Cathay Pacific has seen its pre-tax profits more than double in the first half of 2014 after it expanded its long-haul network.
The Hong Kong-based carrier made a pre-tax profit of £53 million for the six months to the end of June – up from £26 million for the same period in 2013.
Cathay increased overall capacity by 5.3% during the half-year period which helped to raise revenue by 4.6% to £3.9 billion.
The airline, which is part of the Oneworld alliance, has expanded its flights to the US by adding a route to Newark in March and increasing capacity to Los Angeles in June. This trend has continued in August with flights to Chicago going up to 10 per week from daily.
“Business on the US routes was very strong in the first half of 2014,” said the airline in a statement to investors. “We have added a lot of capacity to the US and revenue has grown in line.”
Cathay is also expanding its UK services with a Hong Kong-Manchester route due to start in December 2014 with flights operating four times per week.
This new service will complement Cathay’s existing operation from Heathrow where it runs five flights per day to Hong Kong.
“Business, student and leisure demand for travel on the London route was consistently strong in the first half of 2014,” said the airline. “The fifth daily service added in 2013 has proved popular. Revenue from the route has grown in line with capacity.”
Cathay has also made several other changes to its long-haul network including the addition of services to Doha in March 2014 and the upcoming launch of a Hong Kong-Zurich route from March 2015. The airline has ended services to Abu Dhabi, Karachi and Jeddah.
Cathay Pacific chairman John Slosar admitted that the airline was finding it “difficult” to maintain yields due to “significant competition in our passenger business”.
“On the plus side, we continue to strengthen our passenger network and the connections available through Hong Kong,” he added.
“We expect business to be better in the second half of 2014. Our financial position remains strong and will enable us, despite the current difficult trading conditions, to maintain the quality of our products and services and to continue with our long-term strategic investment in the business.”
cathaypacific.com