China: Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways reported a loss of HK$4.99 billion (US$636.8 million) in the first half of 2022, down 33.9% compared to the same period last year, due to a significant increase in passenger flights.
The amount reported on Wednesday was less than the HK$7.56 billion loss in the first half of 2021.
Strong coronavirus control measures were particularly damaging to the city's flag carrier during the first half of the year, when the fifth Covid-19 wave was at its worst.
Strong passenger flight business, which grew by 178.9% to $2.08 billion in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period last year, was cited as the reason for the recovery.
In addition, Cathay reported that costs decreased slightly during the same period last year and revenue grew 17% to HK$18.55 billion, up from HK$15.85 billion.
The airline's main source of income was cargo flights, which brought in HK$13.8 billion in the first half of the year, an 8.9% increase over the same period last year.
Compared to the same period last year, the airline carried an average of 1,853 passengers per day, an increase of 113.4 percent. The cargo load factor, which measures how much available space is occupied, was 75.8%, up from 81.4% last time.
The company attributed higher revenue to an increase in cargo flights to the US and Europe, with such flights operating in June at a cargo capacity that was more than half of pre-pandemic levels.
The airline claimed that the restrictions and quarantine requirements for aircrew based in Hong Kong continue to have an impact on its cargo performance.
By the end of this year, Cathay has previously said it intends to increase the number of its pre-pandemic cargo flight capacity by 65%. Additionally, the airline announced that it would be expanding its flight Schedule further double the number of flight destinations from 29 in early 2022 to 60 by the end of the year. Before the pandemic 108 places were served by routes to Cathay.
Operating at about 11% of its pre-pandemic passenger capacity in June, Cathay said it expects that figure to drop to about a quarter by the end of the year.
By comparison, Singapore Airlines operated at 64% of its pre-pandemic capacity in June; The company expects to reach 81.4% by December.
Cathay and Singapore Airlines are completely dependent on international travel and open borders as there is no domestic travel market. Cathay announced in late July that it would bring back passenger planes parked in the desert around the Australian city of Alice Springs, where a third of its fleet was previously inactive in response to the gradual relaxation of anti-epidemic measures in Hong Kong.
To maintain Hong Kong's status as an aviation hub, the airline on Monday urged the government to create a clear timeline for the gradual lifting of all anti-pandemic travel restrictions.
The action came after authorities decided to reduce the hotel quarantine period from seven to three days by Friday, allowing new arrivals to spend the final four days at home or in other accommodations with restricted mobility.
Cathay reduced the size of its workforce by 37% between 2019 and the end of 2021 last year through a variety of permanent and temporary staff cuts.
As of December last year, the airline employed more than 21,600 people worldwide, including about 17,700 in Hong Kong. At the end of 2021, Cathay Pacific Group had HK$30.3 billion in liquid assets, up from HK$28.6 billion at the end of 2020. For the next few months, it aimed to reduce operating cash burn to less than HK$500 million. month.
In 2020, the government decided to salvage the airline, giving it a HK$39 billion cash infusion during the pandemic in exchange for a 6.5% stake in the business.
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