearing an average age
of 18 years, and five brand new A321neos.
These newer jets have an average age of just over one year- with more of these jets on
the way.
Back in 2017, Cathay Pacific group finalized its order for 32 A321neos, with the Airbus
press statement saying that the order would quote:
“replace and modernize Cathay Dragon’s current in-service fleet of 15 A320s and eight
A321s, with the additional aircraft allowing the airline to capture growth opportunities
in the region.”
This quickly brings us to the first interesting part of the Cathay Pacific fleet: Part of
it comes from its former regional brand, Cathay Dragon.
Indeed, Cathay Dragon was initially going to take delivery of all 32 A321neos.
However, even before the pandemic, Hong Kong and its travel industry was suffering due
to months of pro-democracy protests.
Looking to restructure and lower its costs, Cathay Pacific divided the 32-aircraft order
in 2019, with 16 destined for Cathay Dragon and the other 16 bound for its newly acquired
budget brand, HK Express.
However, with the devastating impact of the pandemic, Cathay Pacific as a group was forced
to again restructure significantly in order to reduce its costs.
One major move was to shut down its regional airline Cathay Dragon - which was once known
as Dragonair.
At the time of the announcement, Cathay Chairman Patrick Healy told reporters that there would
be significant savings in ending the brand and bringing its operations under the mainline
Cathay Pacific banner.
Singapore Airlines did something similar with its shutting down of Silkair, adopting the
Boeing 737 into its mainline brand.
However, for Singapore Airlines, the move was planned even before the pandemic struck.
Even with Cathay Dragon gone, the group’s commitment to the 32 Airbus A321neos carries
on- although with a few adjustments.
Now, the 16 jets destined for Cathay Dragon will go to Cathay Pacific - with the other
16 still allocated to HK Express.
The remainder of Cathay’s A321neos will be delivered between now and the end of 2023.
The absorption of Cathay Dragon and its Airbus A321s into the mainline fleet marks the first
time in a long, long time that Cathay Pacific has operated narrowbody aircraft.
Just like Singapore Airlines and its adoption of Silkair’s 737s, Cathay Pacific has a
reputation of outstanding service and comfort to uphold.
This resulted in the Hong Kong carrier installing some well-reviewed premium business class
seating aboard its A321neos- what it calls the quote “world’s most enjoyable short-haul
experience.”
According to the airline, this premium configuration takes the form of quote “cocoon-like recliner
seats [that] feature divider screens for maximum privacy.”
The airline also notes that seats on its A321neos have both USB-A and USB-C charging points,
as well as additional lavatory to quote “cut back on those pre-landing queues.”
Moving up in size, Cathay has a total of 40 Airbus A330-300s according to Planespotters.net.
These have an average age of just over 13 years, with roughly half marked as parked
and inactive.
Interestingly, however, data from ch-aviation.com lists the airline as having 51 A330-300s.
We’re not completely sure about the reason for this discrepancy but we’ve found that
Planespotters information tends to be the most up-to-date overall.
When it comes to Cathay’s A330-300s, nine at the moment are listed as being parked in
the Australian desert, in Alice Springs.
Meanwhile, another 10 are parked elsewhere.
This is something will look at more closely later on in this video so stay tuned!
Moving up to the next size of aircraft, Cathay currently has a total of 43 Airbus A350s with
an overall average age of four years.
However, the A350 fleet divides into 28 -900s which have an average age of just over four
and a half years, and 15 A350-1000s, which average just three years.
Ch-aviation.com data indicates that the airline is expecting three more -1000s to arrive in
the future.
The airline’s A350 fleet has been the subject of some cost cutting.
Indeed, back in 2017, it was announced that the airline would switch some of its -1000
orders to the smaller -900.
Cathay would also announce the deferral of some of its A350-1000s, pushing delivery back
by a few years.
Skipping over the cargo-only 747s, we reach our final type in the Cathay fleet: The Boeing
777.
Cathay Pacific currently has a total of 58 777-300s with an average age of about 13 years.
This airline is one of the few in the world that operate the non-ER version of the 777-300.
Thus, the airline’s 777 fleet divides to 41 777-300ERs with an average age of about
nine and a half years, as well as 17 777-300 non-ER aircraft.
These jets are nearing an average age of 21 years.
The ER- or extended range version of the 777-300 has become incredibly popular with full-service
airlines around the world.
However, the same can’t be said for the base, non-ER version of the 777-300.
Launched at the Paris Air Show in 1995, the standard 777-300 entered service in 1998 with
Cathay Pacific.
The jet offered a good step up from the 777-200 in both capacity and range.
However, airlines overall had wanted even more range for the -300, aiming to have more
flexibility with long-haul operations.
This demand has since been demonstrated quite well with the popularity of the -300ER.
Almost three-quarters of the airline’s 777 fleet is listed as parked, with many of these
in long-term storage in Alice Springs.
As we’ve mentioned several times, a large portion of the Cathay fleet is parked and
inactive.
Indeed, of its roughly 150 passenger aircraft, 85 are listed as parked at the time of this
video’s production.
This is roughly 57% of its fleet!
But what exactly is the reason for this current status?
Well, Hong Kong as a special administrative region of China, has been hard hit by COVID-
which was certainly insult to injury considering the civil unrest it experienced even before
the pandemic.
However, the Hong Kong government’s zero-COVID approach has resulted in an additional barrier
for the airline- with travelers experiencing strict and persistent travel restrictions
and policies.
This has led to most of Cathay’s operations being reduced over the past year- even while
many other airlines around the world slowly climb closer to pre-pandemic levels.
Some exciting changes have taken place recently, however.
Indeed, after more than two years of COVID isolation, Hong Kong has finally reopened
its borders.
In an April 22nd statement, the Hong Kong government said:
"From May 1, non-Hong Kong residents will be allowed to enter Hong Kong from overseas
places and the route-specific flight suspension mechanism will be suitably adjusted."
In late April the airline announced that it would be resuming its scheduled flights to
Delhi and Mumbai, with scheduled flights starting back up this week.
Indeed, Cathay’s Mumbai to Hong Kong service will begin on the 4th, while its scheduled
flights to Delhi will follow shortly after on the 6th of May.
Thus, this video and its production is somewhat awkwardly timed.
Indeed, if all goes well for Cathay, we could see many more of its aircraft reactivated
in the days and weeks to come!
Looking further into the future, the airline has 21 of the 777-9 on order.
The aircraft were originally slated for delivery from 2021 through 2024.
However, following delays to the 777X program, Boeing pushed back the start date a year to
2022.
Even without Boeing’s own delays, Cathay Pacific’s suppressed travel activity has
forced it to defer delivery of the 777-9s.
In October of 2020 it was reported that the carrier would be deferring its first delivery
until quote "2025 and beyond."
Months later, in March of 2021, we reported that the airline was in advanced talks with
Boeing to defer its order - although it’s curently unknown at this time how far things
have been pushed back.
Ultimately, Boeing’s delays in the program should mean that Cathay shouldn’t have to
worry too much about receiving new 777xs earlier than it wants!
Sadly, it looks like Cathay has had a long run of bad luck in recent years.
The airline’s home country of Hong Kong suffered from violent and unpredictable protests,
which was then followed by a pandemic.
This, combined with fierce competition from other full-service airlines serving the region,
has produced some severe headwinds for the 75-year-old carrier.
Hopefully, this month marks a major turning point for the airline, as it moves slowly
towards recovery…
What do you think of the Cathay Pacific fleet?
Have you flown on the airline - or even with its former regional brand Cathay Dragon?
Share your experiences by leaving a comment!